Tangier Map
Tangier is a town in Accomack County, Virginia, United States, on Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 604 at the 2000 census. The tiny island community has attracted the attention of linguists because its people speak a unique English Restoration era dialect of American English. Each of the original surnames and several of the present surnames on the island originated in the United Kingdom, predominantly from Scotland and Cornwall.
Prior to the arrival of the European colonists to Tangier, it was a summer retreat for the Pocomoke people for centuries. Although not much is known about these people, their existence is evidenced by the thousands of stone arrow heads that have been found all over the island. Almost any morning after gale force winds have been blowing all night, new arrow heads can be found on the beach, uncovered by the blowing away of sand. The discovery of an ancient oyster midden offshore, thousands of years old, consisting of 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 amounts of arrow heads and spear points found here suggest the island probably was much larger than recorded history can verify, and 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.
Nearby cities include Crisfield, Onancock, Pungoteague, Onley, Tasley.