Accomack County is a United States county that, together with Northampton County, constitutes the Eastern Shore region of the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. These two counties also form the southern portion of the

Delmarva Peninsula The Delmarva Peninsula, or simply Delmarva, is a peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by the majority of the state of Delaware and parts of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Eastern Shore of Virginia. The peninsula is l ...

, which is bordered by the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

to the west, and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

to the east. The town of Accomac serves as 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 ...

, while Chincoteague is the largest town in the county. The area was named for the Accawmack Indians, who resided in the area when the English first explored it in 1603. The region was known as "

Accomac Shire Accomac Shire was established in the Colony of Virginia by the House of Burgesses in 1634 under the direction of King Charles I. It was one of the original eight shires of Virginia. The shire's name comes from the Native American word "Accawmack". ...

" until it was renamed Northampton County in 1642. The present Accomack County was then carved out of Northampton County in 1663. As of the 2020 census, Accomack County had a total population of 33,413. The population has remained relatively stable over the 20th century, though Accomack is one of the poorest parts of Virginia.

History

The county was named for its original residents, the

Accomac people The Accomac people were a historic Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe in Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack and Northampton County, Virginia, Northampton counties in Virginia.Frederick Webb Hodge, ''Handbook'', 8. They w ...

, an

Eastern Algonquian The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least 17 languages, whose speakers collectively occupied the Atlantic coast of North America and adj ...

-speaking Native American tribe. Members of an English voyage of exploration landed in the area in 1603, four years before the founding of the

Jamestown Colony The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Williamsburg. It was established by the L ...

. Captain John Smith visited the region in 1608. The Accomac people at the time numbered around 6,000 and was led by

Debedeavon Debedeavon (died 1657) was the chief ruler of the Accawmack people who lived on the Eastern Shore of Virginia upon the first arrival of English colonists in 1608. His title was recorded as "Ye Emperor of Ye Easterne Shore and King of Ye Great Nu ...

, a

paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for a king or queen or the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a Chiefdom, chief-based system. This term is used occasionally ...

, whom the English colonists called the "Laughing King." He became a staunch ally of the colonists, granting them several large areas for their own use.

was established in 1634 as one of the eight original

shires of Virginia The eight Shires of Virginia were formed in 1634 in the Virginia Colony. These shires were based on a form of local government used in England at the time, and were redesignated as counties a few years later. As of 2007, five of the eight origina ...

. The name comes from the native word Accawmacke, which meant "on the other side". In 1642 the name was changed to Northampton by the colonists. Northampton was divided into two counties in 1663. The northern adopted the original name, while the south remained Northampton. In 1670, the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colony lasted for t ...

's Royal Governor William Berkeley abolished Accomac County, but 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, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

re-created it in 1671. In 1940, the General Assembly officially added a "k" to the end of the county's name to arrive at its current spelling. The name of "Accomack County" first appeared in the '' Decisions of the United States Board on Geographical Names'' in 1943.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (65.7%) is water. It is the largest county in Virginia by total area. The state of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

is roughly away from the Virginia and Maryland state-line in Greenbackville.

Demographics

2020 census

As of 2022, the median household income in the county is $50,601 and the per capita income is $29,202.

2010 Census

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 2010, there were 33,164 people, 15,299 households, and 10,388 families residing in the county. 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 . There were 19,550 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 65.3%

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 ...

, 28.1%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.9% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 8.6% of the population were

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. Black or African American (28%),

English American English Americans (also known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.6 million America ...

