Accomac, Virginia

Coordinates: 37°43′7″N 75°40′2″W / 37.71861°N 75.66722°W / 37.71861; -75.66722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Accomac.

Accomac, Virginia
FIPS code
51-00180[4]
GNIS feature ID1498445[2]
WebsiteOfficial website

Accomac is a town in and the

2020 census.[3]

History

Though Accomack County was established as one of Virginia's eight original shires in 1634, the government was situated in the southern part of the Eastern Shore near Eastville until the division of the shore into two counties (Northampton and Accomack) in 1663.[6] During this era, religious diversity began in the area, as Presbyterian Francis Makemie received a plantation nearby which he used as a base for his mercantile and missionary journeys, and where he died at age 50 a few years after winning a New York court case brought against his preaching (as the Scots-Irish emigrant to Maryland's Eastern Shore counties produced a preaching license from Barbados). Early Baptist Elijah Baker also arrived near Accomac before the American Revolutionary War, and was likewise imprisoned for unauthorized preaching, but eventually also had that case dismissed.

After the creation of the present-day Accomack County, the court convened alternatively at

Tangier Island
.

During the

Henry H. Lockwood commanded the occupying forces and established a headquarters in the rectory of St. James Episcopal Church (then home to town physician Dr. Peter F. Browne).[11]
Other than damages to the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches which were used by the army for stables and housing, Drummondtown escaped the war with little damage.

The late nineteenth century brought slow but steady economic prosperity for the citizens of Drummondtown, fueled by the arrival of the railroad from the north, and several new homes were constructed in and around the older core of the town in the 1880s and 1890s.[12] The coming of the railroad also presented a challenge for Drummondtown when residents of the newly established town of Parksley initiated a referendum to move the county seat to the new community. The referendum vote took place in 1895 after nearly a decade of debate, and the residents of Accomack County elected to keep the court where it had been located for the past two centuries.[12] By this time, the town had been renamed "Accomac" by order of the United States Post Office Department dated August 9, 1893.[13] The name Accomac is derived from a Native American word translated to mean "on the other side".[14]

General information

  • ZIP Code: 23301
  • Area Code: 757
  • Local Phone Exchange: 787
  • School District: Accomack County Public Schools

Geography

Accomac is located at 37°43′7″N 75°40′2″W / 37.71861°N 75.66722°W / 37.71861; -75.66722 (37.718678, −75.667323).[15]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.4 square miles (1.1 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1950500—
1960414−17.2%
1970373−9.9%
198052239.9%
1990466−10.7%
200054717.4%
2010519−5.1%
20205261.3%
2021 (est.)522[3]−0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]

As of the

Latino
of any race were 2.19% of the population.

There were 199 households, out of which 22.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.71.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 14.8% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 131.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 136.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $37,500, and the median income for a family was $51,250. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $23,929 for females. The

poverty line
, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  2. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Accomac, Virginia
  3. ^ a b c d "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  4. ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  6. ^ Peters, John O.; Peters, Margaret T. (1995). Virginia's Historic Courthouses. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. p. 170.
  7. ^ Nock III, Floyd (1976). Drummondtown: Accomac Court House, Virginia. Verona, VA: McClure Press. p. 10.
  8. ^ Nock III, Floyd (1976). Drummondtown: Accomac Court House, Virginia. Verona, VA: McClure Press. p. 12.
  9. ^ Nock III, Floyd (1976). Drummondtown: Accomac Court House, Virginia. Verona, VA: McClure Press. p. 13.
  10. ^ Nock III, Floyd (1976). Drummondtown: Accomac Court House, Virginia. Verona, VA: McClure Press. pp. 21–24.
  11. ^ Nock III, Floyd (1976). Drummondtown: Accomac Court House, Virginia. Verona, VA: McClure Press. p. 25.
  12. ^ a b Nock III, Floyd (1976). Drummondtown: Accomac Court House, Virginia. Verona, VA: McClure Press. p. 28.
  13. ^ Nock III, Floyd (1976). Drummondtown: Accomac Court House, Virginia. Verona, VA: McClure Press. p. 7.
  14. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. p. 23.
  15. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  16. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1967.

External links

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Accomac.
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