Kempsville is a borough in the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia, a historic section with origins in US colonial times located in the former Princess Anne County. In modern times, it is a community within the urbanized portion of the independent city of Virginia Beach, the largest city in Virginia. History Kempsville was originally called Kempe's Landing, and subsequently Kemp’s Landing, after George Kempe, an industrious English immigrant, who in the 1600s acquired land along the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River and developed it into a colonial port for the shipment of tobacco and other goods. Kemp’s Landing was laid out into half acre lots which were sold at public auction after being advertised in the Virginia Gazette. The purchasers held the lots subject to building within three years a dwelling house at least 20 feet square with a brick chimney. Tugs and sailing vessels (frequently two masted schooners) often came to Kempsville. A large drawbridge crossed the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River where the much smaller bridge of Princess Anne Road now crosses the river. Kempsville was the shipping point for most of the products of Princess Anne County. The County was then a very large producer of corn and wheat. Several large warehouses lined the banks of the river which was then much wider than today. Great quantities of oak “knees” and all kinds of timber were shipped from Kempsville to Norfolk Navy Yard. Until 1861 Kempsville was quite a busy place. It had a tobacco warehouse and an inspector whose salary was £35 a year. The warehouse receipts were used as currency. However, the growing of tobacco made little headway in the sandy soil of Princess Anne County. A canal company was incorporated to connect the headwaters of the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River with the headwaters of the Lynnhaven River. The Commonwealth of Virginia government bought part of the stock of the canal company, but the Civil War put an end to digging of the canal and it was never finished. From 1762 to 1770, George Logan, a Scot, was the Princess Anne County High Sheriff. From 1772 to 1775, George Logan was one of the Princess Anne County Justices. During the Revolution, George Logan was a Loyalist. On November 14 or 15, 1775, John Ackiss, the son of a former member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and six others were killed