Caroline County is a
United States county located in the eastern part of the
Commonwealth of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. The northern boundary of the county borders on the
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...
, notably at the historic town of
Port Royal. The Caroline
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is
Bowling Green.
Caroline County was established in 1728 and was named in honor of the British queen
Caroline of Ansbach. Developed in the colonial and antebellum years for tobacco and later mixed crops, worked by generations of enslaved African Americans, such agriculture gradually became less important. In the 20th century it was known for thoroughbred horse farms. It is the birthplace of the renowned
racehorse
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
Secretariat, winner of the 1973
Triple Crown: the
Kentucky Derby,
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...
and
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...
.
As of the
2020 census, the county population was 30,887. It has doubled in the last fifty years.
Caroline is now considered part of the
Greater Richmond Region and benefited by suburban and related development.
History
Founding, and colonial era

Caroline County was established in the British
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776.
The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
in 1727 from parts of
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
,
King and Queen, and
King William counties. It was named for the new queen of Great Britain,
Caroline of Ansbach.
During the Colonial Period, Caroline County was the birthplace of thoroughbred
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
in North America.
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( , DIN 31635, DMG ''al-ḥiṣān al-ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easi ...
s were imported from England to provide the basis for American breeding stock. The economy was based on tobacco cultivation as a commodity crop, and later mixed crops, much of which was worked by enslaved Africans and African Americans into the
antebellum period.
The planter elite of Virginia became active in seeking independence from Great Britain. Patriot
Edmund Pendleton played a large role in the Virginia Resolution for Independence (1775). Caroline native
John Penn, who later lived in and represented North Carolina as a delegate, was a signer of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...
, albeit as a delegate from North Carolina.
19th century
Explorers
William Clark and his slave
York
York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
were members of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803–1805), commissioned by President
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...
to explore the newly acquired
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...
area west of the Mississippi River. William's older brother, General
George Rogers Clark, was considered a conqueror of the old Northwest Territory and a Revolutionary War hero. Both were born near what is now
Ladysmith.
In 1847, after being a member of the first graduating class of
Virginia Military Institute (VMI),
William "Little Billy" Mahone (1826–1895) of
Southampton County began teaching at Rappahannock Academy in Caroline County. He was to become prominent as a
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
builder and developer, Confederate general, leader of Virginia's short-lived
Readjuster Party, and a United States Senator.
On May 10, 1863,
Confederate Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died of complications from
pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
at the Chandler plantation in
Guinea Station (also known as Guiney's Station), in the unincorporated Caroline County community of Woodford. The Chandler residence has been preserved and is now known as the "Jackson Shrine."
During the American Civil War,
Union General
Ulysses S. Grant's
Overland Campaign,
Confederate troops under
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry.
In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
George E. Pickett fought Union troops near
Milford. Just as the Civil War was concluding in April 1865,
President Lincoln was assassinated in
Washington, D.C., as part of a conspiracy to kill the leaders of the United States. As the conspirators fled, a manhunt was launched. After 10 days, in the wee hours of April 26, federal troops tracked down
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
, Lincoln's
assassin, and fellow conspirator
David E. Herold at Garrett's farm about 3 miles west of Port Royal. Booth was fatally shot during their capture by federal troops. Herold was returned to Washington, where he was executed by hanging with 3 co-conspirators on July 7, 1865.
20th century
While racial segregation was the law under Jim Crow, in many small communities, residents made friendships across racial lines. In 1958,
Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter decided to marry. They went to Washington, D.C., but returned to their home in
Central Point in this county. Living as a married interracial couple, they challenged state
miscegenation laws. They were soon arrested and charged under the state's anti-miscegenation statute, the
Racial Integrity Act of 1924. Forced to leave the state to avoid jail, they lived in Washington, D.C., for years but wanted to return home; they filed suit against the state's law. Their case reached the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
on appeal, which in 1967 found anti-miscegenation statutes to be unconstitutional in ''
Loving v. Virginia'', based on violating due process and equal rights under the law.
At the southern edge of the county, The Meadow, a plantation originally established in 1810, became a premier facility in the 20th century for breeding, raising and training Thoroughbred racehorses. In 1972,
Riva Ridge, raised and trained at The Meadow, won the
Kentucky Derby and the
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...
, two of the three events of the
Triple Crown. In 1973
Secretariat, born at The Meadow, won the
Triple Crown for the Chenery family's Meadow Stable.
