Northampton County, Virginia

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Northampton County, Virginia
County
Eastville Courthouse.JPG
Northampton County Courthouse Historic District
Flag of Northampton County, Virginia.jpg
Flag
Northampton County, Virginia seal.png
Seal
Map of Virginia highlighting Northampton County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Coordinates: 37°18′03″N75°55′43″W / 37.30078°N 75.92854°W / 37.30078; -75.92854
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Virginia.svg Virginia
Founded1642
Seat Eastville
Largest town Exmore
Area
 • Total
795 sq mi (2,060 km2)
 • Land212 sq mi (550 km2)
 • Water584 sq mi (1,510 km2)  73.4%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
12,282
 • Density57.9/sq mi (22.4/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 2nd
Website www.co.northampton.va.us

Northampton County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,282. [1] Its county seat is Eastville. [2] Northampton and Accomack Counties are a part of the larger Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Contents

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.[ citation needed ]

Slavery

Notice to persons "desiring to establish supply stores" in Accomac and Northampton Counties, Virginia, September 19, 1864 Notice! Persons desiring to establish Supply Stores in the Counties of Accomac and Northampton, Va. Drummondtown, Virginia, 1864.png
Notice to persons "desiring to establish supply stores" in 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. [3] 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. [4]

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. [5]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 795 square miles (2,060 km2), of which 212 square miles (550 km2) is land and 584 square miles (1,510 km2) (73.4%) is water. [6]

Adjacent county and independent city

National protected areas

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1790 6,889—
1800 6,763−1.8%
1810 7,47410.5%
1820 7,7053.1%
1830 8,64112.1%
1840 7,715−10.7%
1850 7,498−2.8%
1860 7,8324.5%
1870 8,0462.7%
1880 9,15213.7%
1890 10,31312.7%
1900 13,77033.5%
1910 16,67221.1%
1920 17,8527.1%
1930 18,5654.0%
1940 17,597−5.2%
1950 17,300−1.7%
1960 16,966−1.9%
1970 14,442−14.9%
1980 14,6251.3%
1990 13,061−10.7%
2000 13,0930.2%
2010 12,389−5.4%
2020 12,282−0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]
1790-1960 [8] 1900-1990 [9]
1990-2000 [10] 2010 [11] 2020 [12]

Racial and ethnic composition

Northampton County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 2010 [11] Pop 2020 [12] % 2010% 2020
White alone (NH)6,7556,93254.52%56.44%
Black or African American alone (NH)4,4913,75636.25%30.58%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)26580.21%0.47%
Asian alone (NH)81800.65%0.65%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)280.02%0.07%
Some Other Race alone (NH)15300.12%0.24%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)1453501.17%2.85%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)8741,0687.05%8.70%
Total12,38912,282100.00%100.00%

2020 census

Courthouse, Confederate Monument, and Lawyers Row in Eastville Lawyers Row at Northampton Courthouse Square.jpg
Courthouse, Confederate Monument, and Lawyers Row in Eastville

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 12,282. The median age was 52.1 years. 18.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 28.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 89.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.6 males age 18 and over. [13] [14]

The racial makeup of the county was 57.6% White, 30.8% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 4.5% from some other race, and 5.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.7% of the population. [14]

0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. [15]

There were 5,457 households in the county, of which 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 34.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 33.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. [13]

There were 7,373 housing units, of which 26.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 67.8% were owner-occupied and 32.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.6%. [13]

Northampton County is home to the United States' oldest continuous court records.

Transportation

Airports

Major highways

Public transportation

STAR Transit provides public transit services for both Northampton and Accomack counties.

Education

Northampton County Public Schools operates public schools in the county. High schoolers in Northampton county are served by Northampton High School.

Communities

Cape Charles, Virginia Bloxom depot Cape Charles VA.jpg
Cape Charles, Virginia

Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Politics

Northampton County leans towards the Democratic Party. In presidential elections, it has voted for the Democratic nominee every time since 1992. However, it has been shifting toward the Republican Party, with the party improving in its percentage share since 2008, as well as narrowing margins, except in 2020.

United States presidential election results for Northampton County, Virginia [16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
№ %№ %№ %
1912 839.37%72681.94%778.69%
1916 10911.85%80287.17%90.98%
1920 21718.42%95480.98%70.59%
1924 18015.53%94181.19%383.28%
1928 68842.39%93557.61%00.00%
1932 29818.90%1,26480.15%150.95%
1936 27722.07%97577.69%30.24%
1940 35929.23%86670.52%30.24%
1944 38125.52%1,10874.21%40.27%
1948 52529.86%99756.71%23613.42%
1952 1,30750.12%1,28949.42%120.46%
1956 1,26451.03%1,13245.70%813.27%
1960 99541.60%1,38757.98%100.42%
1964 1,58651.11%1,51648.86%10.03%
1968 1,41035.48%1,41835.68%1,14628.84%
1972 2,58766.45%1,24632.01%601.54%
1976 2,04343.15%2,45951.93%2334.92%
1980 2,16545.65%2,36349.82%2154.53%
1984 2,90655.81%2,22642.75%751.44%
1988 2,56252.00%2,24245.50%1232.50%
1992 2,08837.17%2,56845.71%96217.12%
1996 1,76335.63%2,56951.92%61612.45%
2000 2,29947.00%2,34047.83%2535.17%
2004 2,66948.54%2,77550.46%551.00%
2008 2,71341.19%3,80057.70%731.11%
2012 2,67641.23%3,74157.63%741.14%
2016 2,68643.55%3,25552.77%2273.68%
2020 2,95543.89%3,66754.47%1101.63%
2024 3,18346.43%3,60352.55%701.02%

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Northampton County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Anthony Johnson". pbs.org. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  4. ↑ Federal Writers' Project (1954). Virginia: A Guide to the Old Dominion. US History Publishers. p. 76. ISBN   978-1603540452.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  5. ↑ Foner, Philip S. (1975). "Slaves and Free Blacks in the Southern Colonies". History of Black Americans: From Africa to the Emergence of the Cotton Kingdom. The African American Experience. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  6. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000". US Census Bureau . Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  11. 1 2 "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Northampton County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau .
  12. 1 2 "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Northampton County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau .
  13. 1 2 3 "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  14. 1 2 "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  15. ↑ "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2025.
  16. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  17. ↑ Edgar Toppin (1973). The Black American in United States History, Allyn & Bacon. ISBN   9781475961720, p. 46
  18. ↑ William J. Wood, "The Illegal Beginning of American Slavery", ABA Journal, 1970, American Bar Association, accessed May 2, 2011
  19. ↑ "Abel Parker Upshur - People - Department History - Office of the Historian". history.state.gov. Retrieved April 5, 2018.

37°18′03″N75°55′43″W / 37.30078°N 75.92854°W / 37.30078; -75.92854

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