Nansemond County, Virginia

Nansemond County is an extinct county which was located in and the  (after statehood) in the, from  until. It was named for the, a tribe of , who lived along the at the time the English colonists who settled  began arriving in 1607.

Under the, in 1619, the area which became Nansemond County was included in [sic], a one of four large "boroughs", or "incorporations". In 1624, the Virginia Company lost its proprietary charter, and Virginia became a royal colony.

In, the King of England directed the formation of eight s (or ) in the colony. One of these was, which included land area on both sides of , as had the earlier Elizabeth Cittie. Two years later, was formed in  from. It included all the area in now incorporated in the five independent cities located there in modern times. The following year, in, New Norfolk County was divided into and. Upper Norfolk County became Nansemond County nine years later, in.

In 1750, the of Nansemond County was moved from Jarnigan's or Cohoon's Bridge to Suffolk, a new town which had been formed at Constance's Warehouse at Sleepy Hole Point on the Nansemond River in 1742. It was named for the hometown in England of Royal Governor. 

Suffolk became an in 1808 and an  in 1910. Even after Suffolk became politically independent of Nansemond County, the county seat and courts remained at Suffolk. Nansemond County joined a wave of political consolidations in southeastern Virginia between 1952 and 1976, and the county became the of  in July,. Only 18 months later, the new city merged with the existing city of Suffolk on,. The newly created independent city created by the consolidation assumed the name of and became the the largest of the  in land area.