A Look Back – Kiptopeke State Park Celebrates 30 Years
What do a potato barn, bird banding, ghost ships, fishing, and a ferry have in common? Kiptopeke State Park, of course! While Kiptopeke is celebrating 30 years as a Virginia State Park, the history goes back for centuries.
The name Kiptopeke means “Big Water” in the Algonquian language, but was also the name of the younger brother of Esmy Shichan, the Accomac chief. “The Accomac tribe occupied the southern part of the Eastern Shore in what is now Northampton County when the English arrived in 1607. The Occohannocks lived further north, in what is now Accomack (Accomac) County. The leader of the Accomacs, Esmy Shichan, appointed his brother Kiptopeke to rule as werowance over the Occohannocks,” noted Helen C. Rountree in her book, Pocahontas's People: The Powhatan Indians of Virginia through Four Centuries.
To create the park, the Commonwealth of Virginia purchased the parcel of land that was the former ferry landing at Kiptopeke Beach. The ferry provided transportation to and from the Eastern Shore prior to the completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Kiptopeke State Park opened on Memorial Day 1992 as Virginia’s only state park on the Eastern Shore.
Over time, more land was acquired at the south end of the park where Taylor Pond is located. Thanks to existing infrastructure built by the previous owner, the campground and a few trails opened first. Additional hiking and biking trails developed the park into what so many enjoy today. Cabins and lodges also were built on a former farm site that has been reforested with Virginia pines. Two popular park additions made in the late 1990s are the accessible fishing pier, complete with a convenient fish cleaning station, and a motor boat ramp.
Fishing pier
The concrete fleet of “ghost” ships located off the park's waterfront offers some of Virginia's finest fishing. The ships were purchased in 1948 to serve as a breakwater for the ferry pier, helping to create a safer harbor for the ferries. When the ships were seaworthy, they transported goods in the South Pacific during World War II. Currently sunken on the bottom of the bay in 12-18 feet of water, some ships can still be seen from shore. I find it interesting that when the ships were bought, they came with everything in them, including furniture, dinnerware, and ship equipment. Some items made their way to local homes. Rumor has it that ship wheels and furniture can still be found today.
Original source can be found here
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