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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.

Prince William County, Virginia

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

County Seat: Manassas
Year Organized: 1731
Square Miles: 338

Court House:

1 County Complex Court
Woodbridge, VA 22192-9201

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Prince William is named for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, son of George II of Great Britain.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Prince William County, Virginia formed from King George and Stafford Counties. Legislative enactment in 1730. Organized in 1731. [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.]

Prince William County was named for William Augustus, duke of Cumberland and third son of George II. It was formed from Stafford and King George counties in 1730. The area is 337 square miles, and the county seat is Manassas.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 348 square miles (902 km²), of which 338 square miles (875 km²) is land and 11 square miles (27 km²) (3.04%) is water. It is bounded on the north by Loudoun and Fairfax counties; on the west by Fauquier County; on the south by Stafford County; and on the east by the Potomac River (Charles County, Maryland lies across the river).

Neighboring Counties:

Loudoun County, Virginia - north
Fairfax County, Virginia - northeast
Charles County, Maryland - southeast
Stafford County, Virginia - south
Fauquier County, Virginia - west
Manassas, Virginia - center (enclave)
Manassas Park, Virginia - center (enclave)

Cities and Towns:

- Dumfries	town	Incorporated Area
- Haymarket	town	Incorporated Area
- Manassas (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Occoquan	town	Incorporated Area
- Quantico	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."

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