21st century
In 2003, The State Fair of Virginia purchased Meadow Farm for development as a new site for the annual Virginia State Fair. Long held at locations in the capital of
Richmond and Henrico County, the fair was increasingly squeezed out by expanding development around it and the growth of the event. Before development of Meadow Farm, it was held at Strawberry Hill in central
Henrico County, at the facility which later became the Richmond International Raceway.
Beginning in September 2009, the annual Virginia State Fair has been held at the new Meadow Event Park in Caroline County. The annual Meadow Celtic Games and Festival (formerly Richmond Celtic Games and Festival) will also be held at the new facility.
In 2009 the National Civic League presented Caroline County with one of ten annual All-America City Awards.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.7%) is water.
Caroline County is north of the capital in
Richmond and south of
Fredericksburg.
Caroline County is bounded on the north by
Spotsylvania and
King George counties; on the south by
Hanover County; on the east by
King William,
King and Queen, and
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
counties; and on the west by
Spotsylvania County.
The county is home to a quarry that has proved a rich source of pre-historic
whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...
and
shark
Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...
skeletons. The whole county is located in what was in ancient times land under an ocean. It is known to
paleontologists as the middle Miocene
Calvert Formation of Virginia. A whale skeleton discovered there in 1990 was proved to be a new whale species (see ''
Eobalaenoptera harrisoni'').
Caroline County is served by
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
,
US 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort ...
and
US 301. These three routes are important for inter-regional travel.
Adjacent counties
*
King George County – north
*
Hanover County – south
*
King William County – east
*
King and Queen County – east
*
Essex County – east
*
Spotsylvania County – northwest
Major highways
* , the major north–south
highway
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...
on the
Eastern Seaboard runs through Caroline County. Exits 104 and 110 are located in the county and provide numerous motorist services. A pair of rest areas are located between the two interchanges at Milepost 108.
* , a principal route connecting Richmond, Petersburg, and beyond enters Caroline County after the North Anna River Bridge. The road is known locally as
Jefferson Davis Highway, and
George Washington Boulevard, depending on which communities it runs through. The road is a four-lane, undivided highway with occasional left turn lanes and dividers at many intersections. It runs through Chandler Crossing, Ruther Glen,
Golansville, Ladysmith, Ryland Corner,
Cedon, and Ann Wrights Corner, before crossing into the Spotsylvania County Line.
* , a principal route connecting the Hampton Road area with Fredericksburg as it runs through Caroline County along close proximity to the
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...
. The road is known locally as Tidewater Trail. U.S. 17 is a four-lane, divided highway until it reaches
Port Royal Crossroads and becomes a four-lane undivided highway. Dividers briefly return at the intersection with US 301, and then the road becomes a two-lane highway throughout the rest of the county before crossing into Spotsylvania County.
* , a principal route connecting Richmond, Petersburg, and beyond enters Caroline County shortly after crossing a bridge over the Pamunkey River. The road is known locally as Richmond Turnpike for points south of the Bowling Green Bypass and as A.P. Hill Boulevard north of the bypass, and Main Street north of US 17 until it crosses the bridge over the Rappahannock River. The road is a two-lane undivided highway until reaching Antioch Forks, where it becomes a four-lane divided highway almost entirely throughout the county. U.S. 301 runs winds through
Fort A.P. Hill until approaching Port Royal Crossroads at US 17, where the divider ends as it becomes Main Street until the bridge over the Rappahannock.
* , a south-to-north state route that runs concurrent with US 301 until Bowling Green. North of the Bowling Green Bypass it becomes Main Street, and north of the town limits, it becomes Fredericksburg Turnpike, until it crosses the Spotsylvania County Line.
* , a west to east state route that winds through southern Caroline County as Dawn Boulevard. It enters the county from Doswell in Hanover County and crosses the King William county line before entering
Calno.
* , a major state route that runs from Ruther Glen to Bowling Green and connects US 1 and I-95 to US 301. The road is known for most of its length as Rogers Clark Boulevard, until it moves onto the Bowling Green Bypass.
National protected area
*
Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part) Port Royal unit
Demographics
2020 census
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 22,121 people, 8,021 households, and 6,007 families residing in the county. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 8,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 62.57%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 34.37%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.78%
Native American, 0.36%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.52% from
other races, and 1.37% from two or more races. 1.33% of the population were
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race.
