Virginia’s Cape Charles celebrates Independence Day
July 2025
The annual Fourth of July parade in Cape Charles, Va., is something residents look forward to all year. (courtesy Sea-EO.com)
by Gregg MacDonald, Staff Writer
In 1880, Cape Charles, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, consisted mainly of wetlands and a few farms. But that soon changed.
According to the town’s website, in 1882, U.S. Rep. William L. Scott and Pennsylvania Railroad engineer Alexander Cassatt conceived the idea to extend the railroad line 65 miles south from Pocomoke City, Md., to the Chesapeake Bay, allowing goods to then be transported by ship to Norfolk.
By 1885, the railroad extension was in place, and a series of passenger steamers and railroad freight barges were routinely making the 36-mile trip across the Chesapeake Bay. In 1886, the Municipal Corp. of Cape Charles was established.
Today, Cape Charles is a vibrant community that lives in the present but also celebrates its storied past. In 1991, the town’s entire historic district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
At least three nationally known celebrities grew up in the small community of about 1,200 residents. Roxie Joynes Campanella, the third wife of baseball star Roy Campanella, was a nurse, a showgirl and a philanthropist who was born there in 1916. Singer and actress Conny Van Dyke, who died in 2023, was also from Cape Charles; as was Johnny Sample, former defensive back for the New York Jets who won three league championships in the 1960s.
This month, Cape Charles will host its much-anticipated annual Independence Day celebration. “As always, we promise a small town, family-friendly gathering that all will enjoy,” says Pam Endlein, the town’s event coordinator. “I personally attended my first Fourth of July event here in 2017, and that celebration was a deciding factor in [my family’s] decision to live in this area. We bought [a home] here two years later.”
This year’s festivities will include a parade featuring golf carts, first responders’ vehicles and tractors. After the parade, a street fair takes place on Bay Avenue with over 60 artisans and food vendors. There will be free face painting for children, a cornhole tournament, a water misting tent, and a basketball tournament for teens. The Historic Palace movie theatre will be showing a summer favorite, The Sandlot, at 2 p.m. Live music and a DJ will be featured at the Gazebo on Bay Avenue from 11:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., followed by fireworks over the Chesapeake Bay at sunset.
For more information, visit baycreeklife.com/july_4_ultimate_guide.