Reedville: The town that fish built

Reedville, Virginia lies, literally, at the end of the road. Route 360, which winds the length of Northumberland County, turns into Main Street, passes beautiful Victorian homes and white picket fences, before ending at Cockrell’s Creek.

While much of the Northern Neck was settled in the 17th Century, the area that is today Reedville remained undeveloped well into the 18th Century. Then, in 1867 a New York sea captain, Elijah Reed, sailed up the Chesapeake in search of menhaden, a fish harvested for many commercial applications. Dropping anchor in Cockrell’s Creek, he established Reedville as his base, and the community thrived, along with the booming menhaden industry.

Bob Lunsford grew up on Main Street in Reedville and still lives in his boyhood home. He remembers a simpler time, when the street was filled with boys and girls his age, and Reedville still was a center of the menhaden industry.

“We had five or six plants when I was a child, and the boats were always coming in with their catch. It was an exciting place,” Bob said.

There was always something to do in Reedville. Megill’s Store sold fruits, vegetables and meats, as well as school supplies. It was a great place for a kid to hang out.

“You could get a Nehi for a nickel and some ginger snaps for another nickel and call it lunch,” Bob said.

Until the 1930s, steamboats that traversed the bay and its tributaries provided the principle means of transportation, especially for waterfront communities like Reedville. Bob says he can vaguely remember standing on the Reedville Steamboat Wharf watching his grandmother return to Baltimore aboard just a steamship.

Today, Reedville retains its Victorian charm but is less dependent on the menhaden industry, though the remaining plant, Omega Protein, is the area’s largest employer. But the fishing influence continues to define the community, centered in the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum.

The museum, which sits on Main Street, offers exhibits and activities that explore the region’s fishing heritage. It’s mission is “acquiring, documenting and displaying materials that are historically important to the areas fisheries and the lives of the watermen, and to further educational programs to interpret this maritime heritage.”

In carrying out its mission, it draws together many residents of Reedville and lower Northumberland County, who volunteer and socialize at the museum.

Reedville is also a favorite destination for people visiting the Northern Neck, with three popular bed and breakfast establishments. During the height of the season, lodging can be hard to come by, so the proprietors of the local B&Bs try to work with one another to help visitors find a place to stay.

“The three B&Bs in Reedville are all beautiful homes, and each has something special to offer its guests,” said Chris Mills, who, with his wife Sandy, owns and operates the Grandview Bed & Breakfast on the Great Wicomico.

The Grandview, as its name implies, offers a water view from every room and is fully handicap accessible.

The Gables, on Main Street in Reedville, is one of those grand homes built by a sea captain, back during the heyday of Reedville’s fishing industry. It also offers lodging in its carriage house.

Fleeting Fields is a beautiful brick Cape Code with views of Chesapeake Bay.

While there are two fine restaurants in Reedville, the community is not the commercial center it once was. However, the Victorian charm remains, and if anything, has been enhanced by the painstaking restorations that have occurred over the last few years.

Reedville today offers security, peace, and quiet – a great place for kids to play and friends to visit. For Reedville residents, being at the end of the road is a very good thing.