Onancock, Virginia

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The inviting little town of Onancock, Virginia was founded as Port Scarborough in 1680.  With a population of about 1,500, Onancock is one of the largest towns on Virginia's remote Eastern Shore.  The town of Onancock is wrapped to the north and south by branches of Onancock Creek.  The creek wanders past many old and beautiful waterfront homes for about 4 miles to the Chesapeake Bay.  The town has a small downtown area with a nice variety of shops, galleries, and restaurants.  One of the nicest attractions of this town is the abundance of large Victorian era homes on tree lined streets. 

Hopkins and Brothers Store, one of the oldest general stores on the East Coast, sits on the waterfront next to the town harbor.  The store now houses a restaurant, where you can enjoy a view of the creek with your meal.  An old steamboat ticket office is located next to Hopkins and Brothers.  Onancock once offered daily steamboat passage to Baltimore.  Today, visitors can make the trip from Onancock to Tangier Island aboard the Joyce Marie II.  This new ferry operates from May through September and runs on Tuesday and Thursday through Sunday.  The ferry leaves the Onancock town wharf at 10:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.    The ferry fills up, so reservations are suggested.  The trip to Tangier takes about and hour and a half.  Visit the ferry website for more details.  View a video of Tangier and the Tangier Ferry.

Onancock is a small town, and it's easy to see most to the town on foot.  Stop by the Town Hall at 15 North Street on week days, or the visitor center at the intersection of Market and North Streets for a copy of the Onancock walking tour map.  Or, if you would rather peddle or paddle, Garden Art on King Street has bicycles and kayaks for rent.  The town is wrapped by branches of Onancock Creek, and these protected waterways make for excellent paddling.  Southeast Expeditions offers two hour guided kayak tours of Onancock Creek. 

Visitors to Onancock should be sure to see the Kerr Place House Museum.  Kerr Place, a large federal style mansion built in 1799, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is the home of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society.  Museum tours are available Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm ($4 admission fee).  In addition to the restored mansion itself, the Kerr Place museum offers a collection of watermen's tools, local historic photos, and natural history pieces.  The museum store has a nice selection of local books, art, and gift items.  Before leaving the grounds of Kerr Place, be sure to look under the shed located off to the side of the house to see the remains of an authentic Eastern Shore log canoe that was salvaged from a nearby marsh.

Onancock is the home of North Street Playhouse.  North Street is an accomplished regional theater that offers live theater throughout the year.  The theater is actually located on Market Street, near the intersection with North Street (they started out on North Street - thus the name).  

On weekends, Roseland, the town's old fashioned movie theater, features recent release movies.  It's a great place to see movies on a nice, large screen.  The theater is also home to the Onancock International Film Series, which shows a selection of International films throughout the year.

Over on College Avenue, efforts are under way to convert the old town school building into a cultural center.   An assortment of artists and community groups have made the school their home.  The Dragonfly Gallery, representing a local artist cooperative, and the Eastern Shore Art League Gallery are open on weekend afternoons.  Both offer a very nice selection of local art for sale.  They, and several other studios in the school, also open for the town's Second Fridays events, held the Second Friday of each month.   Visit the Friends of Onancock School website for information on the school renovation project.