Smith Island, Virginia facts for kids

Smith Island is a cool place off the coast of Virginia, near a town called Cape Charles. It's one of the many barrier islands that protect the mainland.

This island got its name from Captain John Smith, a famous explorer who visited it way back in 1608. A few years later, in 1614, Governor Thomas Dale sent people to the island. Their job was to make salt by boiling ocean water and to catch fish for the early colonists. They set up their salt-making operation right on Smith Island!

Island History: From Pirates to Parks

Smith Island has a long and interesting past, from famous pirates to important families and even a lighthouse.

Blackbeard's Secret Hideout

Did you know that the famous pirate Blackbeard (whose real name was Edward Teach) sometimes used Smith Island? He would stop there to clean and repair his ships. Even today, a creek and a cove on the island are named after him! Blackbeard found good places to look for treasure near the Virginia Capes. For example, in 1717, he and another captain captured a ship called the Betty near Cape Charles. They took its cargo of Madeira wine and other valuable items.

The Custis Family and Robert E. Lee

For over 200 years, Smith Island belonged to the Custis family of Virginia. It was given to John Custis in 1691. The famous Martha Custis Washington, who was married to George Washington, also owned this barrier island. Later, her great-granddaughter, Mary Custis, owned it. Mary's husband was Robert E. Lee, a well-known general.

In 1832, Robert E. Lee visited Smith Island. He was stationed nearby at Fort Monroe with the United States Army. He wrote about what he saw on the island.

Lee's Island Description

Lee wrote that Smith Island was "nearer the level of the sea than I expected to find it." He said the island had "ridges and glades" (like small hills and flat, open areas) running from north to south. He found that the flat areas had "rich" soil with "fine grass." The ridges had a lot of sand and were covered with pine trees.

When Lee visited, four families lived on the island as tenant farmers. He wrote that each family had "30 to 40 head of cattle." He also guessed there were about 150 wild cattle and 100 wild sheep roaming freely on the island!

Smith Island stayed with the Custis-Lee family until 1911. People continued to graze cattle there until the mid-1920s. Later, in the mid-1900s, it became a club for hunting waterfowl (like ducks and geese).

The Cape Charles Lighthouse

The Cape Charles Lighthouse stands on Smith Island. The lighthouse you see today is a tall, steel tower. It's actually the third lighthouse built on the island! The first two were lost because the shoreline kept eroding, and the island slowly moved westward.

Smith Island has been uninhabited since 1963. That's when the Cape Charles lighthouse became automated, meaning keepers were no longer needed to live there. The old house where the head lighthouse keeper lived, built in 1895, was on the island until it was destroyed by a brush fire in 2000. Three steel watchtowers, built by the US Army during World War II, are still standing near the lighthouse.

Since 1995, Smith Island has been owned by The Nature Conservancy. This group works to protect natural places. The US Coast Guard stopped using the Cape Charles light in 2019, but the lighthouse is still there. It's the second tallest lighthouse in the United States!