King William County, Virginia

King William County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: King William
Year Organized: 1702
Square Miles: 275

Court House:

P.O. Box 215
County Courthouse
King William, VA 23086-0215

Etymology - Origin of County Name

King William is named for William III of England, aka William of Orange, aka one half of William and Mary.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

King William County, Virginia formed from King and Queen County. Legislative enactment in 1701. Organized in 1702. [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.]

King William County was named for William III and was formed from King and Queen County in 1701. Its area is 285.7 square miles, and the county seat is King William

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 286 square miles (740 km²), of which, 275 square miles (713 km²) of it is land and 10 square miles (26 km²) of it (3.58%) is water. King William County is bounded by the Mattaponi River to the north and the Pamunkey River to the south. The two rivers combine to form the York River, at West Point, the county's largest town.

Neighboring Counties:

Caroline County, VA to the northwest
Hanover County, VA to the southwest
King and Queen County, VA to the northeast
New Kent County, VA to the south

Cities and Towns:

- King William (County Seat)
- West Point	town	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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