Western Branch is a community located in the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

(formerly Norfolk County) in the United States. It is located in the

South Hampton Roads South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA (Metropolitan St ...

region and consists of generally low-lying sandy terrain of the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

. Its namesake, the western branch of the Elizabeth River, defines the area's eastern boundary. Western Branch is the northernmost

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

of Chesapeake.

History

In the 1970s and early 80s, many of the residents lived in Western Branch because of either the

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

plant located in

Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and as such has no county. As of the 2020 census, the population was 94,324. It is the 9th most populous city in Virginia and the largest city in Virginia by boundary land area as ...

or because they were military families trying to live outside the busy

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

areas. As the GE plant shut down in the mid 1980s, many residents were left jobless, although many new opportunities opened up with the growth of business and industry in the area.

Today

In modern times, Western Branch is an almost exclusively residential area, with the exception of an area around the intersection of Taylor Road and Portsmouth Boulevard consisting of a Wal-Mart Supercenter, several small strip malls, and one enclosed mall,

Chesapeake Square Mall Chesapeake Square is a regional mall in Chesapeake, Virginia, in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The mall has approximately 70 stores, three anchors ( Burlington, Cinemark Theatres, and Target), several eateries at the mall's food court incl ...

which has become undersized relative to the rapid growth of the area since about 2001. Most residents commute to either

, or north across the harbor to the

Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...

. Western Branch is bordered by

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

to the east and northeast,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

to the west and northwest, and the borough of

Bowers Hill Bower's Hill is a community located in the independent city of Chesapeake, Virginia (formerly Norfolk County, Virginia, Norfolk County) in the United States. It is located in the South Hampton Roads region at the northeastern edge of the Great Di ...

to the south. Its only high school is

Western Branch High School Western Branch High School is a suburban high school in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. Established in 1968, it currently has over 2200 students. The two feeder schools of WBHS are Joliff Middle School and Western Branch Middle School. After it was det ...

, operated by

Chesapeake Public Schools Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS), also known as Chesapeake City Public Schools, is the school division that administers public education in the United States city of Chesapeake, Virginia. The Superintendent is Dr. Jared A. Cotton. On July 27, 2020, ...

which also serves the residents of

Bower's Hill Bower's Hill is a community located in the independent city of Chesapeake, Virginia (formerly Norfolk County) in the United States. It is located in the South Hampton Roads region at the northeastern edge of the Great Dismal Swamp, an area consi ...

. The school's sports teams are named the "Western Branch Bruins." Historically, nearby

Churchland High School Churchland High School is a public high school in Portsmouth, Virginia in the United States. It is administered by Portsmouth Public Schools. The school colors are black and orange. The mascot is a "Trucker". Churchland is designated as a magn ...

in Portsmouth has been the school's closest rival.

Nansemond River High School Nansemond River High School is a public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the ...

is one of Western Branch's newest rivalries, due to their classification in the Southeastern District and the social media trash talking that is persisted by the student sections Twitter accounts.

Highways

Two highways are convenient for Western Branch residents;

I-664 Interstate 664 (I-664) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the US state of Virginia. The Interstate runs from Interstate 64 in Virginia, I-64 and Interstate 264 (Virginia), I-264 in Chesapeake, Virginia, Chesapeake north to I-64 in Hamp ...

, part of the

Hampton Roads Beltway The Hampton Roads Beltway is a loop of Interstate 64 and Interstate 664, which links the communities of the Virginia Peninsula and South Hampton Roads which surround the body of water known as Hampton Roads and comprise much of the region of the ...

, cuts right through the center of Western Branch and takes residents north and south. Taking

south allows residents to get on

I-64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

, to head towards southern

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

, and

I-264 Interstate 264 is the designation for two Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 64: *Interstate 264 (Kentucky), a bypass of Louisville, Kentucky *Interstate 264 (Virginia) Interstate 264 (I-264) i ...

, to head towards

, and to

and

by taking the

Downtown Tunnel The Downtown Tunnel on Interstate 264 (I-264) and U.S. Route 460 Alternate (US 460 Alt.) crosses the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River in the South Hampton Roads area of Virginia, US. It links the independent City of Ports ...

. At the northern boundary of the city, State Route 164 heads into the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area by taking a route through Portsmouth to the Midtown Tunnel.

References

Boroughs of Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake, Virginia communities {{ChesapeakeVA-geo-stub

History

Today

Highways

See also

References