Poquoson is the oldest continuously named city in Virginia. The term "poquoson" was used to describe a boundary line between two elevated tracts of land. Such a boundary contained a stream, river, or creek with its adjoining marsh which lay between two tracts of higher ground. Poquoson was used as a common noun and is found in many deeds along the eastern seaboard. Through the years the term became a proper noun for the land that lies between two such poquosons--the Old Poquoson River and the New Poquoson River.