Accomack County, Virginia. Accomack County (Eastern Shore) has distinct migration and maritime patterns; pair with Northampton.
Verify holdings at Library of Virginia. For independent cities nearby, search city series separately.
Historical markers in Accomack County
Virginia's Department of Historic Resources (DHR) lists 17 state historical highway markers in Accomack County. Below are short summaries, in our own words, of selected markers whose official text DHR has published in a news release, followed by the full list by marker number. Marker texts are copyrighted by DHR, so we link to them rather than reprint them.
Whitesville, an African American community that grew up beside Parksley in the 1880s, got this school in 1925, paid for with $1,700 raised by Black residents, $4,150 in public money and $900 from the Rosenwald Fund. It closed in 1964, and Accomack's schools were not fully desegregated until 1970.
Assawaman Church served the Anglican Accomack Parish, formed in 1663. Its brick church, now gone, went up after 1680 on land given by William Taylor, an Englishman on the Eastern Shore by 1637, and Francis Makemie owned a gristmill next door. A parish chalice of 1749-50 is kept at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Jenkins Bridge.
Joshua Thomas (1776-1853), a waterman who turned Methodist about 1807 and was later ordained an elder, served Chesapeake islanders for more than forty years, traveling in a canoe named The Methodist. Tangier Island was his family's home, and he led camp meetings there.
Title-by-title year ranges below are digitized holdings listed below (digitized issues), not always the full publication span.
Open each title to confirm gaps. Mastheads and successors change often.
Search Virginia Chronicle and Chronicling America for local and regional titles covering Accomack County. Confirm each title’s run dates before assuming continuous coverage.
Accomack County public library / local history desk
library
· Accomack
Start with the county public library local history desk or Virginia room for Accomack. Hours and catalog portals change—verify before visiting. Pair with Library of Virginia catalogs and Virginia Chronicle for newspapers.
Search for active historical and genealogical societies serving Accomack County. Names and websites change; VAGenWeb and Library of Virginia society lists are good discovery points.
Virginia brick walls are often jurisdiction problems.
When a deed, probate, or vital is missing here, try the parent district for the
event year and neighboring counties for kin who lived across the line—not a
substitute for later statewide birth/death registration.
Formed 1663
Parent / earlier jurisdiction
Northampton / Eastern Shore lineage — check district-era records before this county existed
(districts guide).
Formation, place-names, and series notes on this hub will cite standard Virginia references.
Always verify at the repository—fires and thin series vary by book and decade.
State encyclopedia / published historical essays — search for Accomack County topics.
County formation & boundaries
Virginia county formation and independent-city research — verify in Library of Virginia guides (this county formed 1663).
See also the
counties & formation guide when published.
Place-names & communities
Virginia place-names, former communities, and watercourses (local histories + GNIS).