Late August, 2022
Camping near Pungo, Virginia Beach, with my parents, loblolly pines stand over us, offering little shade in the bright, humid air. A small canal encircles the campground, connecting water to Muddy Creek and the shallow Back Bay. A mile or so from here, Grace White Sherwood lived, farmed, and probably swam, 300+ years ago.
Grace’s story is famous in Hampton Roads, an herbalist and farmer in colonial Princess Anne County known as the “witch of Pungo” and the only* person convicted of witchcraft in Virginia, surviving her “ducking” trial by untieing herself and swimming to the shore.
I be not a witch; I be a healer.
Grace Sherwood
Pungo was the name given to the large area of southern Princess Anne County, Virginia, between the coast and the Dismal Swamp. It’s kept its rural character, even now, with many you-pick farms and roadside markets selling local products interspersed with thick wetlands, though new subdivisions are being built ever closer to the Green line. The name “pungo” is said to have come from the name of a tribe who lived here and its chief, Machipungo.
Curvy 2-lane roads take us through floodplain and forest, with watery ditches on both sides. Occasionally there is a church, horse training center, or boat landing.
Our campground, North Bayshore, is at the end of such a road, adjacent to the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We rent a canoe from camp and float down the canal to Muddy Creek, in the Refuge. It would be very easy to slip out into the network of waterways and spend a day out there exploring.
The Lotus Pond Garden can be reached by boat via Muddy Creek, but also by parking by the bridge on Sandbridge Rd. The American Lotus, nelumbo lutea, is the official flower of Virginia Beach and this garden is definitely worth stopping for, in morning or evening light.
In 2017, I visited Back Bay at Sandbridge island, alone in winter, but this return is a reminder that this is one of the most beautiful sunset spots in Hampton Roads. My dad took some photos here with his camera as two kayakers paddled to the shore.
There is no marker by the road that passes Grace’s land, just a spot known to locals who remember.
FARMS OF PUNGO
If Grace Sherwood were living today, she might be selling her products at a farm market. There are at least four stands or small markets selling homegrown fruits and vegetables and other local goods within (2) miles of the main Pungo crossroads at Indian River Rd and Princess Anne Rd, and more further to the south and west. I visit Cromwell’s on New Bridge Rd and Bay Breeze Farms on Sandbridge Rd.
Cromwell’s 3116 New Bridge Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
At Cromwell’s, I meet Stephanie, who has her own brand of hot sauces and sells them here (where she also works). She even shows me her plant! It’s so pretty. Pungo Pepper Company offers four varieties. I’m loving the Elevation Bojac right now.
BAY BREEZE FARMS sells some local sea food and flowers as well as fruits and vegetables. While wandering along the rows of colorful zinnias, I shared a moment with a butterfly, who landed on a bloom nearby.
1136 Sandbridge Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. The market operates until Labor Day.
The metal dinosaurs of Jerrassic Park stand warmly a few miles south on Princess Anne Rd, so I take my parents to see them while they’re in Pungo. My mom especially enjoys these sculptures, and my mood is more playful this time. The sunlight bears down upon us, making the dinosaurs hot to touch, while mushrooms hide in the shade of a nearby bush. We are the only humans here for most of our visit, but I get to witness a butterfly hanging out with some wasps.
As I leave camp and cross Muddy Creek again in the morning on the way home, the Lotus flowers are blooming, sweet yellow petals opening to the soft light. I think again of Grace, a distant relative, and compare the waters here to the riverside where she was tried: “Witchduck Point.” I drive to Ferry Plantation house off Independence Blvd, where a plaque stands at the entry to the grounds, looking out toward Lynnhaven River, surrounded by a subdivision of newer houses.
In 1706, a ferry service operated here, taking riders up and down the Lynnhaven River (this had been running since 1642). The new Princess Anne Courthouse was built here in 1735, then it became part of a plantation house until that burned down in 1828. The house pictured here was built in 1830, and is open for tours by appointment. Here is the house nonprofit’s page about Grace.
Multiple spirit entities are known to inhabit the house. Previously I came to the grounds one evening and as I walked from the water to the plaque, a group of teenagers saw me as they were “looking for ghosts,” and they were spooked. While the reported paranormal activity is concentrated indoors, this web page from Visit Virginia Beach suggests that Grace’s spirit wanders the riverside here, seen by neighborhood residents. I think her spirit would prefer the Pungo Muddy Creek area, near her home.
BOOK AND MUSIC PLAYLIST
Belinda Nash, a local historian and descendent of Grace, was a director at the Ferry Plantation House and worked for years to justify her ancestor’s legacy. In 2006, thanks to her work, Governor Tim Kaine officially pardoned Grace of her “conviction” and the statue (photo at the top of the post) was made at the corner of Independence Blvd and Witchduck Rd. Belinda published the book A Place in Time: The Age of the Witch of Pungo in 2012, and passed away in 2016.
This experimental synth piece is by an artist out of NY who uses the name Pungo.
North Bayshore Campground, 3257 Colechester Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Cromwell’s Produce, 3116 New Bridge Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Bay Breeze Farms, 1136 Sandbridge Rd, Virginia Beach, VA 23456
Visit again for more stories from local journeys and experiences…
arianna's creative travels 