Where History Meets the Sea - Photographing Fort Story
During the Saltwater Retreat, our visit to Fort Story offered a unique opportunity to photograph where history meets the sea. This stretch of coastline at Cape Henry in Virginia Beach holds a significant place in history as the site where English colonists first landed in 1607 before moving on to establish Jamestown.
Standing just 350 feet apart at the gateway to the Chesapeake Bay, the Cape Henry lighthouses represent two distinct eras of American history. The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, completed in 1792, holds the title of the first federal construction project authorized under the U.S. Constitution. Standing in sharp contrast to its older brother is the New Cape Henry Lighthouse, which was completed in 1881. Rising 157 feet, it is the tallest cast-iron, fully enclosed lighthouse in the United States. While the lighthouse was fully automated in 1984, it continues to serve as an active aid to navigation operated by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Sheltered from the salt spray of shore sits St. Teresa’s Chapel. Often referred to as the St. Teresa’s by the Sea, this Catholic chapel was constructed during the World War II era. Nearby sits the Cape Henry Memorial Cross, a large granite monument that commemorates the original 1607 landing. This site marks where colonists erected a wooden cross and offered a prayer of thanksgiving before continuing their journey up the James River.
Today, as part of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, it remains a active military base on the edge of wide, windswept beaches.
