Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

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 ...

in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,389 making it the fifth-most populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is included in the

Greater Richmond Region The Greater Richmond Region, also known as the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the are ...

. There is no incorporated community within Henrico County; therefore, there is no incorporated county seat either. Laurel, an unincorporated CDP, serves this function. Named after the settlement of Henricus, Henrico was first incorporated as the City of Henrico. In 1634, Henrico was reorganized as Henrico Shire, one of the eight original

Shires of Virginia The eight Shires of Virginia were formed in 1634 in the Virginia Colony. These shires were based on a form of local government used in England at the time, and were redesignated as counties a few years later. As of 2007, five of the eight origina ...

. It is one of the United States' oldest counties. The

City of Richmond The City of Richmond was a local government area about east of Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1855 until 1994. History Richmond was incorporated as a municipality on 24 A ...

was officially part of Henrico County until 1842, when it became a fully

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

. The present-day Henrico County curves around the City of Richmond, surrounding it to the west, the north, and the east. The county is bounded by the

Chickahominy River The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern border of Charles City County, Vir ...

to the north and the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

and Richmond to the south. Richmond International Airport is located in the eastern portion of Henrico County in Sandston. Top private employers in the county include

Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company founded on July 21, 1994, and specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, with operations primarily in the ...

, Bon Secours, and Elevance Health.

History

In 1611, Thomas Dale founded the Citie of Henricus on a peninsula in the

that is now called

Farrar's Island Farrar's Island is a peninsula now on the west side of the James River in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Chesterfield County, Virginia. The county operates the Dutch Gap Conservation Area and Boat Landing and as well as a living history museum, t ...

. Henricus was named for

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King James VI and I and Anne of Denmark, Queen Anne. His name derives from his grandfathers: Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley; and Fr ...

, but it was destroyed during the

Indian massacre of 1622 The Indian massacre of 1622 took place in the English Colony of Virginia on March 22, 1621/22 ( O.S./N.S.). The English explorer John Smith, though he was not an eyewitness, wrote in his ''History of Virginia'' that warriors of the Powhatan "cam ...

, during which local Native American warriors of the Powhatan confederacy attacked the English settlers to drive them from the area.In 1634, Henrico Shire was one of the eight original

established in the

Virginia Colony The Colony of Virginia was a 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 Colony lasted for t ...

. Since then, 10 counties and three independent cities have been formed from the original territory of Henrico Shire. In 1776, Richard Adams and Nathaniel Wilkenson participated in the Fifth Virginia Convention, which voted to send delegates to the Continental Congress to propose separation from the British. That proposal led to 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 ...

.During the Revolutionary War, when Benedict Arnold's invading army occupied Richmond in January 1781, the Henrico militia was called to active duty. During the brief British occupation of Richmond, many Henrico court records were destroyed. Three months later when Arnold's men, now part of British forces led by General William Phillips, approached Richmond for a second time, the British were stopped by the sight of local militiamen and American Continental troops led by a young Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette. Outnumbered, Lafayette abandoned Richmond when General Charles Cornwallis occupied the town in June 1781. Cornwallis then retired to Williamsburg and later to Yorktown. After being surrounded there by General George Washington and his French allies, Cornwallis surrendered, effectively ending the American Revolution. Since becoming independent in 1842, the

has successfully

annexed Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held to ...

portions of Henrico five times. Chesterfield County annexed the site of

Henricus The "Citie of Henricus"—also known as Henricopolis, Henrico Town or Henrico—was a settlement in Virginia founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at James ...

in 1922. Henrico was badly hurt in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. During the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, Virginia Estelle Randolph was a pioneer educator and humanitarian who lived from 1874 to 1958. She opened the old Mountain Road School in 1892 and was named the first Jeanes Supervisor Industrial Teacher in Henrico County Schools in 1908. She conducted the first Arbor Day program in Virginia. The USS Henrico was a Bayfield-class attack transport involved in World War Two and subsequent conflicts. Richmond attempted to completely merge with Henrico in 1961, but 61% of the votes in a referendum in Henrico county voted against the merger. In 1965, Richmond attempted to annex 145 square miles of Henrico County. However, after a lengthy court battle, the city was given permission to annex only 17 square miles. Since the city would have had to reimburse Henrico a hefty $55 million, Richmond opted against annexing the 17 square miles. In 1981, the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

placed a moratorium on all annexations throughout the state. Henrico's borders have not changed since Richmond's 1942 annexation. The original

