Elizabeth City Shire was one of eight shires created in colonial Virginia in 1634. The shire and the Elizabeth River were named for Elizabeth of Bohemia, daughter of King James I.

During the 17th century, shortly after establishment of the Jamestown Settlement in 1607, English settlers and explored and began settling the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads. By 1610, the English colonists had established a permanent settlement in the Kecoughtan area of what was to become Elizabeth River Shire. It was the oldest known continuously occupied English settlement in North America.

In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires (or counties) in the colony of Virginia. One of these was Elizabeth City Shire, which included land area on both sides of Hampton Roads. In 1636, New Norfolk County was subdivided from it, including all the area in South Hampton Roads now incorporated in the five independent cities located there in modern times.

In 1643, the remaining portion of Elizabeth City Shire became Elizabeth City County. This boundaries of this area, established in 1643, and containing the early colonial settlements at Kecoughtan and Millwood (later Phoebus), now essentially form those of the modern independent city of Hampton, Virginia.