Wallops Island is an island of 16 square miles on the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that extend along the east coast of the United States. It is located in Accomack County, south of Chincoteague Island, a popular tourist destination.
Adequate Wallops Island, originally known as Kegotank Island, was awarded to John Wallop for the Crown on April 29, 1692. The property was divided over the years until the state of Virginia seized the property in 1876 and 1877 instead of unpaid taxes. Since 1877, the property was again divided and sub-divided until 1889, when it was held by several trustees for the Wallops Island Club. The Club was incorporated and assumed ownership in 1933 as members of the Association of Wallops Island Association, Inc. and their families spent fishing and swimming summers on the island. The Association grazed sheep, cattle and horses in the area until the mid-1940s. In 1947, the US Navy began using the upper two-thirds of the island on rent-a-car rental artillery test. NACA (the National Aeronautics Advisory Committee), NASA's forerunner, leased 1,000 acres (4.0 km 2) for rocket launch facilities. The island is mainly used for NASA's Wallops Flight Facilities, including the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, although the name also refers to the peninsula area surrounding the island for the purpose of mailing addresses. The Wallops Island National Wildlife Refuge is located on the island. The present population of Wallops Island (the peninsular area, not the island itself) is 434. Coordinates: 37 ° 51'N 75 ° 28'W
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