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 ...

was at Varina, at the Varina Farms

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

across the James River from Henricus. Colonist

John Rolfe John Rolfe ( – March 1622) was an English explorer, farmer and merchant. He is best known for being the husband of Pocahontas and the first settler in the colony of Virginia to successfully cultivate a tobacco crop for export. He played a ...

built this plantation, where he lived with his wife,

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

. Henrico's government was located at Varina from around 1640 until 1752. In 1752, Henrico relocated its seat to a more central location inside the city of Richmond, between Church Hill and what is now Tobacco Row. The county seat remained at 22nd and Main St in Richmond even after the city's government became fully independent of the county in 1842. It was not until 1974 when the county moved out of the Henrico County Courthouse to a complex in the western portion of the county at the intersection of Parham Road and Hungary Springs Road in Laurel. In addition to the 1974 complex, in 1988 the county opened its Eastern Government Center to be more convenient to county residents in the eastern portion of the county. It is located on Nine Mile Road.

American Civil War battle sites

During the

, in 1862 Henrico County was the site of numerous battles during the

Peninsula Campaign The Peninsula campaign (also known as the Peninsular campaign) of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The oper ...

, including: *

Battle of Seven Pines The Battle of Seven Pines, also known as the Battle of Fair Oaks or Fair Oaks Station, took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. The Union's Army of the Po ...

, *

Battle of Savage's Station The Battle of Savage's Station took place on June 29, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as the fourth of the Seven Days Battles (Peninsula Campaign) of the American Civil War. The main body of the Union Army of the Potomac began a general withdr ...

, * Battle of Oak Grove, * Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm, * Battle of White Oak Swamp, *

Battle of Glendale A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, and * Battle of Malvern Hill. Additional significant battles took place in 1864 during the

Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...

prior to and during the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

, which led to the fall of Richmond. Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded in Henrico County at the

Battle of Yellow Tavern The Battle of Yellow Tavern was fought on May 11, 1864, as part of the Overland Campaign of the American Civil War. Union cavalry under Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan was detached from Grant's Army of the Potomac to conduct a raid on Richmond ...

on May 12, 1864.

Transportation

Henrico County is one of only two counties in Virginia that maintains its own roads, with the other being Arlington County. This special status was due to the existence of county highway departments prior to the creation in 1927 of the state agency that is now VDOT; and the assumption by that agency in 1932 of local roads in most counties. (Henrico and Arlington were grandfathered and allowed to continue pre-existing arrangements.) The control of the roads system is considered a powerful advantage for community urban planners, who can require developers to contribute to funding needed for road needs serving the planners' and developers' projects. Henrico County is the site of Richmond International Airport. It hosts an

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 ...

rail passenger station, Richmond Staples Mill Road station. It purchases public bus route services from Greater Richmond Transit Company, an FTA-funded public service company that is owned equally by the City of Richmond and neighboring Chesterfield County. After

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

, Henrico County used

convict leasing Convict leasing was a system of forced penal labor that was practiced historically in the Southern United States before it was formally abolished during the 20th century. Under this system, private individuals and corporations could lease la ...

to build roads in 1878. Some old roads continue to be in use today, such as Horsepen Road, Three Chopt Road, and Quiocassin Road.

Major highways

Interstates

* * * *

US Highways

* * * * * *

State routes

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Charles City County (southeast) * Chesterfield County (south) * Goochland County (west) * Hanover County (north) * New Kent County (northeast) *

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

(south) *

Powhatan County Powhatan County () is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,033. Its county seat is Powhatan, Virginia, Powha ...

