Editing Mathews County, Virginia

{{short description|County in Virginia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Mathews County
 | state                = Virginia
 | seal                 = Mathews Seal.jpg
 | founded              = 1791
 | seat wl              = Mathews
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 252
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 86
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 166
 | area percentage      = 65.9
 | population_as_of     = 2020
 | population_total     = 8533 
 | pop_est_footnotes    = 
 | pop_est_as_of        = 
 | population_est       = 
 | population_density_km2 = auto
 | web                  = https://www.mathewscountyva.gov
 | ex image             = MATHEWS COUNTY COURTHOUSE SQUARE.jpg
 | ex image cap         = [[Mathews County Courthouse Square]]
 | time zone            = Eastern
 | district             = 1st
}}
[[Image:HouseontheWaterinMathews.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Typical waterside scene in Mathews County]]

'''Mathews County''' is a [[County (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Virginia]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 8,533.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mathews County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US51115|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=January 30, 2022}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Mathews, Virginia|Mathews]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref>

Located on the [[Middle Peninsula]], Mathews County is included in the [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]]-[[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]]-[[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], VA-[[North Carolina|NC]] [[Hampton Roads|Metropolitan Statistical Area]].

== History ==
During [[Virginia Colony|Virginia's colonial era]], the area that later became Mathews County was part of [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester County]]. In 1691, the [[Virginia General Assembly]] had directed that each county designate an official port-of-entry. Established around 1700, the community of Westville was located along [[Put-in Creek]], a tidal tributary of [[East River (Virginia)|Virginia's East River]] feeding into [[Mobjack Bay]], which was a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailypress.com/news/gloucester-county/dp-nws-gloucester-mathews-20101002,0,1160200.story |title=Mathews eyes transforming Put-in Creek - tribunedigital-dailypress |publisher=Dailypress.com |date=October 2, 2010 |access-date=August 11, 2015 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 1776 during the [[American Revolutionary War]], Virginia's last [[List of colonial governors of Virginia|Royal Governor]], [[John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore|Lord Dunmore]], left Virginia after pushed to the southeast to [[Gwynn's Island]] by [[General]] [[Andrew Lewis (American general)|Andrew Lewis]] and the [[Continental Army]]. General Lewis' forces bombarded Gwynn's Island from [[Fort Cricket Hill]].

In 1791, after Virginia gained its independence from [[Great Britain]], the [[Virginia General Assembly]] split Gloucester county and created Mathews County. The county was named for [[Brigadier General]] [[Thomas Mathews (politician)|Thomas Mathews]], then speaker of the [[Virginia House of Delegates]]. Westville was designated at the county seat (later it became known variously as Mathews Court House or simply Mathews).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vamathew/ |title=VAGenWeb Mathews County, VA Genealogy |publisher=Rootsweb.ancestry.com |date=November 8, 2007 |access-date=August 11, 2015}}</ref>

Seaborne commerce, fishing and oyster farming had always been important in the area and [[Old Point Comfort Light]]house was built in 1802 to guide vessels into the [[Hampton Roads]] seaport (along with the older lighthouse at Cape Henry). Two additional lighthouses were built slightly later: [[New Point Comfort Light]] and [[Smith Point Light]]. During the [[War of 1812]], British vessels anchored in Hampton Roads and raided adjacent areas.

Farming was important to the 19th century economy, and early in the century [[Edmund Ruffin]] introduced the use of limestone marl as fertilizer on fields worn out from tobacco crops.<ref>McCartney pp. 266--268</ref> Two Mathews County men implicated in [[Gabriel's Rebellion]] in 1802 were sentenced to transportation out of the Commonwealth. In a lawsuit begun in 1806, Jackey Wright of Mathews County was granted her freedom from prominent landowner Holder Hudgins due to her grandmother's Native American ancestry in one of the last cases decided by Judge [[George Wythe]], with a Virginia Supreme Court opinion by [[St. George Tucker]].<ref>McCartney pp. 223-226</ref>

During the [[American Civil War]], many men from Mathews County enlisted in the Confederate Army. Some Union sympathizers petitioned President Abraham Lincoln for help, alleging that Confederate sympathizers had harassed them.<ref>McCartney pp. 337-339</ref> Union forces by 1862 controlled the Hampton Roads area and in July 1862 a detachment of Pennsylvania cavalry arrived at Gloucester Court House, then went to Mathews to arrest Carter B. Hudgins, but were unsuccessful. Several other Union raids occurred beginning in September 1863, initially designed to disrupt Confederate salt works. However, in the October 1863 raid, Union General Wistar later reported some of his troops behaved very badly, and Sands Smith was executed after he shot a Union soldier attempting to confiscate his cow.<ref>Mathews County Historical Society, History and Progress, Mathews County, Virginia (reprints from 1949 and 1979 special editions of the Gloucester Mathews Gazette-Journal pp. 15-16</ref> His son and grandson would become prominent Mathews County officials by century's end.

