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Virginia Counties

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Virginia Counties

The Commonwealth of Virginia is divided into 95 counties and 39 independent cities, which are considered county-equivalents for census purposes.

City Of Petersburg, Virginia

City Of Petersburg History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Petersburg was formed from parts of Dinwiddie, Prince George, and Chesterfield counties. A garrison and fur trading post called Fort Henry was established in 1645 on the site of the Indian village of Appamattuck. The present name, suggested in 1733 by William Byrd II, honors Peter Jones, Byrd's companion on expeditions into the Virginia backcountry

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: City Of Petersburg

County History

Fort Henry, Virginia (later known was Petersburg) was established in 1645 as a garrison and trading post. [Virginia Genealogy, Sources & Resources, by Carol McGinnis, Genealogical Publishing Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1993.]

Petersburg, Virginia was incorporated as a town in 1784. Began in 1645 as a garrison and fur trading post and called Fort Henry. Later known as Peter's Point. Incorporated as a city in 1850. The towns of Blandford, Pocahontas, and Ravenscroft were annexed in 1784. Portions of Dinwiddie and Prince George Counties were annexed in 1970. Petersburg was formed from Portions of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, and Prince George Conties and sits at their junction. [Virginia Genealogy, Sources & Resources, by Carol McGinnis, Genealogical Publishing Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1993.]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60.1 km²), of which, 22.9 square miles (59.3 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (1.29%) is water.

Petersburg is located on the Appomattox River at the fall line, which marks the area where an upland region (continental bedrock) and a coastal plain (coastal alluvia) meet. The fall line is typically prominent where a river crosses its rocky boundary as there are rapids or waterfalls. River boats could not travel any farther inland, making the location the head of navigation. The need of a port and abundant supply of water power causes settlements to develop where a river crosses the fall line.

The most prominent example of fall line settlement was the establishment of the cities along the eastern coast of the United States where the Appalachian Rise and the coastal plains meet.

Neighboring Counties:

Chesterfield County, Virginia - northwest
Colonial Heights, Virginia - north
Dinwiddie County, Virginia - west, southwest
Prince George County, Virginia - east, southeast

City Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this 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."