A modern grave stone has become a lasting memorial to a woman who was convicted of witchcraft.

The site, in Virgina, is dedicated to Grace White Sherwood who was dubbed the Witch of Pungo and is the last person known to have been convicted of witchcraft in Virginia.

Grace was born in Virginia in 1660 and married James Sherwood in 1680, a well thought of landowner and farmer.

She was a farmer, healer, and midwife in Pungo, Princess Anne County, but was accused by her neighbours of transforming herself into a cat, damaging crops, and causing the death of livestock. She was charged with witchcraft several times.

Her first case was in 1697 when she was accused of casting a spell on a bull, resulting in its death, but the matter was dismissed. The following year she was accused of witchcraft by two neighbours when they said she bewitched the pigs and cotton crop.

Grace sued for them for slander after each accusation, but her lawsuits were unsuccessful and her husband had to pay court costs.

In 1706, she was convicted of witchcraft and the court ordered that Grace’s guilt or innocence should be determined by tying her to a ducking stool. If she sank, she was innocent, if she did not, she was guilty. It is said Grace floated to the surface and spent eight years in jail before being released.

Freed from prison by 1714, she recovered her property from Princess Anne County (her husband had died in 1701). She did not remarry, and lived on her farm until her death in 1740 at the age of about 80.

On July 10, 2006, the 300th anniversary of Sherwood’s conviction, Grace was granted an informal pardon.

A statue of her was erected near Sentara Bayside Hospital in Virginia Beach, close to the site of the colonial courthouse where she was tried.

There is also an official memorial marker at the Herb Garden at the Old Donation Episcopal Church, Virginia Beach. The stone was dedicated on July 10, 2014.