Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Chincoteague, VA

Chincoteague is an incorporated town in Accomack County on Virginia's Eastern Shore, and its boundaries take in the whole of Chincoteague Island plus an area of adjacent water.

The town was incorporated in 1908, although European settlers had begun using Chincoteague Island in the 17th century and legal title to the island was not settled by the courts until 1691.

Chincoteague had a population of 3,344 at the 2020 census, up 13.7 percent from 2010.

Census Bureau survey estimates for 2020–2024 put Chincoteague at about 1,714 households with a small average household size of about 1.92 people, reflecting its many seasonal and retirement homes.

Of the town's total area of about 37.3 square miles, roughly three-quarters is water, and the island sits at an elevation of only about three feet.

Chincoteague is the tourist gateway to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on adjacent Assateague Island, which holds a popular recreational beach and the Virginia herd of Chincoteague Ponies.

The Virginia pony herd of around 150 animals is maintained on Assateague Island by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company, separated from the Maryland herd by a fence at the state line.

The annual Chincoteague Pony Swim and Penning began in 1925 as a fundraiser for the volunteer fire company: each July, 'saltwater cowboys' swim the ponies across the channel at slack tide, foals are auctioned to control the herd's size, and the remaining ponies swim back to Assateague.

The ponies and the swim were made world-famous by Marguerite Henry's 1947 children's book Misty of Chincoteague, which was filmed on location as the 1961 movie Misty.

The real Misty and her foal Stormy lived at the Beebe Ranch on the island, and their preserved figures are displayed at the Museum of Chincoteague Island, which also celebrates the island's oystering heritage and waterfowl-carving tradition.