In Mathews County, coastal landscapes meet buildings and collections that tell the story of the region’s history. You can organize your explorations around a particular theme: salt marshes and shorelines, historic architecture, or maritime culture. You can also move between these themes—for example, from scenic landscapes to a visit planned around specific opening hours.
Salt Marshes, Beaches, and Waterways
The New Point Comfort Natural Area Preserve encompasses three natural habitats: tidal salt marshes, maritime forests, and sandy shoreline areas. A wheelchair-accessible boardwalk crosses the salt marsh to an observation platform. Those interested in coastal ecology will find a clear connection here between landscape and observation. Bethel Beach Natural Area Preserve offers a different setting: its 83 acres on Chesapeake Bay include a sandy beach, low dunes, and salt marshes. Haven Beach has a sandy shoreline and designated swimming areas.
The views at Horn Harbor Landing also bring together different coastal features: salt marshes, tidal creeks, and mudflats, as well as the open waters of the bay and protected habitats for land birds. The East River Water Trail offers views of historic shipyards, tide mills, homes and estates, as well as protected coves, salt marshes, and tributaries. The East River Trail, in turn, maps historic, ecological, and publicly accessible sites throughout Mathews County’s maritime landscape. These two offerings have different focuses: one on views along the water, the other on a selection of places in the landscape.
The New Point Comfort Lighthouse is also part of the area’s coastal history. Thomas Jefferson commissioned the lighthouse in 1804; it stands on an island that has been separated from the mainland since the 1933 hurricane. The island’s history and its present-day landscape together tell the story of Mathews County’s coast.
Historic Buildings and Layers of History
At the center of Mathews County Courthouse Square stands a T-shaped brick courthouse built around 1830. The landscaped square is also home to the old sheriff’s office, a clerk’s office dating to 1827, and a jail from the mid-19th century. Together, the buildings illustrate different periods of local history. Mathews Downtown Historic District has preserved its historic character and, according to the district’s description, has experienced less decline and disruptive new construction than many downtowns in Virginia.
Mathews County’s Methodist Tabernacle is one of the few surviving permanent revival meeting buildings in Virginia. Preserved original features include the speaker’s platform, choir galleries, and the so-called “mourners’ bench.” Sibley’s General Store offers a different connection to the history of commerce: it is the only surviving example of a vernacular Victorian commercial building from its era in downtown Mathews. The Mathews County Visitors and Information Center is located in the building.
On Gwynn’s Island, much of the architecture reflects the summer-home or resort community that developed from the 1920s onward. Gwynn’s Island Historic District is also connected to a 380-year tradition of farming and maritime trade shaped by Chesapeake Bay. More than 2,000 oceangoing ships were launched in Mathews County during the 18th and 19th centuries, making shipbuilding another way to explore the region’s maritime past.
Two earthwork fortifications point to different periods of conflict. Fort Cricket Hill is the surviving fortification associated with the event that ended the last vestige of British rule in the colony of Virginia. Fort Nonsense was built in 1861 under the supervision of 2nd Lt. William Henry Clarke, CSA. Fort Nonsense Historical Park has trails through Civil War earthworks, a raised boardwalk, and interpretive signs.
Museums, a Gallery, and Planning Around Events
Mathews Maritime Museum preserves artifacts, documents, and photographs about the history and heritage of Mathews County and Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. Its collection includes more than 2,600 local objects, including artifacts from watermen, boatbuilding tools, and model boats. Mathews Museum also features a recreated historic exhibit of a local general store, with artifacts from Mathews’s past.
Mathews Maritime Museum is regularly open from May through November on Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; tours are available by appointment. The Bay School Gallery is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check opening hours before your visit so that scheduled stops fit your day’s plans.
For art lovers, the Made in Mathews Open Studio Tour opens the studios of Mathews artists to the public each year on the weekend after Thanksgiving and the first weekend in December. Check the dates for the relevant year. Mathews Market Days features local food vendors, live music, and performances; here, too, it is a good idea to check the current program in advance.
Find the Right Mix
Those who want to include some activity in their trip will find flat, level cycling routes on quiet country roads in Mathews County, with views of the water. Tours of historic sites and opportunities for bird- and wildlife-watching are also available. This gives you a range of themes to choose from when planning your day: coastal features and bird habitats, architectural details and collections, or a program of art and local performances. The mix you choose can depend on whether you want to set aside more time for landscapes, history, or events with fixed opening hours.
Discover more destinations: Gwynn, Orange County, Fairfax County, Pittsylvania County, Stafford, Portsmouth, Page, Mecklenburg County.
For the broader travel overview: Virginia.
