History of Suffolk, Virginia

The area around Suffolk, Virginia, which is now an independent city in the Hampton Roads region in the southeastern part of the state, was originally inhabited by Native Americans. At the time of European contact, the Nansemonds lived along the river later known by the same name. Suffolk was first explored by the English settlers based at Jamestown, not long after their arrival. They sought a means to survive the inhospitable environment at Jamestown Island.

By at least 1584, the Nansemond tribe originally lived in four villages along the Nansemond River, centered near Chuckatuck (now part of the city of Suffolk). Their head chief lived near Dumpling Island where the tribe’s temples and sacred items were located. At that time the tribe had a population of 1,200 persons with 300 bowmen.

In 1608, Captain John Smith and other colonists from Jamestown began to explore the Nansemond River, following the oyster beds; the English attacked the Nansemond. In 1609, the Nansemond Indians drove Smith out; in return the English robbed the tribe's temple. Despite such setbacks, the new colony continued to grow, and soon settlers populated the area on a permanent basis. They gradually drove out the Nansemond— the tribe lost their last known reservation lands in 1792.

The area in 1634 was originally a part of Elizabeth River Shire and then, in 1637, it became a part of Upper Norfolk County, which eventually in 1646 became Nansemond County. In the 1720s, John Constant settled along the Nansemond river (in what is now Suffolk) and built a home, wharf, and warehouse. Thus the site became known as "Constant's Warehouse." Under the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, one of the 40 tobacco inspection warehouses was chartered : " At the widow Constance's[sic], at Sleepy-Hole Point, in Nansemond County, under one inspection. "

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