What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 4pm Tuesday 10am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm

Cape Charles Museum and Welcome Center

Name: Cape Charles Museum and Welcome Center
Address: P. O. Box 11, 814 Randolph Avenue, Cape Charles, VA, 23310, US
Telephone: (757) 331-1008
Price range: $

Home
United States
Cape Charles, VA
Cape Charles Museum and Welcome Center

The Cape Charles Museum opened in 1996 & operates solely from donations. Consider a membership today. We close from the end of November until April.

As part of its mission, the Society collects and records memories of older residents and notable events, which can be listened to at the Museum. We welcome donations of documents, artifacts, postcards, etc related to the history of the area. Twice each year the Historical Society holds fundraising events: a Low Country Shrimp Boil on the Saturday of Garden Week, the last weekend in April, and an O

yster Roast on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. COVID caused us to cancel these events in 2020 and we are unsure how it will affect them in 2021. Contact us by email at [email protected] or [email protected] or message us on Facebook. Call the Museum for current information at 757-331-1008 and leave a message. Cape Charles is readily accessible from the Norfolk - Virginia Beach area and from Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore. Take U.S. 13 and follow signs to Cape Charles, about 10 miles north of the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Go west on State Route 184. The Museum is 1.8 miles from the intersection of Rt. 13 and Rt. 184, a tall brick building on the south (left) side of the road as you enter the town, just past the water tower.

08/23/2026

The ’33 Storm

Ninety-three years ago today, August 23, 1933, the storm that would forever be known around here simply as the ’33 Storm came ashore and changed the Eastern Shore forever.

Before storms had names, this one earned a name all its own. North of us, it became known as the Chesapeake–Potomac Hurricane, but here on the Shore, it was—and still is—the storm against which every big storm is measured.

The devastation was phenomenal. It changed Cape Charles, changed the Shore, and brought an end to many activities and traditions that had been part of life here up to that point.

I’ll always remember the ’33 Storm because of the stories my grandmother told me about what they went through. I loved sitting down and listening to her describe the storm, the destruction, and what it was like in the aftermath.

Ninety-three years later, when a big storm approaches, you still hear the same words: “Is this going to be another ’33?”

08/19/2026

🎉 NEVER SEEN. NEVER HEARD OF. THE CAPE CHARLES TRIFECTA! 🎉

We’re kicking off one heck of a weekend in Cape Charles! 🦃🎄🦪

THURSDAY: Thanksgiving kicks things off with family, friends and plenty to be thankful for.

FRIDAY: The Christmas switch gets flipped! 🎄✨ It’s our FIRST FESTIVE FRIDAY of the season, with Cape Charles lighting up for the holidays and shops doing their Christmas thing at night.

SATURDAY: We round out the trifecta with the Cape Charles Museum Oyster Roast! 🦪🔥🎶
Live music, oysters, good food, good friends and the works, more details along with tickets coming soon.

📅 SAVE THE DATE — NOVEMBER 28
🎟️ Tickets: $65

Three days. Three completely different Cape Charles experiences. One unforgettable weekend.

That’s the Cape Charles Trifecta! ❤️

08/13/2026

August 13, 1776 — Eastville, Virginia 250 years ago today.

Can you imagine what it must have felt like?

On August 13, 1776, word finally reached Northampton County that the Continental Congress had declared the thirteen colonies free and independent. Nearly five weeks after the Declaration was adopted in Philadelphia, it was proclaimed from the door of the 1731 courthouse in Eastville.

Imagine standing on that courthouse green, hearing those words for the very first time. No radio. No newspaper. No Facebook. Just the voice of a man reading and sounding like a true Shoreman a document that changed the course of history.

For the people gathered there, this wasn’t history yet.

It was happening right in front of them.
This Saturday Eastville will be celebrating this historic event on the Courthouse Green from 10-2. 🇺🇸

08/07/2026

Today is National Lighthouse Day! On this day in 1789, Congress authorized the construction of the Cape Henry Lighthouse to mark the south entrance to the Chesapeake Bay.

Directly across the bay marking the north entrance stands our own Cape Charles Lighthouse on Smith Island. While it’s the third lighthouse to occupy that island, it’s become an icon of the Eastern Shore. Cape Charles has truly embraced it—you’ll find our water tower made to look like it, a beautiful replica beside The Shanty, and you might even spot it on a beer tap around town.

Lighthouses have been guiding mariners for centuries, but around here they’ve also become a symbol of home. Happy National Lighthouse Day!

