Charles City County, Virginia

Charles City County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Charles City
Year Organized: 1634
Square Miles: 182

Court House:

P.O. Box 128
County Courthouse
Charles City, VA 23030-0128

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Charles Cittie was one of four "boroughs" or "incorporations" created by the Virginia Company in 1619. It was named for Prince Charles, second son of King James I of England, who became the Duke of Wales and heir apparent after the death of his older brother Henry in 1612. He later became King Charles I of England after his father's death.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Charles City County, Virginia formed. Original shire. Enlarged, but no metes and bounds given. 'It took in the portion of Wallingford Parish west of the Chickahominy River (the Sandy Point region previously in James City County)'--Lyon G. Tyler. [Virginia Counties: Those Resulting from Virginia Legislation, by Morgan Poitiaux Robinson,originally published as Bulletin of the Virginia State Library, Volume 9, January, April, July 1916, reprinted 1992 by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD, p. 78]

Charles City County was named for Charles I of England and was one of the eight shires established in 1634. Its area is 204 square miles, and the county seat is Charles City. According to the 2000 census, its population is 6,626. Records have been destroyed at various times. The most damage occurred during the Civil War when the records were strewn through woods in a rainstorm. Many fragments of records exist, so many, in fact, that there is something for almost every year.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 204 square miles (529 km²), of which, 183 square miles (473 km²) of it is land and 21 square miles (56 km²) of it (10.51%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Chesterfield County, VA to the west
Henrico County, VA to the northwest
James City County, VA to the east
New Kent County, VA to the north
Prince George County, VA to the south
Surry County, VA to the southeast

Cities and Towns:

- Charles City (County Seat)

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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