Biohazard Cleanup Near South Saxis Saxis, VA

Saxis is a small incorporated town in Accomack County on Virginia's Eastern Shore, sitting on Saxis Island, a narrow peninsula that juts into Pocomoke Sound.

Saxis Island is separated from the rest of Accomack County by Freeschool Marsh, and it has been called an island since European settlers and speculators began claiming land there in 1661; the island was first patented in 1666.

The earliest document relating to Saxis Island comes from Captain John Smith's map and published account of his 1608 exploratory voyage around the Chesapeake Bay.

The community began as a single farmstead that primarily raised cattle, but during the 1800s seafood replaced farming as the island's primary economy.

An unconnected wharf built in 1903 some 650 yards offshore at the edge of the shipping channel made Saxis's seafood industry boom until the later twentieth century.

A causeway connecting Saxis Island to the mainland was constructed in the 1920s, ending the town's near-total isolation by water and marsh.

Saxis was incorporated as a town in 1959.

The town's population peaked at 577 in 1960 and has fallen steadily since, from 241 in the 2010 census to 172 in the 2020 census.

The 353-acre Saxis Island Historic District, encompassing the town and adjacent areas, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017, and its oldest surviving building dates to 1870.

The whole town covers only about 0.43 square miles, and the 2010 census counted 179 housing units packed onto the low-lying island.