“We survived the ashes of the Civil War because we worked together,” historian and author John V. Quarstein said during a lecture last Wednesday night at Westville Christian Church in Mathews.

He said that Hampton Roads was fortunate because a handful of visionaries, many coming from the North, saw the economic potential of the region, and joined forces with the area’s native residents to “keep this region moving with the rest of America.”

Quarstein made his comments during the final program of the Mathews County Committee for the Civil War Sesquicentennial, which ended its four-year run hosting events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the war. Last Wednesday’s lecture was co-sponsored by the Mathews County Historical Society.

The first 50 years following the war, Quarstein said, witnessed the greatest growth in this region, thanks in large part to the oyster, as well as crabs and other Chesapeake Bay delicacies and natural resources. Others ...