Hampton History Museum opens exhibit on Prohibition
In 1916, Hampton, Virginia was a saloon town. Its neighbor Phoebus was known as 'Little Chicago' for its brawls and unruliness. But that changed wh...
In 1916, Hampton, Virginia was a saloon town. Its neighbor Phoebus was known as 'Little Chicago' for its brawls and unruliness. But that changed when voters passed the Virginia Prohibition Act – a full three years before Congress passed the 18th Amendment. 'You had the tourism industry, hotels at Point Comfort, but you also had the military base at Point Comfort, Fort Monroe,' said Willow Pell, museum aide at Hampton History Museum. 'You have a saloon town, Phoebus, and you've got the town of Hampton, which was an established town with saloons of its own and a lot of rural residents in Elizabeth City County.