Buckroe Beach, Hampton, Virginia

In 1619, the "Buck Roe" Plantation was designated for public use for the newly arrived English settlers of the Virginia Company of London.

At the urging of community leader Harrison Phoebus, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway built by Collis Huntington extended its tracks to the area in 1882.

In 1897, a local entrepreneur extended his electric trolley car line to Buckroe, opened a hotel, a pavilion for dancing and an amusement park.

The amusement park and adjacent public beach were popular destinations for social outings in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.

Due to declining revenue because of competition from Busch Gardens Williamsburg and the developments in air conditioning the amusement park closed in 1985 and was torn down in 1991, however, the Buckroe Beach Carousel and its Bruder band organ, were preserved and relocated to the downtown Hampton waterfront area where it is a popular attraction.