Around 1933, the Commonwealth of Virginia purchased more than 2,000 acres for Seashore State Park (now First Landing State Park) from the Cape Henry Syndicate, Inc., for $157,000. The park was built in the early 1930s by the CCC. In 1965 the park's natural area was included in the National Register of Natural Landmarks because of its distinction as the northernmost location on the East Coast where subtropical and temperate plants grow and thrive together.