Land for Sale in Northumberland County, Virginia

Northumberland County is the most remote and unspoiled of the Tidewater counties. Reedville — once the wealthiest town per capita in America thanks to the menhaden fishing industry — sits at the county's eastern tip where the Great Wicomico River meets the Chesapeake Bay. The county's isolation is its appeal: quiet waterfront living, undeveloped shoreline, and land prices that reflect the distance from everything else.

Northumberland occupies the tip of the Northern Neck between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. The Great Wicomico River, Little Wicomico River, and Coan River create extensive tidal creek systems with waterfront opportunities at prices well below Lancaster or Mathews. Heathsville, the county seat, has basic services but limited commercial development — Kilmarnock (20 minutes south) is the nearest real town.

This is a county for buyers who value solitude over convenience. There's no hospital — Rappahannock General in Kilmarnock is the closest. Broadband is limited, cell service is patchy, and the drive to any significant city is over an hour. But the undeveloped Chesapeake and Potomac shoreline, affordable waterfront, and genuinely quiet rural character draw retirees, artists, and nature lovers who've chosen to be far from everything.

LandMatch is particularly valuable for Northumberland buyers because the county's low-lying coastal terrain makes flood and wetland data critical. Many waterfront parcels have significant portions in FEMA flood zones, and wetland coverage can dramatically reduce usable acreage. Our data shows exactly what percentage of each parcel is buildable — essential information in a county where land and water blur together.

Virginia's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act applies to every mile of Northumberland's tidal shoreline. The Act requires a 100-foot vegetated buffer — a Resource Protection Area (RPA) — along all tidal waterways, tidal wetlands, and their perennial tributaries, including the Great Wicomico, Little Wicomico, and Coan Rivers, Cockrell Creek near Reedville, and the open Bay and Potomac shorelines. A 5-acre parcel on the Great Wicomico might seem like a bargain compared to Lancaster prices, but if the lot is narrow and the tidal creek wraps around two sides, the 100-foot buffer on each side can leave surprisingly little buildable ground. Combined with Northumberland's already significant wetland and flood zone exposure, buyers need to evaluate the RPA alongside the FEMA flood map and wetland boundaries. Contact Northumberland County's planning office for a site-specific RPA determination before committing to any waterfront purchase.