Back River (Virginia)
Encyclopedia
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
between the independent cities of Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
and Poquoson in the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. Formed by the confluence of the Northwest and Southwest Branches, and at just over two miles long, the Back River is a breeding ground for many of the Bay's prized sport fish and the well known blue crab. The river was once part of an important fishing area that provided the local canneries with the famous Chesapeake seafood that was, and still is in demand throughout the country. Although now used primarily for recreation and as a wildlife refuge, the river remains a great place to spend an afternoon with a fishing rod or a few crab traps. Factory Point, a peninsula that protects the river from the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
sits at the mouth of the river adjoining the bay.
The Southwest Branch begins as Newmarket Creek, a marshy, tidal creek which flows from its headwaters in Newport News into Hampton where it widens greatly and empties into the river.
The Northwest Branch also begins in Newport News as Brick Kiln Creek, and is dammed along the Hampton city and York County
York County, Virginia
York County is a county located on the north side of the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. Situated on the York River and many tributaries, the county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown...
border to form Big Bethel Reservoir. It flows from the reservoir into Poquoson, where it becomes the Northwest Branch.
The Back River Light
Back River Light
The Back River Light was a lighthouse south of the mouth of the Back River on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, several miles north of Fort Monroe near Hampton, Virginia. Plagued by erosion for most of its existence, it was destroyed in 1956 by Hurricane Flossy.- History :This light was...
station, or Grandview Light, formerly stood on a windswept beach at the mouth of the river. Built in 1829 by Winslow Lewis at a cost of $4,250, the thirty-foot brick tower displayed its light until 1915, when it was automated and the keepers removed. In 1936, the station was decommissioned and left open to the elements and vandals. Hurricane Flossy in 1956 delivered the final blow, and toppled the tower. All that can be seen today is a pile of debris just off the beach.
