Princess Anne is a community located in 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 (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 ...

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 ...

, United States at the junction of Princess Anne Road and North Landing Road near the West Neck River. The community, which dates from 1691, was named after Princess Anne of Denmark and Norway (later

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 8 March 1702, and List of British monarchs, Queen of Great Britain and Irel ...

, 1665–1714). The community is the site of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, where most of the city offices are located, including city hall. Traffic is a major concern for the area as the Municipal Center is a major employment center that is only accessible by two-lane roads. In 1691, Lower Norfolk County was split roughly in half. The western half became Norfolk County, while the eastern half became Princess Anne Shire, later known as

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 ...

. Between 1691 and the consolidation of Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County in 1963, this community served 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 ...

and was sometimes referred to as Princess Anne Courthouse. The old courthouse dates to the 17th century. Despite its name,

Princess Anne High School Princess Anne High School (PAHS) is one of 11 high schools in the Virginia Beach City Public School System. The school features, as its academy, the International Baccalaureate Programme. Opened in 1954, it is the oldest remaining high school in ...

is not located in the Princess Anne section of Virginia Beach. Princess Anne Elementary School and Princess Anne Middle School however, are located in Princess Anne just a short distance from the Municipal Center. Subdivisions in the general area include: Ashby's Bridge, Asheville Park, Castleton, Christopher Farms, Courthouse Estates, The Estates at Munden Farms, Heritage Park, Highgate Crossing, Highgate Greens, Holland Oaks, Holland Woods, Hunt Club Forest, Indian River Plantation, Lago Mar, Lake Placid, Mayberry, Pine Ridge, Prince George Estates, Princess Anne Woods, Red Mill Farms, Rollingwood, Sherwood Lakes, Strawbridge, Three Oaks and others. The area boasts an exceptional crime rate, as well as access to some of the best schools in the

Virginia Beach City Public Schools Virginia Beach City Public Schools is the branch of the government of the city of Virginia Beach, Virginia responsible for public K-12 education. Like all public school systems in the state, it is legally classified as a school division instead ...

system, including Kellam. Its location, in close vicinity to Pungo, the

oceanfront, as well as the coastal community, Sandbridge keeps the area in high demand among new residents. Like much of the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

, the Princess Anne area of Virginia Beach has a

subtropical climate The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...

, characterized by short, relatively mild winters and long, hot and humid summers. Primarily because of its close proximity to 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 ...

and location south of 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 ...

, temperatures are more moderate than those inland, with winters being warmer and averaging only 3 to 4 inches of snow per year. Annually, Princess Anne residents can expect more than to 50 inches of rain. A wide variety of plants flourish here and can be seen growing throughout the area, including

Camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...

Oleander ''Nerium oleander'' ( ), commonly known as oleander or rosebay, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the genus ...

Azalea Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...

s and

Gardenia ''Gardenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar, Pacific Islands, and Australia. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis after ...

s. Trees include

Sabal ''Sabal'' is a genus of New World palms (or fan-palms). Currently, there are 17 recognized species of ''Sabal'', including one hybrid species. Distribution The species are native to the subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, from ...

and

Windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...

palms,

live oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

crepe myrtle ''Lagerstroemia'' (), commonly known as crape myrtle (also spelled crepe myrtle or crêpe myrtle), is a genus of around 50 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs native to the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, northern Australia ...

s, and various

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

cherry blossom The cherry blossom, or sakura, is the flower of trees in ''Prunus'' subgenus '' Cerasus''. ''Sakura'' usually refers to flowers of ornamental cherry trees, such as cultivars of ''Prunus serrulata'', not trees grown for their fruit (although ...

and fig trees.

Loblolly pine ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pi ...

bald cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (baldcypress, bald-cypress, bald cypress, swamp cypress; ; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a w ...

, wax myrtle,

sweetgum ''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum (star gum in the UK), gum, redgum, satin-walnut, styrax or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated as a part of ...

and many other indigenous plants are prevalent as well. Several areas in Princess Anne such as Courthouse and Lago Mar are well established and there are plants in bloom throughout the year.

References

External links

{{Virginia Beach Communities in Virginia Beach, Virginia Former county seats in Virginia Boroughs of Virginia Beach, Virginia