Charles City County, Virginia

Charles City County Education, Geography, and History

Charles City County is a historic county located in the US commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated east of Richmond and west of Jamestown, and has a southern border on the James River and an eastern border on the Chickahominy River.

The area that would become Charles City County was first established as "Charles Cittie" by the Virginia Company in 1619. It was one of the first four "boroughs" of Virginia, and was named in honor of Prince Charles, who would later become King Charles I of England. After Virginia became a royal colony, the borough was changed to "Charles City Shire" in 1634, as one of the five original Shires of Virginia. It was subsequently changed to the present name of Charles City County in 1643.

Charles City County is part of the Greater Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area. Based on the 2010 census, the county population was 7,256. Its county seat is the town of Charles City.

Etymology - Origin of Charles City County Name

Charles Cittie was one of four "boroughs" or "incorporations" created by the Virginia Company in 1619. It was named for Prince Charles, second son of King James I of England, who became the Duke of Wales and heir apparent after the death of his older brother Henry in 1612. He later became King Charles I of England after his father's death.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Charles City County History

Charles City County, Virginia formed. Original shire. Enlarged, but no metes and bounds given. 'It took in the portion of Wallingford Parish west of the Chickahominy River (the Sandy Point region previously in James City County)'--Lyon G. Tyler. [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, p. 78]

Charles City County was named for Charles I of England and was one of the eight shires established in 1634. Its area is 204 square miles, and the county seat is Charles City. According to the 2000 census, its population is 6,626. Records have been destroyed at various times. The most damage occurred during the Civil War when the records were strewn through woods in a rainstorm. Many fragments of records exist, so many, in fact, that there is something for almost every year.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 204 square miles (529 km²), of which, 183 square miles (473 km²) of it is land and 21 square miles (56 km²) of it (10.51%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Chesterfield County, VA to the west
• Henrico County, VA to the northwest
• James City County, VA to the east
• New Kent County, VA to the north
• Prince George County, VA to the south
• Surry County, VA to the southeast
  

Education

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