There were 8,021 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 20.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.80% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 25.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 97.50 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $39,845, and the median income for a family was $43,533. Males had a median income of $31,701 versus $22,455 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the county was $18,342. About 7.20% of families and 9.40% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 12.00% of those under age 18 and 11.70% of those age 65 or over.
As noted, Caroline County gained the State Fair of Virginia (previously in Richmond since 1854 when the first State Fair opened in Monroe Park), which facility will be a venue for other events. New businesses and developments include Remuda Programs for Eating Disorders, The Virginia Sports Complex, the multi-national electrical contracting firm,
M.C. Dean, and the Fortune 14 Company
McKesson Corporation. The latter developed a 340,000 square foot distribution center, the largest private square footage investment in Virginia in 2010.
Government
Board of Supervisors
*Bowling Green District: Jeffrey M. "Jeff" Sili (R)
*Madison District: Clayton T. Forehand (I)
*Mattaponi District: Floyd W. Thomas Jr. (D)
*Port Royal District: Nancy Long (R)
*Reedy Church District: Reggie L. Underwood (D)
*Western Caroline District: Jeffrey S. Black (I)
Administration
*County Administrator: Charles M. Culley Jr.
*Deputy County Administrator: Alan Partin
Constitutional officers
*Clerk of the Circuit Court: Susan Minarchi (R)
*Commissioner of the Revenue: Mark Bissoon (I)
*Commonwealth's Attorney: Benjamin Heidt (I)
*Sheriff: C.S. Moser (I)
*Treasurer: Brittany Eisenbrown (I)
Caroline County is represented by Republican Ryan T. McDougle in the Virginia Senate, Republicans Robert D. "Bobby" Orrock, Hyland F. "Buddy" Fowler, and Margaret Bevans Ransone in the Virginia House of Delegates and Democrat Eugene Vindman in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Communities
There are two
incorporated town
An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation.
Canada
Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government.
United States
An incorporated town o ...
s in Caroline County. They are:
*
Bowling Green
*
Port Royal
Bowling Green
The town of Bowling Green was earlier known as New Hope Village. One of the earliest stage roads in the colony ran through the area from Richmond to the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
, where a ferry crossing was operated to
Charles County, Maryland. One of the first stage lines in America to maintain a regular schedule operated along this road. New Hope Tavern was built along the road prior to 1700, and the area around it became known as New Hope Village.
[History](_blank)
The town was renamed for "Bowling Green", the plantation of town founder, Colonel John Hoomes. He donated considerable land when the community became the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
in 1803. The Bowling Green estate took its name from the Hoomes family's ancestral seat in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, "Bolling Green". Such naming was a tradition in the Colony of Virginia. The Bowling Green estate was the site of one of the first tracks for
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
in North America.
[Acknowledgment For Codification](_blank)
The manor home of the Hoomes family, built on plantation land patented by Major Thomas Hoomes in 1667, was constructed in 1741. A prominent town landmark, it is one of the oldest residences in original condition in Virginia.
Bowling Green Farm is now on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
The present Caroline County Court House was built in 1835, and Bowling Green was incorporated as a town in 1837. The town is best known as the "cradle of American
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
".
The
Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad (chartered in 1834) was built through nearby
Milford (just west of town) and reached
Fredericksburg by 1837. This important rail link between several major northern
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
s at Washington, D.C., and other major southern railroads at
Richmond was partially owned by the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
for years. It was purchased by
CSX Transportation in the 1990s. A major freight railroad line for north–south traffic, the corridor also carries many
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
trains. Although the closest
Virginia Railway Express (VRE) commuter passenger rail service to
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several County (United States), counties and independent city (United States), independent cities in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. ...
is accessed at Spotsylvania, future VRE extensions southward may include service at Milford. This would increase convenience for Bowling Green and the surrounding area.
Bowling Green is located along
Virginia State Route 2, one of the two earlier highways between
Richmond and
Fredericksburg. In later years,
U.S. Route 301 was built through the area, connecting Richmond with
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, by what was effectively an eastern bypass of the Washington, D.C., area. A new road,
Virginia State Route 207, was established from Bowling Green west to
Carmel Church. It intersects
Interstate 95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
and
U.S. Route 1, major north–south highways.
