At Witchduck Point at 10am on July 10th 1706, Grace Sherwood, the daughter of a carpenter and the wife of a planter in the County of Princess Anne, was accused by neighbors of witchcraft. She was tried in the Second Princess Anne Courthouse, found guilty, and consented to the traditional trial by water. Tied crossbound and dropped into water above man’s depth, she would have been judged innocent if she sank and drowned and could be buried on holy ground, but she floated and was therefore judged guilty because the pure water was believed to be casting out her evil spirit. She was incarcerated in the local jail. After her release, Grace paid the back taxes on her property in 1714, returned to her farm, and worked the land until her death at age 80 in the Autumn of 1740. Grace Sherwood, Virginia’s only convicted witch tried by water, is associated with Witchduck Road, and her legend lives on as "The Infamous Witch of Pungo.”
