Princess Anne County, Virginia facts for kids

This map from 1903 shows Princess Anne County and other old counties in Virginia.

The County of Princess Anne was a former county in the British Colony of Virginia and later in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It was first created in 1691. This county became part of the city of Virginia Beach on January 1, 1963, and stopped existing as a separate county.

How Counties Were Formed in Virginia

When Admiral Christopher Newport and the first English settlers from the Virginia Company arrived in 1607, their very first stop was at Cape Henry. This spot is now part of what used to be Princess Anne County. They named it after Henry Frederick Stuart, who was a son of King James I of England. A few days later, they traveled up the James River and started Jamestown.

Early English settlers explored and began living in the areas around Hampton Roads. By 1610, they had a lasting settlement in the Kecoughtan area. This area later became Elizabeth Cittie in 1619. Today, it is part of Hampton and is the oldest English settlement in North America that has been lived in continuously.

Creating New Counties

Adam Thoroughgood was an important early leader in the area that became Princess Anne County. He settled along the Lynnhaven River. In 1634, the King of England decided to create eight shires (which are like counties) in the Virginia colony. One of these was Elizabeth City Shire. It included land on both sides of Hampton Roads.

New Norfolk County was created in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire. New Norfolk County covered all the land in the South Hampton Roads area. Just one year later, New Norfolk was split into two parts. These were Upper Norfolk County (which is mostly the city of Suffolk today) and Lower Norfolk County.

In 1691, Lower Norfolk was also split in half. The western part became Norfolk County. The eastern part became Princess Anne County. This new county was named after Anne Stuart. She later became Queen of Great Britain in 1702.

The County of Princess Anne was run by a group called the Board of Supervisors. Each Supervisor represented one of six areas called Magisterial Districts.

Challenges During the Revolutionary War

After the American colonies declared their independence in 1776, some people called Loyalists did not agree with the new country. They caused problems in different ways throughout the war.

In Princess Anne and Norfolk Counties, some groups took advantage of the situation. They used the county's rough, swampy land to hide. They also used people who were unhappy with the new local leaders. One such group was led by Josiah Philips, who was from Princess Anne County. His group caused trouble in the area for several years.

After Philips was caught and then escaped, the Virginia government passed a special law. This law, possibly written by Thomas Jefferson, named Philips and his followers. It aimed to stop what it called an "insurrection" (a rebellion) in the counties. Philips was later put on trial and executed in June 1778.

Virginia Beach Resort Grows

Starting in the late 1800s, a small resort area called Virginia Beach began to grow. It was located along the Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern part of Princess Anne County. It grew especially fast after 1888 when trains and electricity arrived. Virginia Beach became a town in 1906. On January 1, 1963, it became an independent city. Even then, Princess Anne (Courthouse) remained the main town for the county.

In the mid-1900s, Princess Anne County started losing some of its land. The city of Norfolk, Virginia took parts of it through a process called annexation. This happened after Norfolk had already taken all the northern part of Norfolk County. People in Princess Anne County began to think that merging with the small city of Virginia Beach would be a good idea. This would stop the independent City of Norfolk from taking more (or even all) of Princess Anne County.

The original western border of Princess Anne County started in East Beach (which is now part of Norfolk, Virginia). It followed a path south, going between different roads and rivers.

Princess Anne County Joins Virginia Beach

In 1963, people in both Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County voted to merge. The Virginia General Assembly also approved this. So, Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County joined together to form the independent city of Virginia Beach that we know today.

Around the same time, Norfolk County merged with the small independent City of South Norfolk. The new independent city formed from that merger was Chesapeake. It became Virginia Beach's new neighbor to the southwest.

Most of the land that was once Princess Anne County is now part of the independent City of Virginia Beach. The only parts that are not are some areas in the northwest. These became part of the City of Norfolk through annexation and a land swap agreement between the two cities in 1988.

Areas Within Princess Anne County

Princess Anne County was divided into several Magisterial Districts. Each district contained smaller communities.

Bayside District Communities

• Aragona, Virginia
• Bay Shore, Virginia
• Broad Creek, Virginia
• Davis Corner, Virginia
• Diamond Springs, Virginia
• East Beach, Virginia
• Little Creek, Virginia
• Lynnhaven
• Ocean Park, Virginia
• Pembroke Manor, Virginia
• Thalia

Black Water District Communities

• Black Water, Virginia
• North Landing, Virginia
• Vine, Virginia

Kempsville District Communities

• Bonney, Virginia
• Fairfield Manor, Virginia
• Kempsville
• Newtown
• Tallwood Manor, Virginia
• Wood Stock, Virginia
• Salem, Virginia Beach

Lynnhaven District Communities

• Brock's Bridge, Virginia
• Cape Henry, Virginia
• Great Neck, Virginia
• Linkhorn Park, Virginia
• London Bridge
• Oceana
• Virginia Beach

Pungo District Communities

• Back Bay
• Blossom Hill
• Capps, Virginia
• Creeds
• Land of Promise, Virginia
• Little Island
• Munden Point
• Pleasant Ridge
• Pungo
• Wash Woods

Seaboard District Communities

• Dam Neck
• Land, Virginia (now Landstown)
• Mapleton (now Green Run)
• Princess Anne
• Sandbridge
• Seatack
• Sigma, Virginia