Up to the mid-1930s, when most commerce was conducted by steamboat, Reedville was a small town full of bustle. A stroll along Main Street in the shade of majestic magnolias and sculpted crape myrtles gives you the sense that time stopped the moment the highway arrived. Reedville’s Main Street is on the National Register of Historic Places and presents a catalog of the architecture of the American home from the late 19th century to the present day. There is even a “kit home” sold through the Sears and Roebuck Company from 1908 to 1940. 

Halfway up Main Street, at the Reedville Marine Railway, George Butler continues his family’s 100-year tradition of building wooden boats. Those who hanker for the perfume of cedar and oak shavings will find it here and perhaps witness a deadrise boat being built or repaired. 

The annual Blessing of the Fleet takes place the first weekend in May, and Reedville holds a Good Old-Fashioned Fourth to celebrate Independence Day. The fourth of July fireworks are launched from the point next to the “Stack.” If you are watching from your boat, they will burst directly above you. The second weekend in September brings a display of traditional and antique boats to Reedville. Co-hosted by the Tidewater Chapter of the Antique & Classic Boat Society, the show has a variety of antique and wooden boats, commercial craft, and recreational craft on the grounds and dock of the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum.