Denbigh is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Warwick County, Virginia Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Newport News on July 16, 1952. Located on the Virginia Peninsula on the no ...

, USA, today Newport News City and was long the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

. After a municipal consolidation in 1958, it became a neighborhood of the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

History

Denbigh was named for Denbigh Plantation, which was patented by Captain Samuel Matthews, who came to Virginia before 1618, filled several important posts, and became the father of Lt. Col. Samuel Mathews, a royal governor of the Virginia Commonwealth from 1656–1660. His son John Mathews (b. 1659 – May 1, 1706) married Elizabeth Tavernor on March 24, 1684 and they also made their home at the Denbigh Plantation. The first courthouse and jail were located nearby, at Warwick Towne, established in 1680. The colonial port was located at Deep Creek and the Warwick River on of Samuel Mathews' land. In 1790, Warwick County recorded 1,690 persons in the Federal Census, making it the third-smallest county population-wise in Virginia. After the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, in 1809, Warwick Towne was abandoned, and the county seat was moved to the area of Denbigh Plantation, near Stoney Run. The town of Denbigh was the

of Warwick County from 1810 until 1952, except for a short period from 1888 to 1896 when the courthouse was located in what is now downtown Newport News. It was moved back to Denbigh when Newport News became an

in 1896. Warwick County became an independent city itself in 1952. Six years later, in 1958, the City of Warwick consolidated with the independent City of Newport News, assuming the latter's better-known name.

Denbigh as a neighborhood of Newport News

The present-day City of Newport News essentially includes all the territory of Warwick River Shire, formed in 1634 in commonwealth Virginia, which became Warwick County in 1643. The former town of Denbigh is now considered a neighborhood area of Newport News. The preserved 1810 Warwick County Courthouse at Denbigh is now a museum. The Denbigh neighborhood is in the north side of the city, and covers most of the area around the former town. Denbigh Boulevard, which for much of its length carries State Route 173, is a north-south connector road linking the two main east-west arterial roads running through the city, U.S. Route 60 (Warwick Boulevard) and State Route 143 (Jefferson Avenue). Many businesses and shopping centers are located along this road. Denbigh High School, located on Denbigh Boulevard, is part of the

Newport News Public Schools Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) is a division of Newport News, Virginia that operates the city's system of public schools. , NNPS had an enrollment of 28,669. The division employs about 4,700 people, including approximately 2,630 teachers an ...

division.

History

Denbigh as a neighborhood of Newport News

References

See also