Pungoteague, Virginia

{{short description|Populated place in Virginia, US}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox settlement

|name = Pungoteague, Virginia

|official_name =

|settlement_type = Census-designated place

|nickname =

|motto =

|image_skyline = Village general store, Pungoteague.jpg

|imagesize =

|image_caption = Village General Store in Pungoteague, July 2018

|image_flag =

|image_seal =

|image_map = Accomack County Virginia incorporated and unincorporated areas Pungoteague highlighted.svg

|mapsize = 260px

|map_caption = Location in Accomack County and the state of Virginia.

| subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = United States

|subdivision_type1 = State

|subdivision_name1 = Virginia

|subdivision_type2 = County

|subdivision_name2 = Accomack

|government_footnotes =

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|leader_title =

|leader_name =

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|established_title =

|established_date =

|unit_pref = Imperial

|area_footnotes =

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|population_as_of = 2010

|population_footnotes =

|population_total = 347

|population_density_km2 = auto

|timezone = Eastern (EST)

| utc_offset = −5

|timezone_DST = EDT

| utc_offset_DST = −4

|elevation_footnotes =

|elevation_ft = 26

|coordinates = {{coord|37|37|44|N|75|49|2|W|region:US-VA_type:city|display=inline,title}}

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|postal_code_type = ZIP codes

|postal_code =

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|blank_name = FIPS code

|blank_info = 51-48776

|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID

|blank1_info = 2584905{{Cite gnis|2584905|Pungoteague Census Designated Place}}

|website =

|footnotes =

}}

Pungoteague is a census-designated place (CDP) in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in 2010. Per the 2020 census, the population was 346.{{Cite web|title=Pungoteague CDP, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Pungoteague_CDP,_Virginia?g=1600000US5164976|website=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=December 25, 2022}}

The name itself is a derivative of the Native American term "Pungotekw," which means Sand Fly River and is the name used by the earliest inhabitants.{{cite web|url=http://www.co-opliving.com/coopliving/issues/2010/NovemberDecember%202010/downhome.htm |title=Down Home |publisher=Co-opliving.com |access-date=2012-10-03}}

In late summer of 1665, William Darby and two of his friends dared present a play at Cowle's Tavern. Entitled Ye Bear and Ye Cub, this drama is believed to have been the first theater performance of an English-language play in the American colonies.{{cite book|last1=Londré|first1=Felicia Hardison|title=The history of North American theater : the United States, Canada, and Mexico : from pre-Columbian times to the present|date=1998|publisher=Continuum|location=New York|isbn=9780826410795|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofnortham0000lond/page/65 65]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofnortham0000lond/page/65}}

Another notable local landmark is Saint George's Church. It is believed that the first meetings of the Pungoteague Episcopal congregation were held in 1636, with the church's first building being constructed from 1666 to 1676. The original frame church was replaced in 1736 by a brick structure in the Flemish bond pattern. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.{{NRISref|version=2010a}} Shepherd's Plain was added in 1982.

In the mid-19th century, Pungoteague was a point along the stagecoach route between Wilmington, Delaware and Eastville, Virginia.{{cite book|last=Smith|first=John Calvin|title=The Illustrated Hand-book, a New Guide for travelers through the United States of America|date=1847|publisher=Sherman & Smith|location=New York City|pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedhandb00smitrich/page/127 127]–128|url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhandb00smitrich}}