Gloucester County, Virginia

Gloucester County Education, Geography, and History

Gloucester County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 36,858. Its county seat is Gloucester Courthouse. The county was founded in 1651 in the Virginia Colony and is named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (third son of King Charles I of England).

Gloucester County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Gloucester County Name

Gloucester is either named for the English county of Gloucester or in honor of Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Charles I of England's son.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Gloucester County History

Gloucester County, Virginia formed from York County. [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.]

Gloucester County was probably named for the English county, although it may have been meant to honor Henry, duke of Gloucester, the third son of Charles I. It was formed from York County in 1651. Its area is 225 square miles, and the county seat is Gloucester. According to the 2000 census, its population is 34,780. Gloucester is one of the Commonwealth's Burned Records Counties. All county court records were destroyed by an 1820 fire, and most of the records created after that date were destroyed in Richmond on 3 April 1865. Six minute books from the nineteenth century and two surveyor's record books survive.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 288 square miles (746 km²), of which, 217 square miles (561 km²) of it is land and 71 square miles (185 km²) of it (24.79%) is water

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• James City County, VA to the southwest
• King and Queen County, VA to the west
• Mathews County, VA to the east
• Middlesex County, VA to the north
• York County, VA to the south

Education

Gloucester High School (GHS)

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