{{Short description|Island in the Chesapeake Bay}} {{Distinguish|Knotts Island}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox islands | name = Watts Island | image = | image_size = | image_caption = | image_alt = | pushpin_map = Virginia#USA | pushpin_label = Watts Island | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|37.800|-75.894|display=it}} | etymology = | location = Accomack County, Virginia<br>Chesapeake Bay | area_acre = 200 | area_footnotes = <ref name="sun">{{cite web |last1=Jay |first1=Peter A. |title=A Visit to a Deserted (by Humans) Island in the Bay |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1992/04/19/a-visit-to-a-deserted-by-humans-island-in-the-bay/ |website=Baltimore Sun |access-date=January 12, 2024 |date=April 19, 1992}}</ref> | length_mi = <!-- or |length_ft= --> | length_footnotes = | width_mi = <!-- or |width_ft= --> | width_footnotes = | coastline_mi = <!-- or |coastline_ft= --> | coastline_footnotes = | elevation_ft = | elevation_footnotes = }}
'''Watts Island''' is an island in the Chesapeake Bay administered by Accomack County, Virginia. The island supported small populations from the mid-1600s until the 1920s, and it has decreased in size over time. Recent reporting suggests the island is a habitat for a variety of wildlife.
== History == The island was, along with nearby Tangier, sighted in 1608 by John Smith. He called the region the "Russel Isles", though whether this name was applied to Watts, Tangier, or both is unknown.<ref>Mariner (1999), pp. 1–2.</ref> It was claimed in 1652, and by 1685 Henry Jenkins had received a patent and was grazing livestock on it.<ref>Mariner (1999), p. 10.</ref> Around 1800 the island had 15 inhabitants, composed of Robert Parker's family and their five slaves.<ref>Mariner (1999), p. 25.</ref> In 1832, Josiah Parker sold a small island south of Watts ("Little Watts Island") to the federal government, and in 1833 the Watts Island Light was built upon it.<ref>Mariner (1999), p. 52.</ref> Adam Wallace noted in his 1861 biography of Joshua Thomas that Watts Island was home to three families.<ref>Wallace (1861), p. 45.</ref> Much of the forest on the island was cut down during the American Civil War for use as firewood or boatmaking; erosion washed part of the island's southern end away shortly thereafter.<ref>Mariner (1999), p. 64.</ref>
In the 17th century, the island was a base for piracy.<ref name="bc">{{cite book |last1=Horton |first1=Tom |title=Bay Country : Reflections on the Chesapeake |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore, Maryland |isbn=0-89919-837-6 |pages=102}}</ref> The island was used by pirate Roger Makeele as a lair until Makeele was driven out to North Carolina by Virginia governor Francis Howard.<ref name="wp">{{cite news |last1=Burchard |first1=Hank |title=DIGGING UP A FEW GOOD PIRATES |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/05/13/digging-up-a-few-good-pirates/1bcc311f-abd0-430d-9e65-5e99202ae82e/ |access-date=14 June 2024 |agency=Washington Post |date=13 May 1988}}</ref> During the War of 1812, the island was occupied by the British.<ref name="tvp">{{cite news |last1=Swift |first1=Earl |title=BAY WEARS DOWN HISTORIC ISLAND WATTS ISLAND USED TO BE A TREASURE TROVE OF HISTORY - IT WAS DISCOVERED BY CAPT. JOHN SMITH IN 1608 - UNTIL IT BEGAN A DESCENT INTO THE BAY'S RELENTLESS WATERS. |url=https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/VA-Pilot/issues/1994/vp940711/07110004.htm |access-date=14 June 2024 |agency=The Virginian Pilot |date=11 July 1994}}</ref>
The island was briefly uninhabited from 1908–1910, as Harry and Arinthia Doremus, the last two residents, moved out. Charles Hardenberg, a Princeton University law student, moved onto the island in 1910 and lived there as a hermit until 1920. He lived briefly in Georgia until returning to live for an even longer time on Little Watts Island.<ref>Mariner (1999), pp. 108–109.</ref> In 1962, G.R. Klinefelter purchased the island for $7,600 and moved the headstones on the island to Port Isobel (which he also owned), adjacent to Tangier.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Borum |first=John |date=December 10, 1962 |title=Bay Island Bought by Pennsylvanian |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ledger-star-watts-island-bought-by-kline/138637082/ |access-date=January 13, 2023 |work=The Ledger-Star}}</ref><ref>Mariner (1999), p. 130.</ref>
In 1971, ''The News & Advance'' reported that the island had been completely deserted and was home to a population of wild goats.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 12, 1971 |title=Goats Living Remanent of Colonial Settlement |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-advance-watts-island-goats/138637054/ |access-date=January 13, 2023 |work=The News & Advance}}</ref> A 1992 article in ''The Baltimore Sun'' indicated that the island was a haven for bird life, including herons, osprey, and glossy ibis.<ref name="sun" />
==References== {{reflist}} ===Print sources=== *{{cite book |last1=Mariner |first1=Kirk |title=God's Island: The History of Tangier |date=1999 |publisher=Miona Publications |isbn=978-0964839359 |url=https://archive.org/details/godsislandhistor0000mari/mode/2up}} *{{cite book |last1=Wallace |first1=Adam |title=The Parson of the Islands |date=1861 |isbn=0970380224 |url=https://archive.org/details/parsonofislandsb00wall/mode/2up}}
Category:Virginia islands of the Chesapeake Bay Category:Islands of Accomack County, Virginia