Tabb, Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tabb
Unincorporated community
Etymology: Mary Octavia Tabb
Tabb Location in Virginia
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	York County
Population  (2014)
• Total	23,807

Tabb is a community in York County, Virginia, United States. It's not a city or town, but an area where people live and work. Tabb is located on the Virginia Peninsula, a piece of land surrounded by water.

The community got its name from Mary Octavia Tabb. She worked as the local postmaster from 1893 to 1910. Tabb is home to several schools, including Tabb High School, Tabb Middle School, Tabb Elementary School, and Mount Vernon Elementary School.

Tabb uses the US Postal Service ZIP code 23693. In 2014, about 23,807 people lived in this ZIP code area. Even though it's called Tabb, it uses the mailing address of Yorktown, Virginia. The area is also part of York County, which was one of the first eight areas created in colonial Virginia back in 1682.

Life in Tabb: Homes and Jobs

Tabb is mostly a place where people live. You'll find many homes here. There are also some businesses.

Local Businesses and Employers

The biggest employer in Tabb is a Walmart Supercenter. It was built in the early 2000s. Before that, the spot was a drive-in movie theater and a grocery store. This Walmart is located where two main roads meet: U.S. Route 17 and State Route 171.

Other major places to work nearby include:

• The NASA Langley Research Center, where scientists study space and flight.
• Newport News Shipbuilding, a place where large ships are built.
• Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, a military base.
• Joint Base Langley-Eustis, another military base.

Rural Charm and Growth

Tabb has some small farms. These farms offer fresh food grown right in the area. You can also find places for horses. Tabb offers a peaceful, country-like escape from the bigger cities nearby, like Hampton and Newport News. For a long time, Tabb was mostly farmland. But in recent years, more people have moved here, and more businesses have opened.

Tabb's Place in History

Tabb has a connection to an important time in American history.

The American Civil War Connection

The first organized land battle of the American Civil War happened near Tabb. It was called the Battle of Big Bethel. Later, during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, the Union Army captured Yorktown. The Union Army, led by General George B. McClellan, then used the York County area as a base. They tried to attack Richmond, which was the capital of the Confederacy, but they were not successful.

Thorpland Plantation: A Historic Home

One very old and important house in Tabb is Thorpland Plantation.

History of Thorpland Plantation

Thorpland Plantation is a historic house that started being built in the 1600s. It's located on Victory Blvd. This house is one of the oldest wooden houses still standing in America. The land for Thorpland was first owned by Christopher Calthorpe in 1635.

Calthorpe came to Virginia in 1622 when he was a teenager. He was from a well-known family in England. By 1636, he owned a lot of land in Virginia. He became an important person in the area. He even served in the House of Burgesses, which was like a government assembly. He also worked as a justice of the peace.

Thorpland was named after Calthorpe's family estate in England. It was one of many large farms, called plantations, in the area during the 1600s. Over time, the big plantation was divided into smaller family farms. Many of these smaller farms have since been sold for new homes. Even today, this area is still known as "Calthrop Neck."