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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.

Hanover County, Virginia

Hanover County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Hanover
Year Organized: 1720
Square Miles: 473

Court House:

P.O. Box 470
County Courthouse
Hanover, VA 23069-0470

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Hanover is named for the Electorate of Hanover in Germany. George I was Elector of Hanover at the time when he also became King of England in 1714. In 1814, the Electorate of Hanover became a kingdom. Britain and Hanover remained in personal union through the reign of King William IV.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Hanover County, Virginia formed from New Kent County. Legislative enactment in 1720. Organized in 1721. A 20 Nov 1720 date is suggested by Robinson. (See p. 80.) [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.]

Hanover County was named for George I, who at the time of his ascent to the English throne was elector of Hanover in Germany. The county was formed from New Kent in 1720. Its area is 471 square miles, and the county seat is Hanover.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 474 square miles (1,228 km²), of which, 473 square miles (1,224 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (4 km²) of it (0.30%) is water.

It is bounded on the north by Spotsylvania, Caroline and King William counties; on the south by Goochland and Henrico counties; on the east by New Kent County; and on the west by Louisa County.

Hanover County is about 90 miles south of Washington, D.C., and about 12 miles north of Richmond.

Neighboring Counties:

Caroline County, VA to the northeast
Goochland County, VA to the southwest
Henrico County, VA to the south
King William County, VA to the northeast
Louisa County, VA to the west
New Kent County, VA to the southeast
Spotsylvania County, VA to the north

Cities and Towns:

- Ashland	town	Incorporated Area
- Hanover (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."

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