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The Cape Charles Hotel Historic
Inn is located in the heart of
the Cape Charles, Virginia
Historic District. We
offer the finest accommodations
on the Eastern Shore of
Virginia, a tradition began in
1884.
Cape Charles is an historic
Chesapeake Bay harbor town nestled on
the Eastern Shore peninsula of
Virginia just north of the
channel where the Chesapeake Bay
joins the Atlantic Ocean. Cape
Charles was built in 1884 as a railroad
and ferry town
by Mr. Scott and Mr. Cassatt of
the Philadelphia and NY
Railroad. It was laid out with a classic town plan,
including seven square blocks of
late Victorian era homes on the
National Historic
Register. It is known for its
historical homes, its Chesapeake
Bay beach and its deep water harbor.
This fine old building was
originally built
as a hotel in 1884 by William
Horsley of Wilmington, Delaware and was one
of the first commercial
establishments built in Cape
Charles. It was called the Cape
Charles Hotel. After a fire in
1925, it was renamed the
McCarthy Hotel after the family
that ran it until the 1950s when
the passenger ferry left Cape
Charles.
Like Cape Charles, the hotel
fell on hard times after the
ferry and then the railroad left
with the proliferation of the
automobile and the opening of
the Chesapeake Bay Bridge
Tunnel.
In 2002, the Wagner family, from
Philadelphia like the original
Cape Charles pioneers, bought it
and began the historic
renovation of this wonderful
building. Rich Wagner, the
owner whose vision began the
restoration project says, “This was
the finest Hotel to stay at 100
years it is has become that again.
It is truly a special building
with great historical
significance. It is one of the
few, and quite possibly one of
the finest,
remaining examples of a small,
urban, hotel from the late Victorian era.”
The hotel complex is comprised of
over 13,000 square feet and the
entire building is handicap
accessible and has wireless high
speed internet. On the first
floor, you will find the formal
hotel Lobby & Bar featuring
wines made here on Virginia's
Eastern Shore, the Sunlight
Gallery art venue, a large Event
Room with dance floor and stage
plus three large commercial
storefronts. The Lobby contains a
museum quality collection of
historic Cape Charles photos and memorabilia,
as well as a library of eastern
shore history, travel, and
nature books. Original paintings
by regional artists adorn the
walls.
On the second floor, there are
17 comfortable and
delightfully decorated
guest rooms furnished
with art and period antiques.
To quote Amy Duckett
Wagner, the owner and artist who
designed the interior, “Every
room has its own personality,
and like the sunset, each is
different!” Every room has its
own colorful personality. Each
has a private bath, central AC,
cable TV, phone, and Wireless
Internet; a majority offer
Queen, or King sized beds with high
end mattresses, bedding and
linens. There is a formal
Sitting Room upstairs and a full
length outdoor Veranda
overlooking the harbor and the
mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
where guests can sit and relax.
The 3 year, historically
accurate renovation of the hotel
was reviewed and approved by the
Virginia Department of Historic
Resources’ program for historic
renovations as well as the US
Department of the Interiors
National Trust for Historic
Preservation. This late Victorian
era hotel is currently being submitted as
one of 200 hotels nationwide in
the US Department of the
Interior’s prestigious "Historic Hotels of
America" program. |

Hotel - 1884 to 1925

Hotel - 1925 to 1955

Hotel - 2001
Hotel - Today
Aerial - Cape Charles, Virginia
today |