About

In May of 1991 Mathews celebrated its 200th anniversary. The county, formed in 1791 from a portion of Gloucester, was named for then Speaker of the House Thomas Mathews of Norfolk. With more than 200 miles of shoreline on the Chesapeake Bay, and the third oldest standing lighthouse, Mathews County is rich in maritime and Colonial era history. Historically-significant buildings, homes, churches and a circa 1792 courthouse are still in use today. For centuries, residents have subsisted on the water, fertile land and abundant forests of this 94-square-mile county on the Bay.