Traditional Houses built on wooden stilts, on the edge of the water, on Chincoteague Island, Accomack County, Virginia, USA
Chincoteague is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, The town includes the whole of Chincoteague Island and an area of adjacent water. The population was 2,941 at the 2010 census. The town is known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island. These ponies and the annual Pony Penning Day are the subject of Marguerite Henry's 1947 children's book Misty of Chincoteague, which was made into the 1961 family film Misty, filmed on location. Chincoteague was a barrier island until the mid-1800s, when Assateague migrated so far south that it shielded Chincoteague from the ocean. The year of 1650 marks the first land grant issued on Chincoteague Island, for 1,500 acres ( km2). Daniel Jenifer became the first English landowner.[8] In 1671, settlers came to the island, and by 1672 there were large farms by Bishops, Bowdens, Jesters and Tarrs. By 1838, there were 36 houses on the island. In 1861, with the Civil War looming following the attack on Fort Sumter, the island voted 132-2 not to secede from the Union and against slavery. The town saw minor action in the war via the Battle of Cockle Creek, which was fought in the bay in 1861. The Native American name for the island is Gingoteague,[8] and the name of the town "Chincoteague" first appeared in the Decisions of the United States Board on Geographic Names in 1943.[9] In 1962, a major nor'easter winter storm, the Ash Wednesday Storm, struck the coast. The town was completely underwater, and went for days without electricity. The storm destroyed almost all structures on Assateague Island, where development was just beginning. Following this, most of the island was preserved from development as Assateague Island National Seashore in 1965. The Assateague Lighthouse and Captain Timothy Hill House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Size: 5616px × 3744px
Location: Chincoteague Island, Accomack County, Virginia, USA
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: accomack, architecture, chincoteague, county, elevated, houses, island, marshy, stilts, traditional, usa, virginia, waterside, wooden
