Mathews County is a county in Virginia, United States, on the Middle Peninsula between the Rappahannock and York rivers, almost entirely surrounded by the Chesapeake Bay and Mobjack Bay. It had a population of 8,533 at the 2020 census and covers 252 square miles (650 km2) — only 86 square miles (220 km2) of that is land, the rest is water — centred near 37°25′N 76°17′W.
Mathews is the county seat and its postal code is 23109. The county has no incorporated towns; its population lives across two census-designated places and roughly three dozen small unincorporated communities. Mathews County uses Eastern time and has no civil townships, the norm across Virginia.
Towns & Villages in Mathews County
Mathews County has 38 named places on record, none of them incorporated towns or cities — Virginia counties administer their own unincorporated land directly. Mathews and Gwynn are census-designated places (CDPs); everything else below is an unincorporated community or crossroads settlement, some no more than a store, a church and a scatter of houses along the water.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathews | CDP · seat | 527 | 23109 |
| Gwynn | CDP | 1,213 | 23066 |
| Bavon | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bayside | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Beaverlett | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blackwater | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Blakes | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bohannon | Unincorp. | — | 23021 |
| Cardinal | Unincorp. | — | 23025 |
| Cobbs Creek | Unincorp. | — | 23035 |
| Cricket Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Diggs | Unincorp. | — | 23045 |
| Dixie | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fitchetts | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fort Nonsense | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Foster | Unincorp. | — | 23056 |
| Grimstead | Unincorp. | — | 23064 |
| Hallieford | Unincorp. | — | 23068 |
| Haven Beach | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hudgins | Unincorp. | — | 23076 |
| Laban | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mobjack | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Moon | Unincorp. | — | 23119 |
| Motorun | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Point | Unincorp. | — | 23125 |
| North | Unincorp. | — | 23128 |
| Onemo | Unincorp. | — | 23130 |
| Peary | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Port Haywood | Unincorp. | — | 23138 |
| Pribble | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Redart | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Retz | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ruff | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Sarah | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shadow | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Soles | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Susan | Unincorp. | — | 23163 |
| Tabernacle | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Williams | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Winter Harbor Haven | Unincorp. | — | — |
North, listed by the U.S. Census Bureau in some gazetteers as a distinct community, sits near the Gwynn CDP boundary and is sometimes folded into Gwynn addresses; both spellings persist locally.
ZIP Codes
- 23109 — Mathews (also serves Bavon, Beaverlett, Blackwater, Blakes, Cricket Hill, Dixie, Fitchetts, Fort Nonsense, Haven Beach, Laban, Mobjack, Motorun, Peary, Pribble, Redart, Retz, Ruff, Sarah, Shadow, Soles, Tabernacle, Williams and Winter Harbor Haven)
- 23021 — Bohannon
- 23025 — Cardinal
- 23035 — Cobbs Creek
- 23045 — Diggs
- 23056 — Foster
- 23064 — Grimstead
- 23066 — Gwynn
- 23068 — Hallieford
- 23076 — Hudgins
- 23119 — Moon
- 23125 — New Point
- 23128 — North
- 23130 — Onemo
- 23138 — Port Haywood
- 23163 — Susan
Communities without their own post office use the Mathews (23109) ZIP by default, since the county has only 16 postal codes for 38 named places.
Geography
Mathews County occupies the tip of the Middle Peninsula and is, in the words of its own historical society, “surrounded almost completely by water.” The Chesapeake Bay laps its eastern shore, Mobjack Bay and the East, North, Ward’s and Put-In creeks cut deep into the interior, and the county holds the second-smallest land area of any county in Virginia — only 86 of its 252 square miles are dry ground. Gwynn’s Island, connected to the mainland by a small bridge, sits at the county’s northeastern corner.
Mathews County borders three other counties: Middlesex County to the north, Gloucester County to the south and west, and York County across the water to the south. The Chesapeake Bay forms its entire eastern and northeastern boundary.
Demographics
Mathews County had 8,533 residents at the 2020 census, spread across its two CDPs and dozens of small waterside communities — Gwynn (1,213) and Mathews (527) are the largest named places. The county’s median household income runs below the Virginia median of $89,931, typical for a rural coastal county with a fishing- and tourism-based economy rather than a commuting workforce. Population density is roughly 99 people per square mile of land, low even by Virginia standards, a reflection of how much of the county’s area is water rather than settled ground.
Economy & Local Life
Tourism, leisure and the seafood industry are the county’s major sources of employment, built on its position between the Chesapeake Bay and Mobjack Bay. Watermen still work the county’s creeks and bay waters for crab and oyster, and the annual Mathews Market Days festival draws visitors to the county seat each fall. Mathews County Public Schools and county government are the largest steady employers away from the water.
History
Mathews County was formed in 1791 from Gloucester County, shortly after Virginia’s independence, and named for Brigadier General Thomas Mathews, then speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. The Battle of Gwynn’s Island was fought here in 1776, when Lord Dunmore’s fleet was driven from Virginia waters for the last time in the Revolutionary War. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused significant flood damage along the county’s exposed shoreline, and much of the historic county seat was later listed as a National Register historic district.
Getting There
Virginia Route 14 runs the length of the county from the Route 17 junction in Gloucester County to the county seat and on to Port Haywood; Route 198 links the western communities to Route 17.
- Gloucester Courthouse — 15 miles west
- Newport News — 30 miles southwest
- Williamsburg — 35 miles west
- Norfolk — 40 miles south, across Hampton Roads
Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport is the nearest commercial airport, about 30 miles away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Mathews County?
It sits on the tip of Virginia’s Middle Peninsula, bordered by the Chesapeake Bay, Mobjack Bay and the counties of Middlesex, Gloucester and York.
What is the population of Mathews County?
8,533 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Mathews County?
252 square miles total, but only 86 square miles is land — the rest is the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary creeks.
What is the county seat of Mathews County?
Mathews is the county seat.
How many towns are in Mathews County?
None are incorporated. The county has two census-designated places, Mathews and Gwynn, plus about three dozen smaller unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Mathews County?
Sixteen, from 23021 (Bohannon) to 23163 (Susan); most rural communities use the Mathews 23109 ZIP.
Why does Mathews County have so much water?
It occupies the exposed tip of the Middle Peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and Mobjack Bay, giving it Virginia’s second-smallest land area of any county despite its 252-square-mile total footprint.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Virginia.