Henrico County, Virginia

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

County Seat: Richmond
Year Organized: 1634
Square Miles: 238

Court House:

P.O. Box 27032
County Government Center
Richmond, VA 23273-7032

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Henrico is named for Henry, Prince of Wales, a son of James I of England.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Henrico County, Virginia formed. Original shire. [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.]

Henrico County is one of the eight original Shires of Virginia established in 1634 in the Virginia Colony, and one of six considered still extant in their original form (county).

Henrico County was named for Henry, Prince of Wales, the oldest son of James I. It was one of the eight original shires established in 1634. Its area is 244.06 square miles, and the county seat is in the western part of the county near Richmond.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 245 square miles (634 km²).Of that, 238 square miles (617 km²) is land and 7 square miles (17 km²) (2.67%) is water

Neighboring Counties:

Richmond, Virginia - south
Chesterfield County, Virginia - south
Goochland County, Virginia - west
Hanover County, Virginia - north
New Kent County, Virginia - northeast
Charles City County, Virginia - southeast

Cities and Towns:

- Richmond (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

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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