Walking Event: Poquoson Museum

This walk will take you through portions of the City of Poquoson. Poquoson is the oldest continuously named city in Virginia. The term "poquoson" was used to describe a boundary line between two elevated tracts of land. Such a boundary contained a stream, river, or creek with its adjoining marsh which lay between two tracts of higher ground. Poquoson was used as a common noun and is found in many deeds along the eastern seaboard. Through the years the term became a proper noun for the land that lies between two such poquosons--the Old Poquoson River and the New Poquoson River. The first mention of Poquoson was in Captain Christopher Calthrope land grant issued by a court in Elizabeth City on April 26, 1631. Three years later the Poquoson Parish was named as a beneficiary in the will of Benjamin Symms for "a free school to educate and teach the children of Elizabeth City and Poquoson." This New Poquoson Parish originally included the areas known today as Poquoson, Tabb, Grafton, Dare, and Seaford. The southern portion of the Poquoson District in York County was incorporated in 1952 to retain control over its schools. The Poquoson Museum is located on the 15-acre Dryden Farm tract on Poquoson Avenue. The farm contains several historic structures such as the c. 1910 farm house, c. 1940 "Miss. Becky's Store" and other significant agricultural outbuildings. While sections of the Dryden Farm will continue to be farmed, the landscape offers adequate space for several important museum functions including an interpretative center, a Boat Building for an already ever-increasing collection of small craft, an environmental trail along Topping Creek, and for the relocation of the c. 1880 Tom Hunt's Store. Carry water regardless of weather conditions.