E8 : Road Trip in Hampton Roads: Uncovering the Origins of Geographical Names

Title: Languaging in Hampton Roads

Episode 8 : Road Trip in Hampton Roads: Uncovering the Origins of Geographical Names

Hosts: Jill Winkowski and Prue Salasky

Date: Sept. 5, 2024

Length: 31:45 min

Publication Frequency: Fourth Friday (approx)  of each month

Co-hosts Jill Winkowski and Prue Salasky take a road trip to the far corners of Hampton Roads in S.E. Va. They’re in search of the provenance of the names, Elephant’s Fork in Suffolk, Cuffeytown in Chesapeake, and Chic’s Beach in Virginia Beach, and what those names tell us about the history and culture of the region. 

The duo talk about toponymy, or the study of place names, and semiotics, the study of signs, and how those disciplines apply to their discoveries. 

They share the rules and regulations involved in the official naming process.

At the state level there’s the Virginia Board on Geographic Names: Senior Map Archivist, Library of Virginia, 800 East Broad St. Richmond, Va. 23219; 804-692-3617; [e-mail].

Nationally, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, BGN, was fully established in 1947; its naming conventions include allowing only 5 places nationwide to have names that include an apostrophe (Martha’s Vineyard is one of them). The BGN works closely with state, tribal and local governments, as well as the general public.

At Elephant’s Fork the duo uncover a community recognition of the name but no understanding of how it came to be; subsequent research, including the use of the free digitized archive of Virginia newspapers, virginiachronicle.com, unearthed its origin in a giant tin elephant used to advertise the emporium of one H.J. Bowen in 1903.  Stories attached to the name included that of Mary Chapman, as recorded in Tidewater Voices,  https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/tidewatervoices, an ongoing digital archive project of Old Dominion University in Norfolk; and that of Angelo Scott, a current Suffolk resident, who recounted his perceived experience of abrupt integration as a 2nd-grader in 1971.

At Cuffeytown, a historic community in Chesapeake founded by free blacks in the 1700 they recount their difficulties in finding the historic Cuffeytown cemetery, the final resting place for the Cuffeytown 13. These were Civil War veterans who fought for the Union. Crops at peak growth prevented their access. They did visit the AME Zion Church, founded in 1866, and learned there the identities of the 13 veterans, almost half of them Cuffeys. (See the below list) 

5th USCT 

Pvt. Walter Smith, Co. I

10th USCT

Sgt. William Coffey, Co. G

Pvt. Bluet Cuffey, Co. H

Corp. Emerson Cuffey, Co. G

Pvt. Lemuel Cuffey, Co. F

Sgt. Wilson Cuffey, Co. H

Sgt. William Cuffey, Co. F

Corp. William Sevils, Co. H

Pvtd. Cornelius Smith, Co. F

Pvt. James W. Smith, Co. F

Pvt. Samuel Smith, Co. H

Pvt. John Whitehurst, Co. H

36th USCT

Sgt. Thomas Van, Co. C

From there the intrepid pair took the back roads to Chic’s Beach in Virginia Beach, whose recorded history dates back to Native Americans and then the earliest European settlers, but whose current nickname harks back to the mid-20th century. The bayfront neighborhood, officially called Chesapeake Beach, saw a flurry of real estate dealings in the early part of the 20th century and was built out by the 1960s. Local lore attributes the nickname that stuck, Chic’s Beach, to one Luther ‘Chic’ Ledington who operated a hot dog stand in a beachfront building until 1967. 

There’s so much to learn from the names we see around us daily! Send feedback and questions to [e-mail].