Eastern Shore of Virginia

thumb|200px|right|Bloxom depot, [[Cape Charles, Virginia]]

The Eastern Shore of Virginia is the easternmost region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It consists of two counties (Accomack and Northampton) on the Atlantic coast. It is detached from the mainland of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula. Its population was 45,695 as of 2020.

History

Accomac Shire was established in the Virginia Colony by the House of Burgesses in 1634 under the direction of King Charles I. It was one of the original eight shires of Virginia, and consisted of the whole of Virginia's Delmarva territory. The shire's name comes from the Native American word Accawmack, which means, "the other shore".

In 1642, the name was changed to Northampton County. (In England, "shires" and "counties" are the same thing.) In 1663, Northampton County was split into two counties. The northern two thirds took the original Accomac name, while the southern third remained as Northampton.

Geography

The terrain is overall very flat, ranging from sea level to just above sea level. It is characterized by sandy and deep soil. The weather in the area has temperate summers and winters, significantly affected by the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The rural area has long been devoted to cotton, soybean, vegetable and truck farming, and large-scale chicken farms. Geographically removed from the rest of Virginia, it has had a unique history of settlement and development influenced by agriculture, fishing, tourism, and the Pennsylvania Railroad. William G. Thomas describes the Eastern Shore during the late 19th and early 20th century as "a highly complex and interdependent landscape". He continues:

<blockquote>It was a liminal place, a zone of interpenetration, where the settlement patterns, speech, demography, and political outcomes defined its place in the South but its engagement with technology and rapid transformation of the landscape betrayed other allegiances, motives, forces, and effects.</blockquote>

Transportation

thumb|[[Accomack County Airport in 1994]]

Airports

Accomack County Airport, in Melfa
Campbell Field Airport, in Weirwood
Tangier Island Airport, on Tangier Island

Highway

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel, which is part of U.S. Route 13, spans the mouth of the Bay and connects the Eastern Shore to South Hampton Roads and the rest of Virginia. Before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel was built in 1964, the Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry provided the continuation of U.S. 13 across this stretch of water.

U.S Highways

(Accomac)
(Cape Charles)

State Routes

Public transportation

STAR Transit provides public transit services for both Accomack and Northampton counties, serving both with fixed-route bus and paratransit operations.

Railroads

Delmarva Central Railroad (former)

Trails

Eastern Shore of Virginia Rail Trail

Media

Newspapers

The area is served by the locally owned and operated weekly Eastern Shore Post and the monthly publication Eastern Shore First. Radio stations WESR (AM) and WESR-FM operate the local news website ShoreDailyNews.com.

Radio stations

The region has a number of radio stations with broadcasting towers located on the Eastern Shore. In addition to the ones listed below, the southern portion of Northampton County can receive stations from Hampton Roads reliably. Also, localities in the north of Accomack County can receive stations from the Salisbury/Ocean City, Maryland area.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! scope="col" | Call sign

! scope="col" data-sort-type="number" | Frequency

! scope="col" | Band

! scope="col" | City of license

! scope="col" | Format

! scope="col" | Notes

! scope="row" | WESR (AM)

| 1330 || AM || Onley-Onancock || Country music ||

! scope="row" | WMVA

| 88.9 || FM || Painter || Gospel music ||

! scope="row" | WHAR

| 89.1 || FM || Cheriton || Contemporary Christian || Air1

! scope="row" | WHRX

| 90.1 || FM || Nassawadox || NPR/Variety || rebroadcasts WHRV

! scope="row" | WZLV

| 90.7 || FM || Cape Charles || Contemporary Christian || K-Love

! scope="row" | W218CQ

| 91.5 || FM || Accomac || Christian radio || Bible Broadcasting Network

! scope="row" | WHRE

| 91.9 || FM || Eastville || NPR/Variety || rebroadcasts WHRV

! scope="row" | WROX

| 96.1 || FM || Exmore || Alternative rock ||

! scope="row" | WCCZ

| 96.9 || FM || Nassawadox || Classic hits ||

! scope="row" | WHRF

| 98.3 || FM || Belle Haven || Classical music || rebroadcasts WHRO-FM

! scope="row" | WOWZ

| 99.3 || FM || Accomac || Classic Country ||

! scope="row" | WVES

| 101.5 || FM || Chincoteague || Adult hits || rebroadcasts WCTG

! scope="row" | WESR-FM

| 103.3 || FM || Onley-Onancock || Adult contemporary ||

! scope="row" | W289CE

| 105.7 || FM || Onley-Onancock || Country music || rebroadcasts WESR (AM)

