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 ...

of Chesapeake, Virginia (formerly Norfolk County) in the United States. It is located in the South Hampton Roads region and consists of generally low-lying sandy terrain of the

coastal plain A coastal plain (also coastal plains, coastal lowland, coastal lowlands) is an area of flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and an upland area. Formation Coastal plains can f ...

. 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 language, 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 ...

of Chesapeake.

History

In the 1970s and early 1980s, many of the residents lived in Western Branch because of either the

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

plant located in

Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of 2020, the population was 94,324. It is the List of cities in Virginia, 10th-most populous city in Virginia, the largest city in Virginia by bou ...

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

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

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. Throughout the 21st century, 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 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. Western Branch is bordered by

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

to the east and northeast,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

to the west and northwest, and the borough of Bowers Hill to the south.

Transportation

Two highways are convenient for Western Branch residents; I-664, 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 o ...

, cuts right through the center of Western Branch and takes residents north and south. Taking I-664 south allows residents to get on I-64, to head towards southern Chesapeake, and I-264, to head towards

, and to

and

by taking the Downtown Tunnel. 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.

Education

Its only high school is Western Branch High School, operated by Chesapeake Public Schools 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 ...

. The school's sports teams are named the "Western Branch Bruins." Historically, nearby Churchland High School in Portsmouth has been the school's closest rival. Nansemond River High School 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.

References

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