The town of Broadwater, circa 1930, as seen from the Hog Island Lighthouse. Photo courtesy Yvonne Widgeon.A fisherman loads scallops onto a boat for delivery to the mainland. Hog Island was an active fishing community for many generations. Photo courtesy The Barrier Island Center. Many island residents made their living market hunting, harvesting the abundant waterfowl and other game for shipment to restaurants up and down the East Coast. Photo courtesy Iris Clemente.New York photographer Rudolf Eickemeyer made many trips to the barrier islands in the early 1900s, capturing some of the most famous images of Hog Island life. Photo courtesy Smithsonian Institution.Broadwater's general store and post office, which was moved across Hog Island Bay (along with many other local structures) to the coastal town of Willis Wharf during the 1930's. Photo courtesy The Barrier Islands Center.Hog Island schoolchildren and their teachers, circa 1924. Photo courtesy Yvonne Widgeon.Rudolf Eickemeyer photographed one of Hog Island children's favorite pasttimes--building and racing toy sailboats. Photo courtesy Smithsonian Institution.Sheep farming was also prevalent, and the small size of the island made fencing largely unnecessary; the livestock roamed free. Photo courtesy Iris Clemente.Each year on the 4th of July, Broadwater residents dressed up and prepared a huge picnic celebration that was attended by hundreds of people from the mainland. Photo courtesy the Barrier Islands Center.Much of Hog Island was protected from the elements by a large stand of tall pines near the shore. Photo courtesy Yvonne Widgeon.After several powerful hurricanes during the 1930's, many of the pine stands were completely destroyed, paving the way for the accelerated erosion that forced the entire town to relocate. Photo courtesy Bob Burns.A coast guard lifesaving station topples into the Atlantic. Photo courtesy Yvonne Widgeon.Remnants of a devastated home. Photo courtesy the Barrier Islands Center.Hog Island today is completely uninhabited, one of fourteen Virginia barrier islands that form the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline on the eastern seaboard. Photo by James Spione.Scientist Bo Lusk checks an oyster restoration project near the Nature Conservancy's Virginia Coast Reserve headquarters. Photo by James Spione.Bo Lusk explains the growth of a natural oyster reef to cameraman John Molinelli during the filming of special features for the Our Island Home Expanded Edition DVD. Photo by James Spione.Bo Lusk, filmmaker James Spione, and Chief Conservation Scientist Barry Truitt during the filming of additional footage on efforts to restore and protect the barrier island ecosystem. Photo by Sally Dickinson.Over 100,000 acres of Virginia's pristine Eastern Shore is now protected for future generations. Photo by James Spione.
A documentary film by James Spione
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