08/04/2026

Happy Birthday to the United States Coast Guard!

On this day in 1790, the Revenue Cutter Service was established, laying the foundation for what would eventually become today’s Coast Guard. In 1915, the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U.S. Life-Saving Service, creating the United States Coast Guard we know today.

Pictured is the Cobb Island Coast Guard Station, with the old Life-Saving Station in the foreground. The Cobb Island station served the Eastern Shore faithfully until it closed in 1964. Today, the Cape Charles Coast Guard Station, which opened in the early 1970s, carries on that mission, with its area of responsibility including the seaside waters once covered by the Cobb Island station.

Happy 236th Birthday to all Coast Guard men and women—past and present. Thank you for your service and for standing the watch. Semper Paratus 🛟

08/03/2026

Today in 1854, Congress appropriated $10,000 to build the Cherrystone Lighthouse just south of Cherrystone Creek, which is just southwest of present-day Cape Charles Harbor.

The lighthouse was first lit on January 1, 1858, guiding mariners through the lower Chesapeake Bay and into Cherrystone Creek which is where the ferry departed and arrived from, along with a slew of other watercraft of the time. During the Civil War, it was attacked by Confederate forces before being reestablished by Union troops in 1862 as did the Cape Charles Lighthouse.

In 1918, the original lighthouse was replaced by the caisson-style light that still stands at the site today. But the Lighthouse wasn’t lost to history, it was carefully moved to Maryland, where it became the Choptank River Lighthouse, making it the only known lighthouse in the United States to be relocated and placed back into service as an active lighthouse.

From the original Cherrystone Light to today’s beacon, this piece of Eastern Shore history has quite a story to tell, and so does your museum stop by or join today.

07/29/2026

The first English landing in what is now Virginia technically wasn’t at Cape Henry in 1607—it happened four years earlier on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

On this day in 1603, English explorer Bartholomew Gilbert dropped anchor in the lower Chesapeake Bay while searching for the Lost Colony of Roanoke. He and four crewmen came ashore at what would later become known as Kiptopeke or Cape Charles or somewhere along Virginia’s lower Eastern Shore. Exactly where remains a mystery. None of these places had yet been named or explored by Europeans.

Tragically, Gilbert and his men were killed in an encounter with Native inhabitants.

The significance of that landing is still remembered today. Look at the seal of Northampton County, and you’ll see the date 1603 proudly displayed at the top, commemorating this historic event.

It’s a fascinating reminder that the Eastern Shore’s place in English colonial history began before Jamestown was ever established in 1607.

07/24/2026

On this day in 1905, the Cape Charles Town Council accepted plans submitted by Conrad Grimmer for a new 25’ × 25’ firehouse, to be built on the site where the Municipal Building—and today’s fire department—still stands. The cost? Not to exceed $1,600! Once completed, all of the town’s firefighting equipment, previously housed in small sheds, was moved into the new firehouse.
It’s amazing how times have changed. These days, $1,600 might just cover a week in Cape Charles! Location can be seen on this 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map at the bottom right.
They moved again to Peach Street for a while before moving back to the corner of Plum and Mason where they still are today. Support your local Fire Departments they have been supporting you for a long time.

07/22/2026

On This Day in Cape Charles History – July 22, 1936

Ninety years ago today, tragedy struck just outside Cape Charles when local farmer Curry S. Thomas was killed after opening what appeared to be a wedding gift that had arrived through the mail. The package contained a bomb that exploded instantly, also seriously injuring his new wife, Elsie.

The shocking crime made national headlines and became one of the most infamous mail bomb investigations in American history. Today, we remember Curry S. Thomas and this remarkable chapter in Cape Charles history that reminds us even our quiet town has stories that reached far beyond the Eastern Shore.

07/17/2026

We would like to thank Virginia American Water for their generous donation. We are especially grateful to have such wonderful neighbors supporting our mission to preserve and share the history of our town. As a museum operated entirely by a 100% volunteer staff, every donation makes a real difference. We promise to put this generous donation to good use as we continue serving our town and preserving our local heritage for future generations.
Thank you, American Water, for your support and for being great neighbors. 🇺🇸💧

Address

P. O. Box 11, 814 Randolph Avenue
Cape Charles, VA
23310

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Tuesday	10am - 4pm
Wednesday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

(757) 331-1008

Website

http://capecharlesmuseum.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Cape Charles Museum and Welcome Center posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to Cape Charles Museum and Welcome Center:

Want your museum to be the top-listed Museum in Cape Charles?