Elizabeth City County, Virginia

Elizabeth City County was a county in eastern Virginia which is now extinct. Originally created in as, it was one of eight s created in the  by order of the. In 1636, it was subdivided, and the portion north of the harbor of became known as Elizabeth City Shire. It was renamed Elizabeth City County a short time later.

Elizabeth City was originally named Kikotan (also spelled and Kikowtan), presumably a word for the  living there when the English arrived in. They were friendly to the English, but Sir either worried about safety (including potential attack by the Spaniards and the Dutch) or coveted their corn fields after the  of the 1609-10 winter. The English stole their land while the men were out hunting, and for some reason, the natives never attacked the settlement in response.

The shire and county were named for, daughter of King.

The town of Hampton, established in, became the largest town in Elizabeth City County, and was the. In, Hampton was incorporated as an independent city.

In 1952, the county and the former town of in the county were merged into the  of.

The original boundaries of Elizabeth City County in the mid 17th century essentially form those of current city of Hampton today, with the exception of a small area annexed by the in 1927.

Since the English settlers occupied the former Indian village of Kecoughtan in, and the town at Jamestown was eventually abandoned, the city of Hampton now claims to be the oldest continuously-settled English city in.