Demographics

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Eastern shore racial demographics

!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non Hispanic)</small>

!Pop 2010

!% 2010

|White alone (NH)

|27,021

|style='background: #ffffe6; |26,757

|59.31%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |58.56%

|Black alone (NH)

|13,744

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12,395

|30.17%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |27.13%

|Hispanic (any race)

|3,724

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,498

|8.17%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.84%

|Asian alone (NH)

|258

|style='background: #ffffe6; |329

|0.56%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.72%

|American Indian and

Alaskan Native alone (NH)

|123

|style='background: #ffffe6; |123

|0.27%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|36

|style="background: #ffffe6; " |9

|0.09%

|style="background: #ffffe6; " |0.02%

|Some other race alone (NH)

|59

|style="background: #ffffe6; " |129

|0.14%

| style="background: #ffffe6; " |0.28%

|Mixed Race or Multiracial (NH)

|588

|style="background: #ffffe6; " |1,455

|1.29%

| style="background: #ffffe6; " |3.18%

|Total

|45,553

|style='background: #ffffe6; |45,695

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

Politics

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"

|+ Presidential election results

|- style="background:lightgrey;"

! Year

! Democratic

! Republican

! Others

|align="center" |2024

|align="center" |45.7% 10,977

|align="center" |53.4% 12,842

|align="center" |0.9% 213

|align="center" |2020

|align="center" |47.5% 11,245

|align="center" |51.2% 12,127

|align="center" |1.4% 322

|align="center" |2016

|align="center" |45.5% 9,995

|align="center" |51.3% 11,269

|align="center" |3.3% 722

|align="center" |2012

|align="center" |50.6% 11,396

|align="center" |48.3% 10,889

|align="center" |1.1% 257

|align="center" |2008

|align="center" |51.4% 11,407

|align="center" |47.5% 10,546

|align="center" |1.2% 256

|align="center" |2004

|align="center" |44.0% 8,293

|align="center" |55.1% 10,395

|align="center" |0.9% 167

|align="center" |2000

|align="center" |44.2% 7,432

|align="center" |51.4% 8,651

|align="center" |4.4% 734

|align="center" |1996

|align="center" |46.9% 7,789

|align="center" |40.8% 6,776

|align="center" |12.3% 2,037

|align="center" |1992

|align="center" |40.1% 7,518

|align="center" |41.4% 7,754

|align="center" |18.5% 3,471

|align="center" |1988

|align="center" |40.6% 6,685

|align="center" |57.6% 9,488

|align="center" |1.8% 296

|align="center" |1984

|align="center" |37.2% 6,581

|align="center" |62.0% 10,953

|align="center" |0.8% 139

|align="center" |1980

|align="center" |46.9% 7,235

|align="center" |48.8% 7,546

|align="center" |4.3% 670

|align="center" |1976

|align="center" |50.9% 7,266

|align="center" |45.8% 6,537

|align="center" |3.3% 468

|align="center" |1972

|align="center" |28.3% 3,652

|align="center" |70.3% 9,083

|align="center" |1.4% 184

|align="center" |1968

|align="center" |29.5% 3,885

|align="center" |35.3% 4,641

|align="center" |35.2% 4,629

|align="center" |1964

|align="center" |51.5% 5,044

|align="center" |48.3% 4,731

|align="center" |0.1% 11

|align="center" |1960

|align="center" |53.6% 4,731

|align="center" |46.0% 3,671

|align="center" |0.4% 31

The Eastern Shore is politically divided, with Accomack County generally voting for the Republican Party and Northampton County generally voting for the Democratic Party. As a whole, the Shore is generally a competitive region, but also leans Republican owing to Accomack's larger share of the population.

It voted against the presidential winner in 2020 and 1992. Also, Democrats won Virginia in 2016, 2020, and 2024, but lost the Eastern Shore each time. In the 2017 gubernatorial election, it gave 50.5% of the vote to Republican Ed Gillespie and 49.0% of the vote to Democrat Ralph Northam, with Northam winning the election statewide. In the 2025 gubernatorial election, it also voted against Democrat Abigail Spanberger, despite Spanberger winning statewide by 15%.

It is represented in the U.S. House of Representatives by Republican Jen Kiggans, in the Virginia Senate by Republican Bill DeSteph, and in the Virginia House of Delegates by Republican Robert Bloxom Jr.

References

External links

Eastern Shore of Virginia - Official State Tourism Website & Map
Eastern Shore Visitor
Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission
Eastern Shore of Virginia Tourism Commission
Northampton County Chamber of Commerce