Reedville, Virginia
| Reedville | |
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| Unincorporated town | |
 Reedville
Reedville
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| Coordinates: 37°50′31″N 76°16′33″W / 37.84194°N 76.27583°WCoordinates: 37°50′31″N 76°16′33″W / 37.84194°N 76.27583°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Northumberland |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
Reedville is an unincorporated town in Northumberland County in the Northern Neck region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located at the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 360 (the Northumberland Highway) east of Heathsville, at the head of Cockrell's Creek on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
Reedville is home to the fishing industry for Atlantic menhaden, a small oily fish found in great abundance in mid-Atlantic coastal waters. The Omega Protein corporation runs many of its vessels and lands much of its catch in Reedsville. The town is also a popular place to begin fishing charters and trips to Tangier Island in the Bay. Reedville is a destination itself, steeped in the history of the menhaden fishing industry. Its Millionaire's Row of Victorian-era mansions in the Reedville Historic District and two of the Fishermen's Museum's watercraft are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Reedville was named for Captain Elijah W. Reed (1827-1888). In 1874, Reed, a sea captain from Maine, came south to the Chesapeake Bay and recognized the potential of the menhaden fishing industry. As early as the 1620s, in the area which became New England, the Native Americans had taught the Plymouth Colony's settlers the value of burying menhaden in each hill of corn, as fertilizer.
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