Northampton County, Virginia

Northampton County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,282. Its county seat is Eastville. Northampton and Accomack Counties are a part of the larger Eastern Shore of Virginia.

The county is the center of the late Eocene meteor strike that resulted in the Chesapeake Bay impact crater. The Northampton County Courthouse Historic District is part of the Eastville Historic District at the county seat.

History

When English colonists first arrived in the area in the early 1600s, the Virginia Eastern Shore region was governed by Debedeavon (aka "The Laughing King"), who was the paramount chief of the Accomac people, which numbered around 2,000 at the time. The former name of the county was Accomac Shire, one of the original eight shires of Virginia created in 1634 after the founding of the first settlement at Jamestown in 1607. In 1642, the name was changed to Northampton County by the colonists. In 1663, Northampton County was split into two counties that still exist today. The northern two-thirds took the original "Accomac" name (Accomack County), while the southern third to the Point Cape Charles remained as Northampton.

Slavery

thumb|right|Notice to persons "desiring to establish supply stores" in [[Accomack County, Virginia|Accomac and Northampton Counties, Virginia, September 19, 1864]]

Northampton County is notable for a colonial court case involving an indentured servant. The first free negro in North America was Anthony Johnson of Northampton County. Johnson was one of the first black Americans to own land in America. In 1653, Johnson brought suit in Northampton County Court to argue that one of his servants, John Casor, was indentured to him for life. Casor had left him and was working for a neighbor. This was the first instance of a judicial determination in the Thirteen Colonies holding that a person who had committed no crime could be held in servitude for life.

This court ruling decision also gives insight to how owners of indentured servants could easily choose to ignore the expiration of indentured contracts and force their servants into lifetime slavery. Although Casor, an African, had well-known white planters taking his part, he was reduced to lifetime slavery. Some planters sought more profitable methods of labor by taking advantage of Negro indentured servants, who had little recourse in the legal and social system to protect their rights.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (73.4%) is water.

Adjacent county and independent city

Accomack County – north
Virginia Beach, Virginia – south

National protected areas

Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge
Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuge

Demographics

Notable people

John Casor, the first person of African descent in England's Thirteen Colonies to be declared as a slave for life as the result of a civil suit
Adrian "Ace" Custis (1974-), former NCAA All-America basketball player at Virginia Tech, which retired his jersey. He is a 1992 graduate of Northampton High School.
Alvy Powell (1955-), opera singer, performed National Anthem at inauguration of President George H. W. Bush. He is a 1974 graduate of Northampton High School.
Ralph Northam (1959-), 40th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (2014-2018) and 73rd Governor of Virginia (2018-2022).
Abel Upshur (1791–1844), born in Northampton County, United States Secretary of State and United States Secretary of the Navy
Tyler Webb (1990-), MLB relief pitcher who played for four different teams over five seasons.