Tangier is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States, on Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay. The population was 727 at the 2010 census. The majority of the original settlers were from South West England, and the tiny island community has attracted the attention of linguists because the natives speak a unique English Restoration-era dialect of American English, which has remained remarkably close in lexicon and pronunciation to the 17th century English language brought by original settlers from the British isles. It is because of the historical isolation of the native population from the mainland that this historic form of speech has been largely preserved. Most of Tangier Island is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Prior to the arrival of European (British) colonists on Tangier Island, it was a summer retreat for the Pocomoke Indians for centuries. Although not much is known about these people, their existence is evidenced by the thousands of stone arrowheads that have been found all over the island. Almost any morning after gale-force winds have been blowing all night, new arrowheads can be found on the beach, uncovered by the blowing away of sand. The discovery of an ancient offshore oyster midden, thousands of years old and containing a huge pile of shells which could only have been deposited by humans, is further evidence that there was a regular population on Tangier, at least in the warm part of the year, long before it had an English name. The enormous numbers of arrowheads and spear points found here suggest the island was probably much larger than recorded history can verify and was home to many animal species.

The first known European explorer of the island was John Smith. He named Tangier and the surrounding islands the "Russel Isles" after the doctor on board his ship.

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