Pungo is a rural community located in the southern part 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 ...

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 ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and was one of the seven original boroughs when the City of Virginia Beach was created in 1963. The area derives its name from a local

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

tribe, the Machipungo, a branch of the Chesapeake tribe. It was named for a local Indian chief, Machiopungo. Because the community is located in an independent city, there is no individual census for the neighborhood, which was originally part of Princess Anne County until 1963, when the entire county became part of Virginia Beach. Like much of southern Virginia Beach, the area is surrounded by farmland. Pungo is known for its Pungo Strawberry Festival, which is held there every spring, and the

Military Aviation Museum The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...

, which has a large collection of vintage

warbird A warbird is any vintage military aircraft now operated by civilian organizations and individuals, or in some instances, by historic arms of military forces, such as the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAAF Museum Historic Flight, or th ...

s. Also well known is the story of

Grace Sherwood Grace White Sherwood (1660–1740), called the Witch of Pungo, is the last person known to have been convicted of witchcraft in Virginia. A farmer, healer, and midwife, she was accused by her neighbors of transforming herself into a cat, damag ...

, the so-called "Witch of Pungo". Notable features of the area include the historic downtown intersection,

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

communications master station,

Verizon Communications Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

transmitter site adjacent to the Coast Guard site, cut-your-own Christmas tree farms, pick-your-own fruit farms, roadside fruit and vegetable stands, Pungo Pizza & Ice Cream, a locally owned restaurant with a large game room that has become quite popular, and the Pungo Ferry Bridge. Nearby is Nimmo United Methodist Church (pronounced ''Nim-o''), which was built in 1791 and expanded in the early 1990s; it is the oldest church with the original foundation in the area. Bishop

Francis Asbury Francis Asbury (August 20 or 21, 1745 – March 31, 1816) was one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States, he devoted his life to ...

preached there.

Location

Pungo is located about south of the heart of Virginia Beach, and is about southeast of the

Norfolk International Airport Norfolk International Airport is seven miles (11 km) northeast of downtown Norfolk, an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Airport Authority: a bureau under the municipal government. The ...

. The "heart" of the Pungo area is its only intersection with a stoplight at Princess Anne Road and Indian River Road. Pungo lies south of Sandbridge road, which serves as Virginia Beach's " Green Line." This helps to assure that Pungo will remain rural, as opposed to its neighbors in the

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

area, such as Courthouse, Red Mill and Lago Mar, which lie just north of the Green Line.

Witch of Pungo

(1660–1740) is a local legend in the old Princess Anne County and Pungo, Virginia. The Associated Press reports that she was an unconventional woman in a number of ways, which drew attention to her. She was first accused in 1698 of having bewitched a neighbor's crop of

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

. Allegations against her grew, and the Princess Anne County government, along with her accusers decided that she would be tested by

ducking In audio engineering, ducking is an audio effect commonly used in radio and pop music, especially dance music. In ducking, the level of one audio signal is reduced by the presence of another signal. In radio this can typically be achieved by low ...

, with Sherwood's consent. She was taken to what is now known as Witch Duck Point, tied crossbound, and tossed into the river, but she managed to untie herself and swim to the surface.

Strawberry Festival

The Pungo Strawberry Festival began in 1983 and is held every year for three days on

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

weekend. Attendance at the festival's inception in 1983 was 50,000, and now it regularly attracts over 120,000 visitors. Strawberries prepared over 50 different ways are featured. Activities include a pie eating contest, strawberry bake-off, continuous entertainment on three stages, a parade, one of the largest carnivals on the east coast, livestock show and sale, a multimillion-dollar military display, pig races, youth art show, a

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

area, pony rides, bands, and arts and craft booths. The sponsoring organization is a non-profit. All proceeds from the Festival are donated to non-profit community and service organizations. There are many food, youth, civic, and service organization booths. Each year, the festival has an honorary mayor, first lady, and witch of Pungo. In 2013, Fox News ranked it as the 3rd best spring food festival in America."America's 10 Best Spring Food Festivals.", April 10, 2013. Web. . The Festival was cancelled in 2020-21 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. It resumes in 2022.

Military Aviation Museum

Pungo is also home to the Military Aviation Museum, located at the

Virginia Beach Airport The Virginia Beach Airport is a private civilian aerodrome, airfield located in Pungo, Virginia, approximately {{convert, 4, mi, abbr=off South-East of Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is the home of the Military Aviation Museum, which uses it to ma ...

in Pungo.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pungo, Virginia Communities in Virginia Beach, Virginia Boroughs of Virginia Beach, Virginia