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 of Virginia, shires created in Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia in 1634. The shire and the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River were named for Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of King James I ...

, 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. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

s (or

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

) 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 1,177,742 as of 2020. It is part of the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA ( M ...

now incorporated in the five independent cities located there in modern times. The following year, in 1637, it was divided into Upper Norfolk County and Lower Norfolk County. 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. Fro ...

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 in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. 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 to ...

. 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. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

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, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

, 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 Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

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

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

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

* {{coord missing, Virginia Colonial Virginia counties 1636 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Former counties of Virginia

See also

External links