In 1882–1886, complaints about out-of-state watermen dredging local oyster beds (and destroying young oysters) produced an "oyster war" during the administration of Virginia Governor [[William E. Cameron]]. Several offending boats were captured, but all but one of their watermen were from [[Eastern Shore of Virginia|Virginia's Eastern shore]] (across Chesapeake Bay) rather than from outside the Commonwealth.<ref>McCartney pp. 429-430</ref>

During World War I, Mathews County greatly exceeded its quota of volunteers. In addition to fatalities, several men were disabled by gas attacks at the battlefront, and later relayed their stories. Many Mathews county seamen also served in the Merchant Marine. The war also changed economic relations within the county, for farm laborers could get better paying jobs in Hampton Roads or nearby cities.

As the [[Great Depression]] began, voters elected [[Emma Lee Smith White]], wife of local physician Dr. Carl Clifford White, to represent them in the [[Virginia General Assembly]]. As a local insurance agent, among other jobs, she had other priorities after a hurricane and 100-year level flooding devastated Mathews County in August 1933. No woman again sat in the Virginia General Assembly for 21 years.<ref>Cynthia A. Kierner and Sandra Goia Treadway, Virginia Women: Their Lives and Times, Vol. 2 (Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press 2016) p. 336</ref>

In October 2012, [[Hurricane Sandy]] also devastated Mathews County, and while rebuilding, officials decided to petition to have the town center declared a historic district. It received nomination from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Mathews/057-5415_Mathews_Downtown_HD_2016_PIF.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=April 3, 2017 |archive-date=February 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215021604/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Mathews/057-5415_Mathews_Downtown_HD_2016_PIF.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Mathews/057-5415_Mathews_Downtown_HD_photographs.htm |title=Mathews Downtown Historic District, Mathews County, #057-5415 |access-date=April 3, 2017 |archive-date=April 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404130430/http://dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Mathews/057-5415_Mathews_Downtown_HD_photographs.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The [[Mathews County Courthouse Square]] has been recognized as a National Historic District since 1977, and the [[Sibley's and James Store Historic District]] (consisting of two 19th-century general stores) has been recognized as a National Historic District since 2011.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|252|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|86|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|166|sqmi}} (65.9%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> It is the second-smallest county in Virginia by land area.

Mathews County is perhaps best known for its miles of waterfront sites, as well as its prominent location on the Chesapeake Bay. Surrounded almost completely by water, it is bordered by Middlesex County to the north, separated by the [[Piankatank River]] and Gloucester County to the west. The southern side of the county borders [[Mobjack Bay]].

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Middlesex County, Virginia|Middlesex County]] - north
* [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester County]] - south & west
* [[York County, Virginia|York County]] - south

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1800= 5806
|1810= 4227
|1820= 6920
|1830= 7664
|1840= 7442
|1850= 6714
|1860= 7091
|1870= 6200
|1880= 7501
|1890= 7584
|1900= 8239
|1910= 8922
|1920= 8447
|1930= 7884
|1940= 7149
|1950= 7148
|1960= 7121
|1970= 7168
|1980= 7995
|1990= 8348
|2000= 9207
|2010= 8978
|2020= 8533
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000|publisher=[[US Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref><br />1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=January 3, 2014}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/va190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 3, 2014}}</ref><br />1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 3, 2014}}</ref> 2010-2013<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts |url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51115.html |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 3, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607062036/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51115.html |archive-date=June 7, 2011 }}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Mathews County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''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.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Mathews County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51115&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Mathews County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51115&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|7,835
|7,250
|87.27%
|84.96%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|822
|658
|9.16%
|7.71%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|18
|7
|0.20%
|0.08%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|30
|49
|0.33%
|0.57%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|2
|15
|0.02%
|0.18%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Some Other Race]] alone (NH)
|1
|25
|0.01%
|0.29%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed Race or Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|166
|332
|1.85%
|3.89%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|104
|197
|1.16%
|2.31%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''8,978'''
|'''8,533'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|}

===2010 Census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR8">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=May 14, 2011|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2010, there were 8,978 people, 3,932 households, and 2,823 families residing in the county. The population density was {{convert|108|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 5,333 housing units at an average density of {{convert|62|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 88.0% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 9.2% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.2% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.3% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.3% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.9% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.
[[Image:HornHarborHouses.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Houses on Horn Harbor in Mathews County]]

There were 3,932 households, out of which 24.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.20% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 19.90% under the age of 18, 5.20% from 18 to 24, 23.10% from 25 to 44, 30.10% from 45 to 64, and 21.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $43,222, and the median income for a family was $50,653. Males had a median income of $36,294 versus $23,434 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $23,610. 6.00% of the population and 4.30% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.50% are under the age of 18 and 4.80% are 65 or older.

