29 Jan 23:
January has not been slow for us, but maybe a little slow on the small boat news. We have had fun this month exploring Smithfield, Virginia and learning more about its seaport heritage. We have created a companion blog to document the maritime history of the area through analysis of physical artifacts and recorded personal histories.
Prior to the Jamestown Expeditions the local waters were inhabited by the First People. The Native Americans knew this area as Warascoyak, also spelled Warrosquoyacke, meaning "point of land." from 1624 until the mid 1900s, Hampton Roads, the James and Pagan Rivers and numerous creeks created access to the thriving seaport of Smithfield, until roads became the preferred method of transportation.
A disastrous fire in 1921 destroyed the warehouse waterfront. Driving through modern day Smithfield it may be hard to imagine the hustle and bustle of the waterfront from centuries ago, when large schooners brought in trade items from other Colonial and European seaports, then departed with cargo holds full of lumber, ham, peanuts, produce and other materials. Many inhabitants of the town were mariners in those times or dealt in the maritime trades, but very few today practice that trade today.
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