Willoughby Spit

Willoughby Spit is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It is bordered by water on three sides: the Chesapeake Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and Willoughby Bay to the south.

History: Land formed by weather

The area known as Willoughby Spit takes its name from Thomas Willoughby, who came to Virginia in 1610 and received a land grant around 1625. Willoughby's son, Thomas II, was living there in the 1660s, and legend has it that his wife awoke one morning following a terrific storm (possibly the "Harry Cane" of 1667) to see a point of land in front her home, where there had been only water the night before. The Willoughby family, it is said, were quick to apply for an addendum to the original land grant, giving them ownership of the "new" property.

Severe storms and hurricanes would continue to transform the contour of the coast, and the Willoughby holdings, for more than a century. Although official records of Hampton Roads weather go back only to 1871 when the National Weather Service was established in downtown Norfolk, records of earlier storms have been located in ships' logs, newspaper accounts, history books and writings of early settlers.

Residents of colonial coastal Virginia were very much aware of the weather. To people who lived near the water and derived much of their livelihood from the sea, a tropical storm was a noteworthy event. During a hurricane in 1749, the Chesapeake Bay rose 15 feet above normal, sand spit was washed up at Sewell's Point and, with the help of The Great Coastal Hurricane of 1806 , Willoughby Spit was formed. The area of water now located between Sewell's Point and Willoughby Spit is known as Willoughby Bay.

Ferrys, The Bridge-Tunnel

A ferry service operated between Willoughby Spit and Old Point Comfort at Phoebus, Virginia across the mouth of Hampton Roads until 1958. In that year, the first portion of the new Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel was completed.

Today, the southern terminus of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel which was expanded to four lanes in the 1970s is located at the tip of Willoughby Spit. After leaving the bridge-tunnel, Interstate 64, part of the Hampton Roads Beltway, crosses a small portion of the spit and and enters a bridge across the northern edge of Willoughby Bay.

Shire to County to City

The entire area of South Hampton Roads was part of Elizabeth River Shire when it was formed in 1634. From this original shire (or county), in 1636, New Norfolk County was formed, which was divided again into Upper and Lower Norfolk counties. Lower Norfolk County was split in 1691 to form Princess Anne County and Norfolk County.

The Willoughby Spit area was to remain part of Norfolk County for over 225 years, until it and the adjacent Ocean View area were annexed by the independent City of Norfolk in 1923. (Virginia has had an independent city political subdivisions since 1871).

Aircraft flight makes history

In 1910, Eugene Ely made aviation history when he successfully launched his Curtiss biplane from the deck of the cruiser U.S.S. Birmingham and landed on the beach at Willoughby Spit.

See Also

• Sewell's Point
• Ocean View
• City of Norfolk
• Norfolk County

External Links

• Ocean View Nickel Tour website