Everything about Willoughby Spit totally explained
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's 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 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.
Over the course of the next centuries, general westward movement of sand compounded by massive
erosion created a desperate need for reconstruction project on the long beach of Willoughby Spit and
Ocean View. Homes and businesses routinely were threatened by coastal storms, and recreational use was limited because of the narrow width of the beach.
The City of Norfolk began implementing a beach nourishment construction project, which included the installation of
breakwaters. Since then, the coastline has drastically improved, not only providing more beach for recreation, but providing much needed safety from power of a storm-driven oceans and
hurricanes.
The breakwaters, however, are by no means a permanent fix. After
Hurricane Isabel pounded on the coast of Norfolk in late 2003, Norfolk had to replenish the shore with of sand, costing the city around
$3.8 million. Despite the severe costs of maintaining the coastline, the revenue generated by renewed growth around the area and increased tourism can best be attributed to the newfound attractiveness of the beaches.
The area of water now located between Sewell's Point and Willoughby Spit is known as
Willoughby Bay.
Ferrys, 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 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Willoughby Spit'.
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