In 1941, the United States government acquired of Caroline County to the north and east of Bowling Green. It established the A.P. Hill Military Reservation. Known in modern times as
Fort A.P. Hill, the facility was named for Virginia military hero of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
and later
Confederate General
Ambrose Powell Hill. Thousands of regular military and reserve troops undergo training at the complex each year. It was also the site of national Jamboree gatherings of the
Boy Scouts of America
Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
for 29 years between 1981 and 2010.
Port Royal
Port Royal is one of the area's more historic towns. It was first established in 1652 as a port on a navigable portion of the
Rappahannock River
The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...
during an era when waterways were the major method of transportation of people and property in the British
Colony of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776.
The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...
. It was an important point for export of tobacco, Virginia's
cash crop
A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...
.
Local tradition holds that Port Royal was named after the Roy family. Dorothy Roy and her husband John owned a warehouse chartered by the crown, a
ferry
A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...
service across the Rappahannock River to
King George County and a tavern. In the 21st century, the chimneys of the Roy house are preserved landmarks in the town.
Port Royal was incorporated as a town in 1744. The "town green", upon which stands today the Town Hall and the firehouse, was forever reserved "for public and civic use".
Shipping of property from the port began to decline after completion of railroads which began in Virginia in the 1830s. The last scheduled passenger ship service ended in 1932, supplanted by highways. However, Port Royal was served by the new highways which became
U.S. Route 17 and
U.S. Route 301, with their crossroads at Port Royal.
Census-designated places
There are two unincorporated
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
s in Caroline County:
*
Lake Caroline
*
Lake Land'Or
Education
Caroline County Public Schools provides public education in the county. For the 2020–2021 school year, Caroline County Public Schools had 490 total employees with 209 of them being teachers.
Notable people
*
George Armistead, commander of
Fort McHenry during the
Battle of Baltimore
*
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...
, well-known American actor and assassin of
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
.
*
Reuben Chapman, the thirteenth
Governor of Alabama
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...
(1847–1849).
*
Christopher Chenery, one of the founders of the
New York Racing Association
The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York (state), New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Q ...
, and the owner/breeder of
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion
Secretariat.
*
William Clark and his slave, York, and other members of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition, were born in Caroline County. Clark's family, taking their slaves, moved to
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, when William was 15.
* General
George Rogers Clark (1752–1818), Revolutionary war hero, conqueror of the old Northwest Territory (modern day Midwest of the US), hero of the Battle of Fort Sackville (Vincennes, Indiana) February 1779, father and founder of the Midwest. George was basically already living in Kentucky in 1784 when the Clark family left Virginia and settled there. General Clark made his home in Southern Indiana on the Ohio River, at what is known as Clark's Point.
*
Peter Durrett (c. 1733–1823), founder with his wife of the
First African Baptist Church of
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
, the oldest black Baptist church in the state and the third oldest in the US.
*
George Fitzhugh, lawyer and pro-slavery sociologist.
*
Mildred and Richard Loving, successful plaintiffs in ''
Loving v. Virginia'', the U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling which determined
miscegenation laws were unconstitutional and legalized
interracial marriage
Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different "Race (classification of human beings), races" or Ethnic group#Ethnicity and race, racialized ethnicities.
In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United Sta ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Subject of the 2016 Netflix movie "
Loving".
*
Lex Luger, record producer, owns a home in
Milford, Virginia.
*
Mi$tro, rapper.
*
Edmund Pendleton (September 9, 1721 – October 23, 1803) was a Virginia politician, lawyer and judge, active in the American Revolutionary War.
*
John Taylor of Caroline (December 19, 1753 – August 21, 1824) was a politician and writer. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates (1779–1781, 1783–1785, 1796–1800) and in the United States Senate (1792–1794, 1803, 1822–1824). He was the author of several books on politics and agriculture.
*
Thomas P. Westendorf (1848–1923), a notable composer.
*
William Woodford, officer in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
and
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
.
See also
*
Caroline County Sheriff's Office
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Caroline County, Virginia
*
Caroline County Public Schools (Virginia)
References
External links
Caroline County, Virginia websiteWingfield's History of Caroline County, Virginia (1924)Central Rappahannock Heritage Center��nonprofit all-volunteer archive which preserves Caroline County historical documents and photographs
{{authority control
Virginia counties
Northern Virginia counties
1728 establishments in the Colony of Virginia