Stingray Point is a small community on the
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...
near the village of
Deltaville in
Middlesex County, Virginia
Middlesex County is a county located on the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,625. Its county seat is Saluda.
History
This area was long settled by indigenous peoples; those enco ...
. It is located at the eastern terminus of
State Route 33. It is populated by fewer than 250 full-time residents; however, during summer months that population surges as tourists and vacationers flock to Deltaville for recreation on the bay. Most of the houses on Stingray Point are cottages and weekend homes. Stingray Point is also home to Stingray Point Marina, one of the Deltaville area's many marinas.
Stingray Point gets its name from the 17th century when Captain
John Smith was stung while fishing with his men off a shoal near the point by a
stingray
Stingrays are a group of sea Batoidea, rays, a type of cartilaginous fish. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae (deepwate ...
, either an
Atlantic stingray
The Atlantic stingray (''Hypanus sabinus'') is a species of Myliobatiformes, stingray in the family (biology), family Dasyatidae, common along the Atlantic coast of North America from Chesapeake Bay to Mexico, including brackish and freshwater ha ...
, a
Cownose ray
The cownose ray (''Rhinoptera bonasus'') is a species found throughout a large part of the western Atlantic and Caribbean, from New England to southern Brazil (the East Atlantic are now generally considered a separate species, the Lusitanian ...
, or a ''
Dasyatis
''Dasyatis'' (Greek alphabet, Greek δασύς ''dasýs'' meaning wikt:rough, rough or Density, dense and βατίς ''batís'' meaning Skate (fish), skate) is a genus of stingray in the family (biology), family Dasyatidae that is native to the ...
sp''. Smith was seriously injured by the sting, and even gave orders to his men as to the disposal of his body should he perish. Treated with hot compresses, he recovered well enough by evening that he dined on the ray. Local legend records that he was saved by a mudpack derived from mud found at a nearby creek and administered by a native
medicine man
A medicine man (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwinini'') or medicine woman (from Ojibwe ''mashkikiiwininiikwe'') is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Each culture has its own name i ...
; the creek has since been known as Antipoison Creek.
[The Times Dispatch (Richmond, Virginia), 19 Jan 1936, SunPage 43]
References
Unincorporated communities in Middlesex County, Virginia
Unincorporated communities in Virginia
Virginia populated places on the Chesapeake Bay
{{MiddlesexCountyVA-geo-stub