ES DRIVE THIS ’S $1 MILLION NE On a narrow strip of land where 3,300 residents share just nine square miles, economic prosperity requires a particular brand of ingenuity. Chincoteague, Virginia, has mastered the art of reinvention through necessity, transforming from seafood hub to poultry producer to tourist destination as each industry faltered in turn. “We’ve been through a couple of industry changes over the last 50, 60 years,” says Mayor Denise Bowden, who also serves as President of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company. “Every time our residents have stepped up to the plate to do what’s good for the town and for themselves. We went through a pretty bad natural disaster in the early sixties and bounced back from that.” The 1962 storm she references devastated the poultry industry, forcing the 20 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08
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