Museum Building

The main museum building is a large brick structure that for many years functioned as the town's electrical peaking plant. The building is now used to house the Cape Charles Museum and features permanent and temporary exhibitions that highlight the unique history of the town. In addition, the museum also serves as the welcome center for visitors to the town of Cape Charles.

Built by the Eastern Shore Public Service Company in 1947 to house two diesel powered electric generators and subsequently acquired by Delmarva Power, the Museum Building served as a peaking unit facility into the 1980s. As such, its two engines and electric generators were run only during periods of peak demand, such as unusually hot weather. One of the engines, a 16 1/2″ bore Busch-Sulzer diesel fuel injection model, remains in the building as a permanent exhibit. It has been re-engineered to run as a demonstration unit, and the motion of the pistons and crankshaft can be viewed through Plexiglas windows.

In early 2019 the society funded $54,500 of critical work on the building exterior including repairs to bricks, mortar, terracotta coping at the top of the building, and replacement of window lintels.

Cape Charles Historical Society Museum and Welcome Center. Accessed September 27th 2020. https://capecharlesmuseum.wordpress.com/.

Lewis, Jim. Cape Charles: A Railroad Town. Hickory House Publishing, 2004.