(15%),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(9%), Irish (9%) and Mexican (4%). There were 15,299 households, out of which 28.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.20% 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, 14.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 27.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.30% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 26.20% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 16.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.00 males. Accomack and adjacent Northampton County are the two poorest counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia.Accomack and Northampton County EC
on USDA Rural Development

Government and politics

Board of Supervisors

Constitutional officers

*Clerk of the Circuit Court: Talia C. Taylor (I) *Commissioner of the Revenue: Kim A. Satterwhite (I) *Commonwealth's Attorney: J. Spencer Morgan, III (I) *Sheriff: W. Todd Wessells (I) *Treasurer: James Lilliston, Sr. (I) Accomack County is represented by Republican William “Bill” DeSteph, Jr in the Virginia Senate, Republican Robert Bloxom in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican

Jen Kiggans Jennifer Ann Kiggans (née Moore; born June 18, 1971) is an American politician and nurse practitioner serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, Kiggan ...

in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Presidential politics

Accomack County has been consistently Republican-leaning in the 21st century; prior to this, it was a Democratic stronghold turned swing county. The last Democrat to obtain an absolute majority was

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1976, though

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

narrowly carried the county by a plurality in 1996.

Adjacent counties

Somerset County, Maryland Somerset County is the southernmost county in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 24,620, making it the second-least populous county in Maryland. The county seat is Princess Anne. The county is p ...

- northwest *

Worcester County, Maryland Worcester County is the easternmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 52,460. Its county seat is Snow Hill. The county is part of the Lower Eastern Shore region of the state. It is the only cou ...

- northeast * Northampton County - south

National protected areas

Assateague Island National Seashore Assateague Island National Seashore is a unit of the National Park Service system of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Located on the East Coast along the Atlantic Ocean in Maryland and Virginia, Assateague Island is the largest natural bar ...

(part) *

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It is primarily located on the Virginia half of Assateague Island with portions (only about ...

(part) * Martin National Wildlife Refuge (part, Watts Island portion) *

Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge The Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located on Wallops Island, Virginia; the refuge was created on July 10, 1975, with the transfer of of land from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and is ...

Economy

Accomack County is home to large

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

processing facilities owned by

Perdue Farms Perdue Farms is the parent company of Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, based in Salisbury, Maryland. Perdue Foods is a major chicken, turkey, and pork processing company in the United States. Perdue AgriBusiness ranks among the top United S ...

and

Tyson Foods Tyson Foods, Inc. is an American multinational corporation based in Springdale, Arkansas that operates in the food industry. The company is the world's second-largest processor and marketer of broiler industry, chicken, beef, and pork after JBS ...

Transportation

Airport

Accomack County Airport Accomack County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in unincorporated Accomack County, Virginia, United States, located west of the central business district in Melfa, a town in the county. History The airport was built by the Un ...

is in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

near Melfa.

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * *

Public transportation

STAR Transit A star transit is the passage of a star across the field of view of a telescope eyepiece. The precise observation of star transits is the basis of many methods in astronomy and in geodesy. The measurements can be done in different ways: # v ...

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 for both Accomack and Northampton counties and is headquartered in Tasley.

Education

The county is served by

Accomack County Public Schools Accomack County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Accomac, Virginia, serving Accomack County, Virginia Accomack County is a United States county that, together with Northampton County, constitutes the Eastern Shore regi ...

. It is the only

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

in the county. High schools and K-12 schools in this district are: * Arcadia High School * Chincoteague High School *

Nandua High School Nandua High School is a public high school in Accomack County, Virginia. It is one of three high schools in Accomack County Public Schools Accomack County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Accomac, Virginia, serving Accomac ...

Tangier Combined School Tangier Combined School is a K-12 public school in Tangier, Virginia. A part of Accomack County Public Schools Accomack County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Accomac, Virginia, serving Accomack County, Virginia Accom ...

Eastern Shore Community College Eastern Shore Community College is a community college in unincorporated area, unincorporated Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack County, Virginia, with a Melfa, Virginia, Melfa postal address.Compare the address to the Melfa town limits. The c ...

is located near Melfa.
Compare the address to the Melfa town limits. The college is outside of the Melfa town limits:
The area around the college is shown here: The City of Houston stated
"The U.S. Postal Service establishes ZIP codes and mailing addresses in order to maximize the efficiency of their system, not to recognize jurisdictional boundaries."

Media

The county maintains and is the licensee of six

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

translator stations on two towers, with four located on a tower off US 13 in unincorporated

Mappsville Mappsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 311. Wharton Place was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Geography The CDP lies at an ...

licensed to Onancock, and the other two licensed to unincorporated Craddockville on a tower near Route 178. Each translator tower has four signals to relay the signals of Hampton Roads's major network affiliates to the county, including

WAVY WAVY-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Virginia Beach–licensed dual Fox affiliate/ CW ...

