The Kiwanis Club of Great Bridge is the younger and smaller of the two Kiwanis clubs in Chesapeake Virginia.  It was organized on June 6, 1985 with thirty five members.  Sponsored by the Kempsville and Virginia Beach Kiwanis Clubs from Division 16, Great Bridge was the first club to be organized in the newly created Kiwanis Division 21 and received its charter on August 9, 1985.  There was an earlier Great Bridge Kiwanis Club organized on October 27, 1975 by the Kiwanis Clubs of Chesapeake and Harbor Front.  It ceased operating after a few years.

Over the years, the membership has fluctuated between 10 and 30 people, but the club has always been a very active club with a strong program of service to the community.  We currently have 19 members.

We meet every Tuesday at 7:30 - 8:30 AM at the Shoney's restaurant on Battlefield Boulevard across the street from Chesapeake General Hospital.  Dues are $12 per month, billed quarterly.  There is a one-time new member fee of $50 which includes your own Great Bridge Kiwanis polo shirt.. Order your meal from the menu and pay as you go. For more information, contact President Bob Raub.

In colonial times, Norfolk, Virginia and the ports on the North Carolina sounds were major commercial hubs on the central Atlantic coast.  The only land link between them was through the marshes to the east of the Great Dismal Swamp and across the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River.  Located in Norfolk County, twenty miles south of the port of Norfolk,  the village of Great Bridge developed around the "Great Bridge" across the Elizabeth and two causeways through the marshes.  In November 1775, British troops from Norfolk constructed a fort at the north side of Great Bridge to break the Virginia Colony's supply line from North Carolina.

On the 2nd of December, units of the Virginia militia arrived in Great Bridge and fortified the south end of the Bridge.  The troops skirmished and traded fire for several days.  Most of the houses in the village where burned in order to clear the field of fire. On the 9th of December, British regulars supported by artillery, moved across the bridge.  In a battle lasting about a half an hour, they were repulsed with at least 65 casualities, including 17 dead, at the cost of only one slightly wounded militiaman. Militiamen followed the British back across the bridge and took up commanding positions overlooking the British fortifications.  That evening, the British abandoned their fort and withdrew to Norfolk.

This battle has been called the "Bunker Hill of the South" because it was the first decisive battle of the Revolution fought in the South. It proved that the colonial militia could stand and fight successfully against professional troops.  The supply line between North Carolina and Virginia was never threatened again.

In 1963, Norfolk County and the City of South Norfolk merged to form the city of Chesapeake. Today, Great Bridge is the city center of Chesapeake housing the City Hall, the Courts Building, Jail, Central Library and other government agencies.  It is surrounded by rapidly growing commercial and residential developments. A large lock on the Intercoastal Waterway has been built on the river at the battle site, which will soon house a park and visitors center.

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Kiwanis International 8000 clubs in 79 Countries	Capital District 200 clubs in Deleware, District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia	Division 21 8 clubs in the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin,  Portsmouth, Suffolk and  Isle of Wight and Southampton counties