Wash Woods, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Wash Woods was an unincorporated town
located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean
in Princess Anne County
in the extreme southeastern corner of Virginia
. The site of the former town is currently located within False Cape State Park
in the Virginia Beach
area.
According to popular legend, the community was developed by survivors of a shipwreck in the 16th or early 17th century. The village’s church and other structures were built using cypress
wood that washed ashore from a shipwreck
. Around the turn of the 20th century, the area was still inhabited. Wash Woods was home to a United States Coast Guard
lifesaving station, a grocery store, two churches, and a school. Three hundred people once lived there, working as fishermen, farmers, hunting guides and manning lifeboats.
Located along the section of ocean known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic
, the tiny town of Wash Woods was subject to the same severe weather conditions which had brought the lumber to shore to build it. By the 1920s the sea had inundated the narrow sliver of sand so often that townspeople began to leave by the 1930s. Subsequently the site became the location of several hunt clubs. Today, the area is a Virginia state park, adjoining the federally managed Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
.
There is still a small cemetery adjacent to the ruins of the Wash Woods church. Vandals demolished the steeple circa 1980. False Cape State Park's Wash Woods Environmental Education Center is a converted hunt club house.
In the mid-1950s, Wash Woods remained a voting precinct consisting of 13 registered voters. On most election days, all of the 13 voters would meet just after midnight and vote. Under Virginia law at that time, when all the voters of any given precinct had voted in person, the precinct could close and report the results of the voting. Since the state at that time was basically a Democratic
state under the guidance of U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
, all of the registered voters of the precinct always voted for the Democratic ticket. The results of the voting at the Wash Woods precinct was reported soon after midnight as a psychological device to promote the Democratic party, whether in local elections or in national elections. In the mid-1960s, during a local election, a group of local Democrats who opposed the local branch of the Byrd organization arranged for two voters to register to vote at the Wash Woods precinct. Those two voters then submitted their votes by mail. Under Virginia law, persons who had voted by mail had a right to report to their precinct on election day, pick up their previously-mailed ballots, and then vote in person. Because these two voters had submitted their ballots by mail, the precinct could not close immediately after midnight on that election day and the psychological advantage previously offered by the precinct was lost. Immediately after that election, elected local officials representing the local branch of the Byrd organization dissolved the Wash Woods precinct and transferred the registered voters of that precinct to a larger adjoining precinct.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in Princess Anne County
Princess Anne County, Virginia
Princess Anne County is a former county which was created in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach...
in the extreme southeastern corner of 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...
. The site of the former town is currently located within False Cape State Park
False Cape State Park
False Cape State Park is a state park in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a mile-wide barrier spit between Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The park adjoins the state border with North Carolina and lies shortly north of Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge...
in the Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
area.
According to popular legend, the community was developed by survivors of a shipwreck in the 16th or early 17th century. The village’s church and other structures were built using cypress
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
wood that washed ashore from a shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
. Around the turn of the 20th century, the area was still inhabited. Wash Woods was home to a United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
lifesaving station, a grocery store, two churches, and a school. Three hundred people once lived there, working as fishermen, farmers, hunting guides and manning lifeboats.
Located along the section of ocean known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic
Graveyard of the Atlantic
Graveyard of the Atlantic is a nickname of two locations known for numerous shipwrecks: the treacherous waters in the Atlantic Ocean along the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Virginia coastline south of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay at Cape Henry; and around Sable Island, off the coast...
, the tiny town of Wash Woods was subject to the same severe weather conditions which had brought the lumber to shore to build it. By the 1920s the sea had inundated the narrow sliver of sand so often that townspeople began to leave by the 1930s. Subsequently the site became the location of several hunt clubs. Today, the area is a Virginia state park, adjoining the federally managed Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Virginia is located in the independent city of Virginia Beach. Established in 1938 in isolated portion of Princess Anne County, it is managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service....
.
There is still a small cemetery adjacent to the ruins of the Wash Woods church. Vandals demolished the steeple circa 1980. False Cape State Park's Wash Woods Environmental Education Center is a converted hunt club house.
In the mid-1950s, Wash Woods remained a voting precinct consisting of 13 registered voters. On most election days, all of the 13 voters would meet just after midnight and vote. Under Virginia law at that time, when all the voters of any given precinct had voted in person, the precinct could close and report the results of the voting. Since the state at that time was basically a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
state under the guidance of U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
Harry F. Byrd, Jr.
Harry Flood Byrd, Jr. is a retired American politician. He represented Virginia in the United States Senate from 1965 to 1983. He is most notable for leaving the Democratic Party in 1970 and becoming an Independent, although he continued to caucus with the Democrats. He is the son of Harry F....
, all of the registered voters of the precinct always voted for the Democratic ticket. The results of the voting at the Wash Woods precinct was reported soon after midnight as a psychological device to promote the Democratic party, whether in local elections or in national elections. In the mid-1960s, during a local election, a group of local Democrats who opposed the local branch of the Byrd organization arranged for two voters to register to vote at the Wash Woods precinct. Those two voters then submitted their votes by mail. Under Virginia law, persons who had voted by mail had a right to report to their precinct on election day, pick up their previously-mailed ballots, and then vote in person. Because these two voters had submitted their ballots by mail, the precinct could not close immediately after midnight on that election day and the psychological advantage previously offered by the precinct was lost. Immediately after that election, elected local officials representing the local branch of the Byrd organization dissolved the Wash Woods precinct and transferred the registered voters of that precinct to a larger adjoining precinct.
See also
- False Cape State ParkFalse Cape State ParkFalse Cape State Park is a state park in the independent city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a mile-wide barrier spit between Back Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The park adjoins the state border with North Carolina and lies shortly north of Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge...
- Back Bay National Wildlife RefugeBack Bay National Wildlife RefugeBack Bay National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Virginia is located in the independent city of Virginia Beach. Established in 1938 in isolated portion of Princess Anne County, it is managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service....
- Lost counties, cities, and towns of VirginiaLost counties, cities, and towns of VirginiaLost counties, cities, and towns of Virginia are those that existed within the English Colony of Virginia or, after statehood, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and no longer retain the same form within its boundaries. The settlements, towns, and administrative units discussed here ceased to exist in a...
External links
- Waterland Farm website with photos of remains of Wash Woods
- False Cape State Park
- Museumsusa.org, False Cape State Park web page