Editing Colonial Beach, Virginia (section)

==History==
Judging by excavations done on oyster pits, it would seem that [[Native American tribes in Virginia|Native Americans]] have inhabited the area of modern-day Colonial Beach since at least the [[Woodland period|Early Woodland Period]] (500 B.C.- A.D. 900).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wm.edu/sites/wmcar/_documents/gouldman_osm.pdf|title=Archaeological Data Recovery at the Gouldman Oyster Shell Midden Site (44WM0304) in Westmoreland County, Virginia}}</ref>

The town area now known as ‘The Point’ was originally patented by John Lancelott and S. Lancelott [Odyer and Sturman Escheat] on October 29, 1651.<ref>David Wolfe Eaton. "Historical Atlas of Westmoreland County, Virginia" The Dietz Press, Richmond Virginia, 1942. Pages 46, 62</ref>

Colonial Beach emerged as a bathing and fishing resort in the late 19th century known as the "Playground on the Potomac." Prior to automobile travel, most visitors arrived by boat from Washington, D.C.<ref name="History">[http://www.colonialbeachva.net/history.htm Town of Colonial Beach: History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514040229/http://www.colonialbeachva.net/history.htm |date=May 14, 2008 }} at the official town website. Retrieved November 5, 2008.</ref>

The town was incorporated on February 25, 1892, and there was extensive construction of houses, summer cottages, and hotels. Arguably the most famous of these structures is the [[Bell House (Colonial Beach, Virginia)|Bell House]], built for [[Alexander Graham Bell]] as a summer home, which still stands today on Irving Avenue.<ref name="History"/>

The area was at the center of the Potomac River [[Oyster Wars]] between Virginia watermen and the [[Maryland State Oyster Police]] that lasted from the late 19th century to the 1960s.<ref name="William J. Burnham 2003. p. 136">William J. Burnham, Mary K. Burnham, Bill Burnham. ''Rediscovering America: Exploring the Small Towns of Virginia and Maryland''. Hunter Publishing, 2003. p. 136. {{ISBN|978-1-58843-319-0}}</ref>

The town began to gradually decline as the automobile made travel to more distant ocean beaches more feasible.  However, because gambling was legal in [[Maryland]] and the Maryland state line ends at the low-water mark of Virginia's [[Potomac River]] shore, from 1949<ref>"Slots on Piers Evade Law In Virginia." ''[[The Washington Post]]''. July 23, 1949.</ref> to 1958,<ref>"Supreme Court Refuses to Review Maryland Ban on Potomac Casinos." ''The Washington Post''. February 25, 1959.</ref> Colonial Beach offered [[slot machine]]s in [[pier]] [[casino]]s extending into Maryland waters.  This temporarily revitalized the town, although it was sometimes called "the poor man's Las Vegas."<ref name="William J. Burnham 2003. p. 136"/>  However, the piers burned in the 1960s in a devastating fire and the town continued to decline.<ref name="History"/>   
[[Image:ColonialBeachPier.jpg|thumb|right|Entrance to the Colonial Beach Municipal Pier]]

The town is ranked fifth-safest place to live in Virginia by Safewise.