Princess Anne County, Virginia
former county in Virginia, United States
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 independent city of Virginia Beach on January 1, 1963, ceasing to exist.
Shires and counties
When Admiral Christopher Newport and the colonists of the Virginia Company arrived in 1607, George Percy and his fellow Englishmen's "first landing" was at Cape Henry in what was to become Princess Anne County. They named the spot in honor of Henry Frederick Stuart, the elder of two surviving sons of King James I of England. A few days later, they travelled up the James River and established Jamestown. During the early 17th century, English settlers explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. By 1610, the English colonists had established a permanent settlement in the Kecoughtan area of what was to become Elizabeth Cittie (sic) in 1619. Today a part of Hampton, it is the oldest known continuously occupied English settlement in North America.
Adam Thoroughgood was an early leader in the area which became Princess Anne County, settling along the Lynnhaven River. In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires (or counties) in the colony of Virginia.
“Princess Anne County, Virginia” enters the record as former county in Virginia, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Princess, Anne and County can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Princess Anne County, Virginia” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Princess, Anne and County provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7244542. Authority coordinates are 36.752, -76.054. None of the 2 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1691, 1963, 1607 and 1610.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Princess Anne County, Virginia”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Princess Anne County, Virginia primary sources, Princess Anne County, Virginia archive and Princess research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Princess Anne County, Virginia”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Princess Anne County, Virginia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.