When Princess Anne County and the oceanfront community of Virginia Beach merged in 1963 to become the city of Virginia Beach, the combined land mass prompted adoption of the new motto "World's Largest Resort City." Yet in the mid-nineteenth century Princess Anne was described as the least well known, least visited county in Virginia, and her population at the outset of World War II, including Virginia Beach, was just twenty thousand persons. During the four subsequent decades enough new residents settled in the area to make Virginia Beach the most populous city in Virginia by the mid 1980s.

Such dramatic growth has obscured much of the city's heritage, which can be traced back to the landing of the Jamestown settlers at Cape Henry on 1607, and to Indian habitation centuries before that. With over 330 photographs, maps, and sketches this volume offers a glimpse into the activities of generations of Princess Anne farmers, church-goers and school children as well as the early days of the Virginia Beach resort community. Illustrations of military activities beginning with the American Revolution reflect Princess Anne's location on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The book provides both a record of the many architectural treasures which the city can claim from its past a sampling of hos its residents have interacted with events and their distinctive environment over the span of four centuries.