Tourism, leisure, and fishing industries are the major sources of employment. Mathews County is one of the few counties in Virginia without a traffic signal. ([[Bath County, Virginia|Bath County]] is another.) Along [[Route 223 (Virginia)|State Route 223]] at Gwynn's Island, there is a small [[drawbridge]] which is staffed 24 hours daily.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dailypress.com/1992/09/20/watching-the-world-go-by/|title=Watching The World Go By|work=tribunedigital-dailypress|access-date=August 3, 2015|archive-date=March 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306015411/http://articles.dailypress.com/1992-09-20/news/9209200315_1_bridge-deck-tender-shift-work|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ethnicity===
As of 2016 the largest self-identified ancestries/ethnicities in Mathews county are:
* English - 32.3%
* Irish - 14.0%
* German - 12.8%
* American - 10.5%
<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP02/0500000US51115 |title=American FactFinder - Results |access-date=December 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213040657/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/16_5YR/DP02/0500000US51115 |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Communities==
===Census-designated places===
* [[Gwynn, Virginia|Gwynn]]
* [[Mathews, Virginia|Mathews]]

===Other unincorporated communities===
* [[Hudgins, Virginia|Hudgins]]
* [[Susan, Virginia|Susan]]
* [[North, Virginia|North]]
* [[Bavon, Virginia|Bavon]]
* [[Moon, Virginia|Moon]]
* [[Onemo, Virginia|Onemo]]

Prominent among Mathews County tourism and leisure locations is [[Gwynn's Island]], a popular spot for recreational boating and sailing. It is located where the [[Piankatank River]] feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gwynnsislandmuseum.org/|title=Welcome|work=Gwynnsislandmuseum.org| access-date=August 3, 2015}}</ref> Nearby is the offshore location of the historic [[New Point Comfort Light]].

==Sports, events==
Mathews County hosts the annual Tour De Chesapeake (due to its lack of hills except for the north section of the county near the Mathews-Gloucester border). The bicycling event is a benefit for the [[Chesapeake Bay Foundation]].<ref>[http://www.bikechesapeake.org/]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801042327/http://www.bikechesapeake.org/|date=August 1, 2015}}</ref> The community also sponsors Mathews Market Days, featuring local artists such as [[P. Buckley Moss]].

Mathews High School is known for success in several sports including Boy's and Girl's Crew Teams, Boys and Girls Cross Country, Volleyball, Wrestling, Softball, and Track and Field. The Mathews wrestling team won the 1990 and 1991 state championship, boys track won the 1969 and 1986 state championships, the Mathews baseball team won the state championship in 2004, and the volleyball team won two consecutive state championships in 2011 and 2012. The Mathews crew team has also won many championships for Mathews including the Stotesbury Cup.<ref>[http://www.visitmathews.com/MIMS/online.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813013747/http://www.visitmathews.com/MIMS/online.htm|date=August 13, 2014}}</ref>

==Notable people==
[[Sally Louisa Tompkins|Captain Sally Tompkins]] was a Mathews County native. Gwynn's Island resident William B. Livermon Sr. appeared throughout the 1970s on television in religion segments as "The [[Circuit rider (religious)#Examples|Circuit Rider]]".<ref>{{cite web | title=William B. Livermon Sr., 1916-1992 | url=http://www.vaumc.org/index.cfm/fa/content.view/menuID/1507.htm | author=Callis, Rita A. | publisher=Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church | year=1992 | work=Memoirs from the 1992 Journal of the Virginia Annual Conference | access-date=April 21, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908103624/http://www.vaumc.org/index.cfm/fa/content.view/menuID/1507.htm | archive-date=September 8, 2008 }}</ref> Mathews is also home to former [[NFL]] football player [[Stuart Anderson (American football)|Stuart Anderson (football)]] of the [[Washington Redskins]] and baseball player [[Keith Atherton]] of the [[Minnesota Twins]].

Former Beatle [[John Lennon]] and his wife [[Yoko Ono]] once owned two historic waterfront estates in Mathews.

==Politics==
{{PresHead|place=Mathews County, Virginia|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=December 9, 2020}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|4,106|1,774|65|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|3,901|1,825|100|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|3,517|1,563|231|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|3,488|1,807|79|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|3,456|1,934|50|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|3,497|1,589|43|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|2,951|1,499|159|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|2,206|1,602|452|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|2,179|1,402|944|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|2,752|1,235|89|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|2,868|1,106|31|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|2,204|1,300|212|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|1,908|1,309|86|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,164|730|93|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|1,309|691|777|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|1,149|1,137|0|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|1,069|682|3|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|1,018|406|132|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|951|533|5|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|490|458|83|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|491|615|1|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|349|592|6|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|452|622|5|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|488|652|14|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|855|431|0|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|195|678|10|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|216|624|16|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|90|549|15|Virginia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|45|523|34|Virginia}}

==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Mathews County, Virginia]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.visitmathewsva.com/statistics.html Mathews County Virginia History and Statistics] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315193811/http://www.visitmathewsva.com/statistics.html |date=March 15, 2007 }}

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Mathews County, Virginia
|North     = [[Middlesex County, Virginia|Middlesex County]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Chesapeake Bay]]
|Southeast =
|South     = [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester County]]
|Southwest =
|West      = [[Gloucester County, Virginia|Gloucester County]]
|Northwest =
}}

{{Mathews County, Virginia}}
{{Hampton Roads}}
{{Virginia}}

{{coord|37.42|-76.28|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-VA_source:UScensus1990}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Mathews County, Virginia| ]]
[[Category:Virginia counties]]
[[Category:1791 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1791]]
[[Category:Virginia counties on the Chesapeake Bay]]