Poquoson (/pəˈkoʊsən/), informally known as Bull Island, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States.

[4] The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Poquoson with surrounding York County for statistical purposes.

Over 30 years after Poquoson became a politically independent entity, some constitutional services such as the courts, sheriff and jail continue to be shared with neighboring York County.

It is also one of the few to retain a name which derived from the Native Americans who inhabited the area before colonization by the English began in the 17th century.

These Native Americans were Algonquians, a tribal group affiliated through the Powhatan Confederacy, and were defensive to the early colonizers.

A petition to have the name of the parish and river changed was an attempt to rid the language of all vestiges of Indian terms.

[citation needed] However, "poquoson" has survived through the centuries and has become a proper noun used to designate the present city.

The current city is a remnant of a larger area known from the first days of its settlement in the early 17th century by English colonists as the New Poquoson Parish of the Church of England.

[5] This area located just outside of the Poquoson city limits in York County is still known in the 21st century as Calthrop Neck.

During the American Revolutionary War, independence was won at nearby Yorktown, a major tourist attraction of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia.

A copy of his battle plans were obtained by Confederate spy Thomas Nelson Conrad and in response Confederate forces under General John B. Magruder established three lines of defensive positions extending across the peninsula to stop McClellan's march towards Richmond.

The first line of defense was anchored on the north by a redoubt on Ship Point near the mouth of the Poquoson River.

After the Confederates abandoned the position in 1863 the Union Army established a supply depot and a hospital at Ship Point.

[6] Several Poquoson residents fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War including Wesley Messick, who was a crewman on the CSS Virginia during the Battle of Hampton Roads.

Poquoson has long been informally known as "Bull Island" because for centuries farmers in the area let their cattle roam free in the salt marshes.

Although only a few small farms remain and the herd of cattle that once grazed in the marshes are long gone, Poquoson residents still call themselves "Bull Islanders".

[8] The Poquoson City Council is composed of seven members who are elected by the voters and serve four-year terms.

[10] Historically, Poquoson voters have trended strongly towards conservative candidates at the national, state, and local levels and since the decline of the Byrd Organization, Republicans.

Rigell retired from the United States House of Representatives in 2016 and was succeeded by Republican Scott Taylor.

[15] Poquoson is served by a variety of radio stations on the AM and FM dials, with towers located around the Hampton Roads area.

The Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News designated market area (DMA), of which Poquoson is included, is the 44th largest in the U.S. with 709,730 homes (0.62% of the total U.S.).

DirecTV, Verizon FiOS and Dish Network are also popular as an alternative to cable television in Poquoson.

Poquoson's mild four season climate means outdoor activities can be enjoyed year round.

[20] However, when in the path of a storm the City of Poquoson is subject to severe flooding due to its very low elevation above sea level.

A mandatory evacuation order was issued during Hurricane Irene in 2011 which also caused significant flooding in Poquoson.

[28] Poquoson is served by two state highways: The Newport News Waterworks was begun as a project of Collis P. Huntington as part of the development of the lower peninsula with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the coal piers on the harbor of Hampton Roads, and massive shipyard which were the major sources of industrial growth which helped found Newport News as a new independent city in 1896.

Prior to World War II and Cold War-era expansions of nearby military bases and defense industries, and white flight from the nearby cities of Hampton and Newport News following the racial integration of schools that rapidly turned the area into a bedroom community, Poquoson was a sleepy rural area with many small family farms, commercial wharves, seafood packing houses, and boat yards that built and repaired log canoes, oyster buy-boats, and Chesapeake Bay deadrise work boats used by the local waterman.

Events at the Friday - Sunday festival include work boat races, singers/bands, vendors, food, crafts, children's entertainment, carnival rides, and sometimes even fireworks.

In April 2013 the museum completed work on a marsh walk that incorporates 750 feet of raised platforms with signs highlighting different native wildlife and plant life.