Walking Tour of Chincoteague

Map of Downtown Chincoteague

Chincoteague Chamber of Commerce

1. Firehouse (4028 Main St.)

The original firehouse was a wooden structure on Cleveland Street built around 1925. Ebe Jones was the first fire chief. The current structure was built in 1934 and enlarged in 1957. The wooden eagle above the garage doors was carved in the 1890s and first mounted on the Red Men's Lodge previously located at the site of the current Post Office.

2. Old Town Jail (6287 Cropper St.)

This building was built around 1927 after a fire in the old wooden jail on Mumford Street killed one and injured another. This "modern" structure served as the Town Jail into the 1960s.

3. Cropper House (4034 Main St.)

William F.R. Cropper built this house in 1875. John B. Whealton, Jr. occupied the house in 1919 when he built the toll road to Chincoteague. Today the house is Mueller's Ice Cream Parlor.

4. Brasure Building (4039 Main St.)

The building includes part of John A.M. Whealton's home built in 1861. Whealton is said to have introduced the "cultivation" of oysters in 1864. He led the effort to keep Chincoteague with the Union during the Civil War and erected a flag pole over 100 feet high with a Union flag that could be seen on the mainland.

5. Chincoteague Channel Draw Bridge

The original bridge was built in 1921-22. The bridge and road were originally a privately owned toll road which was later taken over by the state. When dignitaries came to the opening of the bridge, their cars became stuck in mud on the road and many were stranded on the island for days.

6. Watson Brothers Building (4065 Main St.)

Originally Watson's Ice Cream Parlor, the building later housed a restaurant, pool hall, real estate office, and retail store.

7. Island Theater (4068 Main St.)

Located at the former site of the Atlantic Hotel, the theater was built in 1945 as a movie house. The theater's name is currently the Roxy Theater. The building contains the original decor and sports a period marquis. The theater's more famous predecessor, the Atlantic Hotel, opened in 1876 by Joseph English, was the largest building in town. The property contained a grand lawn that stretched to the waterfront and hosted tourists in the 1800s who travelled to the island by train and steamer from Philadelphia and New York. English's succesful venture collapsed in 1878 when he shot a guest dead who refused to pay his bill. The hotel burned in 1920.

8. Boatman's Bank Building (4073 Main St.)

Erected in 1896, this building later served as a doctor's office, barbershop, and book store.

9. Chincoteague Island Library (4077 Main St.)

Built in 1887, the building was originally the O.M. Jones Drug Store. In 1908, the building became Wallace "Tig" Jester's Barber Shop. For 75 years, Tig offered a shave, haircut, and a gathering place for Island men. In 1983, the Citizens' League purchased the building and moved it to its present location. The new addition completed in 2009 is modeled after the Caulk House (1860) which served as a Customs House.

10. Robert Reed, Jr. Downtown Park

The current park is located on the site of the Wharf. Ferries and mail boats carried passengers, mail, and freight from the Wharf to and from Franklin City and Wishart's Point. The 1962 Ash Wednesday Storm destroyed several stores that were later built on this site. The current park was established in 2004.

11. Old Powell Opera House and Theater (4098 Main St.)

Built in 1909 by James T. Powell, this building was the first movie theater on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The theater had a Steinway player piano for silent movies and the facility served as the site of live entertainment. The building was converted into a downtown mall in later years and today houses several merchants and offices.

12. Bank of Chincoteague (4102 Main St.)

This structure was built in 1925 at the site of the first downtown fire. The bank was established in 1909 and served the community well into the 20th Century.

13. Accomack Masonic Lodge (4108 Main St.)

The lodge was established in 1892 and the building erected at this address in 1921. A corner stone may be found on the south corner of the building. Masons remain active on the island to the present. The building currently houses a store.

14. Marine Bank (4116 Main St.)

Built in 1918, the building burned in the 1920 fire that destroyed much of the east side of the downtown area but it was repaired and reopened. The bank merged with the Bank of Chincoteague in 1932. Today it houses a retail store.

15. Christ United Methodist Church (6253 Church St.)

Erected in 1922 as the Methodist Episcopal Church, the church merged with the Methodist Protestant Church to become Christ Methodist Church in 1939. It is built of Pennsylvania stone, which was shippd by railroad and boat to Chincoteague where it was carried by wheel barrow from the dock to the building site.

16. Methodist Episcopal Church (6254 Church St.)

This original wood structure was built in 1886 and currently houses the United Methodist Women's Opportunity Shop to provide affordable items to the community.

17. Methodist Protestant Church (6288 Church St.)

This structure was originally erected in 1888 as the house of worship for the Methodist Protestant Church and later served as the Sanctified Church. A corner stone preserves the history on the lower right corner of the foundation.

18. Union Baptist Church (6365 Church St.)

The congregation was established on the Island in 1841 and built this Lone Ntope structure in 1898. Prior to 1841, Methodists and Baptists are said to have shared one worship service, thus the "Union" in the name of the church. Notably, the original structure had only one spire on the right side of the front of the building. When the second spire was built in the 20th Century, the contractor is said to have intentionally built it larger than the first.

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