Phoebus, Virginia

Phoebus was an incorporated town located in Elizabeth City County on the Virginia Peninsula in eastern Virginia. The town and county are now extinct, as they were incorporated into the independent city of Hampton in 1952.

History

Captain John Smith landed on a part of Phoebus known as Strawberry Banks on his first voyage up the James River in 1607. The area which became the Town of Phoebus was founded in 1609 as Mill Creek and was located on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads, directly across from Norfolk's Willoughby Spit. Originally created in 1634 as Elizabeth City Shire, one of eight shires created in colonial Virginia, Elizabeth City County was formed in 1643. Old Point Comfort became the home of Fort Monroe, the oldest active duty fort in the nation (although scheduled for base closure by 2011 [http://www.cfmnp.org/news.htm] ).

The Town of Phoebus was Roseland Farm until 1871 when it was divided into lots and became known as Chesapeake City. The streets were named after prominent citizens: Mallory, Curry, Hope, Lancer, and Mellen. When the town was incorporated in 1900, it was named Phoebus in honor of its leading citizen, Harrison Phoebus. Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus agreed to be merged into the independent city of Hampton in 1952 by voter referendum.

References

*1911

ee also

*Lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia
*List of extinct U.S. counties"

External links

* [http://www.phoebus.info/ Phoebus community website]
* [http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacount/elizaco.html Virginia Places educational website]
* [http://hamptonfire.tni.net/volunteer/phoebusvrs.html Hampton Fire Dept history]