New Norfolk County is a long-extinct county which was located in colonial Virginia from 1636 until 1637. It was formed in 1636 from

Elizabeth City Shire Elizabeth City Shire was one of eight shires created in colonial Virginia in 1634. The shire and the Elizabeth River were named for Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of King James I. During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of Jamestown ...

, one of the eight original

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

s (or

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

) formed in 1634 in the colony of Virginia by direction of the King of England. New Norfolk County included all the area in

South Hampton Roads South Hampton Roads is a region located in the extreme southeastern portion of Virginia's Tidewater region in the United States with a total population of 1,191,937. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA (Metropolitan St ...

now incorporated in the five independent cities located there in modern times. The following year, in 1637, it was divided into

Upper Norfolk County {{Unreferenced, date=April 2014 Upper Norfolk County is an extinct county which was located in colonial Virginia from 1637 until 1646. In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires (or counties) in the colony of Virginia. One ...

and

Lower Norfolk County Lower Norfolk County is a long-extinct county which was organized in colonial Virginia, operating from 1637 until 1691. New Norfolk County was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire, one of the eight original shires (or counties) formed in 1634 i ...

. Upper Norfolk County became

Nansemond County Nansemond is an extinct jurisdiction that was located south of the James River in Virginia Colony and in the Commonwealth of Virginia (after statehood) in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was known as Nansemond County until 1972. From ...

in 1646. The county became 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 ...

of Nansemond in 1972, and in 1974, merged with the city of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. The new consolidated city assumed the name of Suffolk. In 1691 Lower Norfolk County was in turn divided to form Norfolk County and

Princess Anne County County of Princess Anne is a former county in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, first incorporated in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach on January 1, 1963, ceasing t ...

. In 1963, after approval by referendum of the voters of the City of

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. Its council is based in Long Stratton. The population of the Local Authority District was 124,012 as taken at the 2011 Census. History The district was formed on 1 April 197 ...

and the rest of Norfolk County and the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, were combined and reorganized as a new city, ending the threat of additional annexations. The new name selected by the voters was Chesapeake, and so, the new city of

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

was created. Also in 1963, after approval by referendum of the voters of the City of

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

and the rest of Princess Anne County and the

, were consolidated as an independent city, assuming the better-known name of Virginia Beach.

External links

*{{cite EB1911 , wstitle=Norfolk (Virginia) , display=Norfolk , volume=19 , page=747 , short=1 Colonial Virginia counties 1636 establishments in Virginia