1968 Map of Exmore

About this map

The agricultural and maritime landscape of Virginia's Eastern Shore is captured here at a time when the Penn Central railroad served as the spine of local commerce. Centered on the boundary between Accomack and Northampton counties, the map reveals a network of small settlements and crossroad hamlets like Painter, Belle Haven, and Exmore. The prominence of the Virginia Truck Experimental Station underscores the region's historical reliance on specialized truck farming. Along the coast, the transition from upland fields to the salt marshes of Fairview Neck and Bell Neck is marked by tidal inlets such as Occohannock Creek and Nandua Creek. These waters, leading to the Machipongo River and Upshur Bay, supported the seafood economy centered at Willis Wharf, where docks and wharves met the inland rail lines.