Barlar.org - Family Tree: About Isle of Wight, Virginia

One of the oldest county governments in the United States, Isle of Wight, is situated on the shores of Virginia's James River and consists of two incorporated Towns - Smithfield and Windsor. The mainly agricultural center is where our Barlow family originated in America in the 1600s.

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Isle of Wight, VA
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History
During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of the settlement at Jamestown in 1607, English settlers explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. Captain John Smith in 1608 crossed the James River and obtained fourteen bushels of corn from a tribe of Native Americans called Warrosquyoackes. In the next few years, several plantations were established along the shore in the area south of the river.

By 1634, the Virginia Colony consisted of eight shires (counties) with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. One of these was Warrosquyoake Shire, renamed Isle of Wight County in 1637, after the island in the English channel of the same name. The name was probably changed due to the difficulty of spelling and pronouncing its Native American name, and because the Isle of Wight had been the home of some of the principal colonists.

In 1732 a considerable portion of the northwestern part of the original shire was added to Brunswick County; and in 1748 the entire county of Southampton was carved out of it.

Geography
The county has a total land area of 316 sq mi and is bounded by the James River on the north and the Blackwater River to the south. The land is generally low-lying, with many swamps and "pocosins". (Algonquin Native American word for "swamp on a hill".)

National Historic Landmark

Isle of Wight is home to St. Luke's Church, which was built in 1632. St Luke's is the nation's only original Gothic church, and the oldest existing church of English Foundation in America.

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St Luke's Church
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