Grace Sherwood Statue (Witch of Pungo)
Grace Sherwood Statue (Witch of Pungo) is a attraction in Bayside, Virginia Beach, best for local-history and folklore fans, pairing with a Ferry Plantation House visit, a quick roadside stop.
On July 10, 1706, Grace Sherwood — a Princess Anne County planter's wife accused by her neighbors of witchcraft — was tied cross-bound and dropped into the Lynnhaven River at Witchduck Point in a trial by water; she survived, which colonial-era logic took as proof of guilt, and she spent roughly seven years imprisoned before returning to her farm. She remains Virginia's only convicted witch to undergo a water trial. Exactly 300 years later, on July 10, 2006, Governor Timothy Kaine formally restored her good name after a two-decade campaign led by Ferry Plantation House founder Belinda Nash. Sculptor Robert G. Cunningham's bronze statue, standing on the grounds of Sentara Independence hospital near the site of the old Witchduck Point, depicts Sherwood not as a witch but as a healer — carrying a bundle of garlic and rosemary beside a raccoon, a nod to her knowledge of herbal medicine and love of animals. It pairs naturally with the Witch of Pungo programming a few miles away at Ferry Plantation House, where Sherwood's story is told in fuller detail.
- Free
Amenities
- Bronze statue
Know Before You Go
- Best for: local-history and folklore fans, pairing with a Ferry Plantation House visit, a quick roadside stop
- Parking: Hospital grounds parking at 800 Independence Blvd.
- Accessibility: Outdoor statue on hospital grounds, at grade.
- Dogs: not allowed
- Location: 800 Independence Blvd, Virginia Beach, VA 23455, on the grounds of Sentara Independence hospital at Independence Blvd and N Witchduck Rd, Virginia Beach, VA
Last verified 2026-07-18.
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May 1, 2027 · annual (first Saturday in May)
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May 22, 2026 – September 7, 2026 · seasonal (nightly concerts, late May-early September)
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