Bay Shore Beach was a beach that existed adjacent to

Buckroe Beach Buckroe Beach is a neighborhood in the independent city of Hampton, Virginia. It lies just north of Fort Monroe on the Chesapeake Bay. One of the oldest recreational areas in the state, it was long located in Elizabeth City County near the downt ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

in the 20th century. It was founded in 1898 by several African-American businessmen. The beach was one of the most popular resort and vacation destinations in the Mid-Atlantic region for African-Americans. In addition to standard beach activities, hotels, and restaurants, Bay Shore also had an amusement park. The beach was in its prime of popularity from 1898 until 1933 when a Hurricane devastated the coast. Both "sides" of the beach, (Bay Shore & Buckroe) were respectively rebuilt, however, Bay Shore may not have been built back to its former heights, although it continued to remain popular. Frank D. Banks, an administrator at

Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association afte ...

, led the effort to develop beachfront property on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

. Head bookkeeper at Hampton Institute, Banks helped organize People's Savings and Loan in 1888. He also helped establish the Hampton Supply Company. Banks formed the Bay Shore Hotel Company with a group of local leaders that included John Mallory Phillips and Robert Moton. Phillips operated a seafood business on the

Hampton River The Hampton River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tidal estuary which empties into Hampton Roads near its mouth. Hampton Roads in turn empties into th ...

. Moton also was an administrator at Hampton Institute. After the hurricane, Charles H. Williams led the effort to redevelop the property. Williams was a co-founder of the Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association, now known as the

Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. CIAA institutions mostly consist of historically black coll ...

, and also was chair of Hampton Institute's Department of Physical Education. Another key figure in the rebuilding effort was Lawrence Barbour, a Hampton graduate who was an executive at People's Building and Loan Association. Williams served as president of the New Bay Shore Hotel Corporation and managed the property for many years. He later served as vice president of the Nationwide Hotel Association. The beginnings of desegregation can be correlated to the decline in Bay Shore's popularity. This parallel is evident with other historically "black", "negro", or "colored" beaches around the nation such as

American Beach American Beach is a historic beach community in northeastern Florida once popular with African-American vacationers. It is located north of Jacksonville on Amelia Island in Nassau County. During the time of segregation and the Jim Crow era, Afri ...

of Florida, and

Bruce's Beach Bruce's Beach was an African-American beach resort at Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles County, California. The property, which was located at 26th Street and Highland Avenue, was owned and operated by Charles and Willa Bruce for the benefit of t ...

of Los Angeles ( Manhattan Beach). Bay Shore beach ceased to exist by the early 1970s. Buckroe Beach, its white counterpart, continues to exist although its golden era ended with the upstart of Virginia Beach located in the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Currently, the property that was once Bay Shore Beach has been privately developed to various degrees by developers.

References

Citations

Bibliography

"Black American Series: Hampton, Virginia". Colita Nichols Fairfax."
*"Buckroe Yesterday’s Beach". August 1995 article in a publication (magazine or possibly a travel journal) titled, “Richmond”.

External links

A Personal Journey to Discover Family History Through Bay Shore Beach
* ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/artsyzeal/sets/72157621764395123/. Historical Photos of Bay Shore Beachbr>Remembering one of the South's premier black seaside resorts1928 Bayshore Hotel Company Advertisement
* ttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Bayshore-Memories/1081995595159312. Bay Shore Memories Facebook pagebr>The Land Was Ours, written by Andrew W. Kahrl

Beaches of Virginia Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commo ...

Bodies of water of Hampton, Virginia {{HamptonVA-geo-stub