Ferry Plantation House by Casey Holtzinger
Early American settles recognized the Lynnhaven River, one of Virginia Beach’s spectacular natural resources, as an important resource for food, water and transportation. As a result, the Bayside area of the city has a number of historic sites along the river, some dating back to the sixteen and seventeen hundreds. One recent afternoon, I mapped out a five-mile walk that allowed me to see three historic sites I had never seen before. I started the walk from the parking lot at the Pembroke Meadows Wayside, a peaceful park on the water’s edge at the end of Pembroke Boulevard. (For a map of the area, search for Pembroke Meadows Wayside, Virginia Beach on MapQuest). At the far end of the small park, a paved walking path traverses a marsh and lets out on Cheswick Lane, just down the street from the Ferry Plantation House. Built in 1830, this ten-room brick house faces the Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River, and in its heyday, provided lodging and food to travelers on the river.
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