Truckin' on the Western Branch

But for those who can still taste the tenderness of Mr. Quick’s puffs, Vance shares this secret—“Only smaller Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits (in the tube) will work. Deep-fry them for only five minutes. They’ll finish cooking when you pull them out.”

Vance, who lives in Western Branch, carries on some of the family tradition. She is a singer and an Emmy-nominated makeup artist.

The first lightship in the United States was stationed off Craney Island? According to the Chesapeake Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society, Lightship “C” served there from July 15, 1820, to 1859. The lightship was originally placed at Willoughby Spit before being moved to Craney Island and was then replaced by the screwpile Craney Island Lighthouse. In 1884 a new hexagonal lighthouse took over the duty and served until 1936. Today, only a signal buoy marks the spot once occupied by the Craney Island Light. A Churchland fisherman towed the Lightship Portsmouth to the Portsmouth waterfront?

Julian A. (Tony) Pennello , a Churchland resident, was a commercial fisherman who worked the New England waters. He agreed to Major Frank Kirby’s request, on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, to tow the decommissioned lightship from Portland, Maine, to Virginia using his fishing vessel, the Anthony Anne . Two days into the trip, Pennello and the boats were threatened by the approaching Hurricane Dora. Pennello diverted to a shortcut through the treacherous Nantucket Shoals, saving enough time to beat the hurricane and arrive safely in Portsmouth on September 7, 1964. The origin of the name Churchland? Although we can only guess at their reasoning, local records indicate that John S. Wise, John Bidgood, and John S. Wright, all local farmers, chose the name Churchland for the establishment of the Churchland Post Office in 1853. The origin of Wise Beach? A small neighborhood of about 50 homes sits along the river shore just off Hatton Point Road. Developed in the 1950s, the houses sit between the wide lawns of a few now remodeled summer cottages along the riverfront. Local lore says that in the 1920s and 1930s an amusement area and swimming beach flourished there. Wise is a familiar name in Churchland—including John Stewart Wise, who farmed the Wise Beach area in the 1800s. The origin of the name Tyre Neck?

Image by Sheally

One of the most-asked questions about the community still has no confirmed answer, but the best clue lies in the “Historical, Genealogical, and Biographical Account of the Jolliffe Family of Virginia, 1652 to 1893” written by William Jolliff in the early 1900s. Jolliff notes that in 1648 Cornelius Loyd sold 400 acres, deeded to him “by pattent” a decade earlier, to John Tyre, Robert Bowers and Walter Grimes. The 400 acres were situated at the head of the Western Branch of the Elizabeth River in Norfolk County— about the site of Tyre Neck Road.

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