Accomac, Virginia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Accomac is a town in and the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 526 at the 2020 census.


History

Though Accomack County was established as one of Virginia's eight original shires in 1634, the government was situated in the southern part of the Eastern Shore near Eastville until the division of the shore into two counties (
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
and Accomack) in 1663. During this era, religious diversity began in the area, as Presbyterian Francis Makemie received a plantation nearby which he used as a base for his mercantile and missionary journeys, and where he died at age 50 a few years after winning a New York court case brought against his preaching (as the Scots-Irish emigrant to Maryland's Eastern Shore counties produced a preaching license from Barbados). Early Baptist Elijah Baker also arrived near Accomac before the American Revolutionary War, and was likewise imprisoned for unauthorized preaching, but eventually also had that case dismissed. After the creation of the present-day Accomack County, the court convened alternatively at Pungoteague and Onancock until the 1690s when it shifted to the house of John Cole at the site that later became the town of Accomac, then known by the name Matompkin. A brick courthouse was built in 1756 and the surrounding settlement became known as Accomack Courthouse. On December 7, 1786, Richard Drummond, Gilbert Poiley, John McLean, Edward Kerr, Catherine Scott, Patience Robertson, and William Berkeley petitioned the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
for the creation of an incorporated town at Accomack Courthouse. Their petition was granted and the House of Delegates passed an "Act to establish a Town at the Courthouse of the county of Accomack...by the name of Drummond," named in honor of the chief landholder in the new town. Many of the town's historic houses, churches, and other buildings were constructed between the last decade of the eighteenth century and first half of the nineteenth century, representing vernacular interpretations of late Georgian, Federal, and
Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
architectural styles, as the town prospered as the terminus of a ferry across Chesapeake Bay. The modern ferry only travels between nearby Onancock, Virginia and Tangier Island. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, the Union Army occupied the Eastern Shore to cut supply lines to the south and prevent the
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...
from using the shore as a staging area to attack the north through
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
. Union General Henry H. Lockwood commanded the occupying forces and established a headquarters in the rectory of St. James Episcopal Church (then home to town physician Dr. Peter F. Browne). Other than damages to the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches which were used by the army for stables and housing, Drummondtown escaped the war with little damage. The late nineteenth century brought slow but steady economic prosperity for the citizens of Drummondtown, fueled by the arrival of the railroad from the north, and several new homes were constructed in and around the older core of the town in the 1880s and 1890s. The coming of the railroad also presented a challenge for Drummondtown when residents of the newly established town of Parksley initiated a referendum to move the county seat to the new community. The referendum vote took place in 1895 after nearly a decade of debate, and the residents of Accomack County elected to keep the court where it had been located for the past two centuries. By this time, the town had been renamed "Accomac" by order of the
United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, established in 1792. From 1872 to 1971, it was officially in the form of a Cabinet of the Un ...
dated August 9, 1893. The name ''Accomac'' is derived from a Native American word translated to mean "on the other side".


General information

* ZIP Code: 23301 * Area Code: 757 * Local Phone Exchange: 787 * School District: Accomack County Public Schools


Geography

Accomac is located at (37.718678, −75.667323). According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of 0.4 square mile (1.1 km), all land.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 547 people, 199 households, and 125 families residing in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 1,322.1 people per square mile (515.1/km). There were 235 housing units at an average density of 568.0 per square mile (221.3/km). The racial makeup of the town was 71.12%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 24.68%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 2.56% Asian, 0.91% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 2.19% of the population. There were 199 households, out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.71. In the town, the population was spread out, with 14.8% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 131.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 136.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $37,500, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $23,929 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $24,050. About 3.7% of families and 6.2% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.


Transportation


Major highways

* *


Public transportation

STAR Transit provides
public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...
services, linking Accomac with Onley, Oak Hall, and other communities in Accomack and
Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...
counties.


Notable people

* Thomas H. B. Browne, born at Drummondtown, United States Congressman * Millie Tunnell, born at Drummondtown, emancipated slave who met
George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
and died in
Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It has a popular large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis, St Albans, and Cambria Heights to the ea ...
at 111 years of age. * Henry A. Wise, born at Drummondtown,
Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...


References


External links


Accomac, Virginia official site


''Eastern Shore Visitor'' {{Authority control Towns in Accomack County, Virginia Towns in Virginia County seats in Virginia Populated places established in 1786 1786 establishments in Virginia