Witch of Pungo Cleared

PUNGO, VIRGINIA -- Three hundred years after Grace Sherwood was convicted of being a witch, Governor of Virginia Timothy M. Kaine has pardoned her. Thrown into the Lynnhaven River with her thumbs tied to her feet, the rules of the trial were simple in those days: if you floated, you were guilty of being a witch; if you sank, you were cleared.

She floated and served more than seven years in jail. She's the only person convicted in Virginia by a "witch ducking trial."

Virginia Beach--which today includes the rural section of Pungo--revelled in the decision as the legend of Sherwood is so deeply ingrained in the city's folklore. The tale of the Witch of Pungo is told to schoolchildren. And every year they stage a reenactment of Sherwood's trial.

Because she inherited about 200 acres from her father, and was so successful in raising crops on it when her neighbors weren't, jealousy is considered now the motive behind the accusations.

She was known to heal sick animals, and even more mysteriously, she "worked with herbs".

originally appearing in The Washington Post.