Isle of Wight County, Virginia

History

During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, English settlers explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. Captain John Smith in 1608 crossed the James River and obtained fourteen bushels of corn from the Native American inhabitants, the Warrosquyoackes or Warraskoyaks. They were a tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy, who had three towns in the area of modern Smithfield. The Warraskoyaks were driven off from their villages in 1622 and 1627, as part of the reprisals for the Great Massacre of 1622.

The first English plantations along the south shore within present-day Isle of Wight were established by Puritan colonists, beginning with that of Christopher Lawne in May 1618. Several members of the Puritan Bennett family also came to settle the area, including Richard Bennett who led the Puritans to neighboring Nansemond in 1635, and later became governor of the Virginia Colony.

By 1634, the Colony consisted of eight shires or counties with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. One of these was Warrosquyoake Shire, renamed Isle of Wight County in 1637, after the island off the south coast of England of the same name. The name was probably changed because the Isle of Wight had been the home of some of the principal colonists, although the Native American name also went through multiple Anglicisations, eventually becoming "Warwicke Squeake".

St. Luke's Church [1], built in the 17th century, is the Virginia's oldest church building. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in recognition of its significance. Many landmark and contributing structures on the National Register are located in Smithfield including the Wentworth-Grinnan House.

In 1732 a considerable portion of the northwestern part of the original shire was added to Brunswick County; and in 1748 the entire county of Southampton was carved out of it.

During the American Civil War, Company F of the 61st Virginia Infantry of the Confederate Army was called the "Isle of Wight Avengers."

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 363 square miles (940 km²), of which 316 square miles (820 km²) is land and 47 square miles (120 km²) (13.0%) is water.

The county is bounded by the James River on the north and the Blackwater River to the south. The land is generally low-lying, with many swamps and pocosins.

Adjacent counties and independent cities

Major highways

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 35,270 people, 11,319 households, and 8,670 families residing in the county. The population density was 94 people per square mile (36/km²). There were 12,066 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.8% White, 24.7% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.8% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. 1.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,319 households out of which 34.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40% were married couples living together, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.40% were non-families. 20.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.40% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 26.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,387, and the median income for a family was $52,597. Males had a median income of $37,853 versus $22,990 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,235. About 6.60% of families and 8.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.80% of those under age 18 and 11.90% of those age 65 or over.

Board of Supervisors

Carrsville District: Rex W. Alphin (I)

Hardy District: Rudolph Jefferson (I)

Newport District: William McCarty (I)

Smithfield District: Dick Grice (I)

Windsor District: Joel Acree (I)

Constitutional officers

Clerk of the Circuit Court: Sharon Nelms Jones (I)

Commissioner of the Revenue: Gerald H. Gwaltney (I)

Commonwealth's Attorney: Georgette Phillips (I)

Sheriff: Mark A. Marshall (I)

Treasurer: Judith Crocker Wells (I)

Isle of Wight is represented by Republicans Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment and Harry B. Blevins and Democrat L. Louise Lucas in the Virginia Senate, Republican Rick L. Morris and Democrat Roslyn C. Tyler in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican J. Randy Forbes in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Public services

Blackwater Regional Library is the regional library system that provides services to the citizens of Isle of Wight.

Towns

Census-designated places