Poquoson, Virginia

Poquoson, Virginia
Independent city
Boats parked at the Poquoson Marina. Boating has been an important part of Poquoson's economy since its inception.
Seal
Nickname(s): Bull Island
Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Coordinates: 37°7′59″N 76°22′25″W / 37.13306°N 76.37361°W / 37.13306; -76.37361
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	None (Independent city)
Founded	1631
Government
• Mayor	W. Eugene "Gene" Hunt Jr.
Area
• Independent city	200 km2 (79 sq mi)
• Land	40 km2 (15 sq mi)
• Water	160 km2 (63 sq mi)
Elevation	3 m (10 ft)
Population (2010)
• Independent city	12,150
• Density	59/km2 (150/sq mi)
• Metro	1,645,015
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	23662
Area code(s)	757
FIPS code	51-63768
GNIS feature ID	1479363
Website	http://www.poquoson-va.gov

Poquoson /pəˈkoʊsən/ is an independent city located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,150. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Poquoson with surrounding York County for statistical purposes.

Poquoson is located on the Virginia Peninsula, in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.

Poquoson, which was formerly part of York County, became an incorporated town in 1952 and an independent city in 1975. (In Virginia, municipalities incorporated as independent cities are not part of any county.) However, the ties remain close. Over 30 years after Poquoson became a politically independent entity, some constitutional services such as the courts, sheriff and jail continue to be shared with neighboring York County.

Poquoson is one of the oldest continuously named cities in Virginia. It is also one of the few to retain a name which derived from the Native Americans who inhabited the area before colonization by the English began in the 17th century.

The name of the city is a Native American word which roughly translates to "great marsh." The term pocosin, with its varied spellings, was a term used by the area's inhabitants to describe a low, marshy, woody place covered by water in the winter, but dry in the summer. These Native Americans were Algonquians, a tribal group affiliated through the Powhatan Confederacy, and were hostile to the early settlers. A petition to have the name of the parish and river changed was an attempt to rid the language of all vestiges of Indian terms. However, "poquoson" has survived through the centuries and has become a proper noun used to designate the present city.