The proud rural charm and enchanting waterfront setting of Mathews are beloved features of this coastal county. Located on the northeast tip of the Tidewater region's Middle Peninsula, the land faces the winds and tides of the Chesapeake Bay head-on. Mathews is bordered by the Piankatank River to the north and the Mobjack Bay and its tributaries to the southwest. Home to powerful Powhatan Indians, it first was settled by Englishmen in the 17th century. The land was part of York and then Gloucester and became a separate county in 1791, renowned for its shipbuilding industry. Through the 21st...

Beyond museum restorations at Jamestown and neighboring Williamsburg, the history of America's first county is largely unknown to many who visit or live nearby. However, they see and read a multitude of street, neighborhood, and business names that bear silent witness to the county's history. Founded in 1634 atop ancient Algonquin Indian territory, the locality was first made up of plantations and small farms occupied by Europeans and Africans. As they spread out from "James Citie," immigrants sited themselves near rivers and creeks. Waterways provided the earliest transportation network, but...