New Virginia Historical Highway Marker Acknowledges Efforts to Extend English Settlement into Northeast North Carolina

Note: Image from a previous historical highway marker unveiling.

The Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission invites the public to attend the unveiling of a new Virginia historical highway marker at 11 a.m. on June 22 at Baylake United Methodist Church, 4300 Shore Drive. 

The marker, Colonizing “Carolana,” will document efforts by Francis Yeardley to extend English settlement to the Albemarle region of present-day North Carolina in the mid-17th century. The marker also documents Yeardley’s interaction with the Indigenous People of the Albemarle area, members of the Yeopim Tribe, who visited and stayed at his home in what is today the Bayside area of Virginia Beach. Yeardley purchased land near Albemarle Sound from the Yeopim chief and was soon able to sponsor the first English settler, Nathaniel Batts, in that region. 

Yeardley had the resources to undertake this initiative. In addition to his extensive landholdings, he was the son of Sir George Yeardley, who twice was appointed as the Royal Governor of Virginia. Francis Yeardley was married to the former Sarah Offley Thorowgood Gookin, the widow of Adam Thorowgood and John Gookin. Thorowgood likely was the largest landowner during his lifetime in what is now Virginia Beach.  

The Colonizing “Carolana” marker will be the 23rd state highway marker erected in Virginia Beach and is the seventh marker funded through the Historic Preservation Commission’s research grant program. The grant recipient, Jorja Jean, a retired Virginia Beach teacher and volunteer, undertook the research, drafted the text, and prepared and submitted the marker application. Virginia Department of Historic Resources staff evaluated the application, researched the subject, and coordinated revisions to the text with Jean before recommending the marker for approval. The Virginia Board of Historic Resources approved the marker text at its March 2023 meeting. 

Virginia’s historical marker program, which began in 1927, is the oldest such program in the nation. These markers document people, places and events of regional, statewide or national significance. There are now more than 2,500 state historical highway markers in Virginia.   

The Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission is a City Council-appointed body that advises Council on issues related to historic preservation. The group seeks to preserve, protect and maintain the historic integrity of Virginia Beach and the former Princess Anne County through a program of advocacy and increased public awareness and involvement. For more information about the City’s Historic Preservation Commission research grant program as well as an interactive digital story of the state historical highway markers in Virginia Beach, visit virginiabeach.gov/historicpreservation.