, WHRO,

WTKR WTKR (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Norfolk, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Portsmouth-licensed WGNT (channel 27), an independen ...

, and

WVEC WVEC (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Hampton, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of ABC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Woodis Avenue in Norfolk; its transmitte ...

. Meanwhile,

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

programming via WVBT is provided by WPMC-CA (Channel 36) from the Mappsville tower, a station owned by

Nexstar Media Group Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarters in Irving, Texas, Midtown Manhattan, and Chicago. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 television station ...

, the parent company of WAVY/WVBT. Additionally,

Salisbury, Maryland Salisbury ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city in Eastern Shore of Maryland, the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 United States census ...

CBS / Fox affiliate

WBOC-TV WBOC-TV (channel 16) is a television station in Salisbury, Maryland, United States, affiliated with CBS and Fox. It is the flagship television property of the Milton, Delaware–based Draper Holdings Business Trust, and is co-owned with low ...

has long claimed Accomack County as part of its coverage area.

Communities

Towns

* Accomac * Belle Haven, Partially within Northampton County as well * Bloxom * Chincoteague * Hallwood * Keller * Melfa * Onancock * Onley *

Painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

* Parksley * Saxis *

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

* Wachapreague

Census Designated Places

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

* Bayside * Bobtown *

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

* Captains Cove * Cats Bridge * Chase Crossing * Deep Creek * Gargatha * Greenbackville * Greenbush * Harborton * Horntown * Lee Mont * Makemie Park * Mappsburg *

* Metompkin * Modest Town * Nelsonia * New Church * Oak Hall *

Pastoria King Pastoria is a fictional character mentioned in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. He was the rightful ruler and King of the undiscovered Land of Oz, but was mysteriously removed from his position when the Wizard of Oz unexpecte ...

* Pungoteague * Quinby * Sanford * Savage Town * Savageville * Schooner Bay * Southside Chesconessex * Tasley * Temperanceville *

Wattsville Wattsville is a small village in the Sirhowy Valley, eight miles north west of Newport, built in the 20th century for accommodation for mine workers. Amenities Modern Wattsville consists of two villages, Wattsville and Brynawel. It consists of ...

* Whitesville

Notable people

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986 ...

(1762–1829) born in Accomack County,

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

* Thomas Evans (c.1755–1815), born in Accomack County,

from Virginia * Lucy Virginia French (1825–1881), writer * George T. Garrison (1835–1889), born in Accomack County, member of Virginia state legislature and United States Congressman from Virginia *

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

(c.1710–1783), born in Accomack County, lawyer and mayor of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

* James Henry (1731–1804), born in Accomack County, lawyer and delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

Ralph Northam Ralph Shearer Northam (born September 13, 1959) is an American physician and former politician who served as the 73rd governor of Virginia from 2018 to 2022. A pediatric Neurology, neurologist by occupation, he was an officer in the Medical Co ...

(born 1957), born and raised in Accomack County, 73rd Governor of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

* W. Sherman Savage (1890–1981), born and raised in Accomack County, historian of African Americans in the Old West * David P. Weber (? -), resident of Accomack County, lawyer, professor and forensic accountant, who was a prominent whistleblower in the Bernard L. Madoff misconduct and Chinese Espionage matters *

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil ...

(1806–1876), Minister to Brazil, Governor of Virginia and Confederate General

In popular culture

Music

In Sydney Brown's lyrics for the

Maple Leaf Rag The "Maple Leaf Rag" (copyright registered on September 18, 1899) is an early ragtime musical piece composed for piano by Scott Joplin. It was one of Joplin's early works, becoming the model for ragtime compositions by subsequent composers. It ...

, the first line states, "I come from ol' Virginny, from de County Accomack"

References

External links

Official Website of Accomack County, VA
{{authority control Accomack County, Virginia Virginia counties 1671 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Virginia counties on the Chesapeake Bay Populated places established in 1671