(southwest at James River)

National protected area

* Richmond National Battlefield Park (part)

Climate

Henrico County is located within the

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

zone and has hot and humid summers with moderately cold winters. Henrico County on average has 8 snow days. Henrico County has 88 days when the low falls below freezing, 50 days when the high exceeds 90 degrees, and 8 days when the high does not exceed freezing. Source: Climate-data.org

Demographics

2020 census

2010 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 2010, there were 306,935 people, 127,111 households, and 69,846 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 . As of 2019, there were 139,274 housing units at an average density of . In 2018, the racial makeup of the county was 57% (185,772)

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 ...

, 29.5% (96,112)

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.2% (728) Native American, 8.2% (26,557) Asian, 0.03% (95)

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 ...

, 0.98% (3,106) from other races, and 3.1% (10,232) from two or more races. About 5.5% (17,959) of the population was

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. The largest ancestry groups in Henrico County are: Black or African American (25%),

English American English Americans (also known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2020 United States census, English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.6 million America ...

(14%),

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

(11%), Irish (10%) and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

(4%) In 2000, there were 108,121 households, out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.30% 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, 13.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.40% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 19, 7.80% from 20 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.5 years. For every 100 females there were 90.11 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.60 males. In 2019, the median income for a household in the county was $68,024, and the median income for a family was $91,956. 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 $40,222. 9% 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 ...

Government and politics

Henrico County is managed by an appointed county manager who answers directly to the board of supervisors. The current county manager is John A. Vithoulkas. The Board of Supervisors are: * Brookland District – Dan Schmitt (R) * Fairfield District – Roscoe Cooper III (D) * Three Chopt District – Misty Whitehead (D) * Tuckahoe District – Jody Rogish (D) * Varina District – Tyrone E. Nelson (D) In 2014, Henrico County won 'Best in Government' from ''Richmond Magazine''. There are several elected constitutional officers. * Clerk of the Circuit Court – Heidi S. Barshinger (R) * Commonwealth's Attorney – Shannon Taylor (D) * Sheriff – Alisa Gregory (D) There are also several legislative representatives. In the U.S. House of Representatives: * Republican

Rob Wittman Robert Joseph Wittman (born February 3, 1959) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2007. The district contains portions of the Richmond suburbs and Hampton Roads area, as well as the Northern Neck and Middle ...

* Democrat Jennifer McClellan In the Virginia Senate: * Democrat Lamont Bagby * Republican John McGuire * Democrat Lashrecse Aird * Democrat Schuyler VanValkenburg In the Virginia House of Delegates: * Republican

David Owen David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, (born 2 July 1938) is a British politician and physician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a Labour Party MP under James Callaghan from 1977 to 1979, and later ...

* Democrat Rodney Willett * Republican Buddy Fowler * Democrat Destiny LeVere Bolling * Democrat Delores McQuinn

National politics

From the 1950s until the early 2000s, Henrico County was solidly Republican in presidential elections, and was considered a classic bastion of suburban conservatism. However,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

won the county in 2008, becoming the first Democrat to do so since

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

in 1948, and it has voted for the Democratic nominee in every subsequent presidential election. Mirroring the shift towards Democrats seen in many affluent suburban counties across the country,

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

won Henrico County by nearly 30 points in 2020.

Law enforcement

The Henrico County Sheriff's Office and Henrico County Police are Henrico County's county-level law enforcement agencies. Thomas Dale led the county militia and was the first law enforcement officer in the county: the sheriff's department considers him the first sheriff of Henrico County. The county police were founded in 1915. In 1938, the board of supervisors put the police under the direct control of the county manager, rather than under the sheriff. The elected Sheriff's primary duties are managing the jail, court security, and the service of civil process. In 1880, the first courthouse and jail was constructed and housed the Sheriff's Office and Jail until 1980. In 1980, in the need for a more technological advanced and more spacious area, the Jail West at the Henrico County Government Complex was constructed. In 1996, Henrico's Sheriff's Office opened Jail East in New Kent County. The Henrico County Police Division is fully accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies and Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission.

Fire and EMS

The Division of Fire is responsible for fire suppression, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, technical rescue, water rescue, fire prevention, fire investigation, public education, disaster preparedness and emergency management. The Henrico County Fire Department includes 548 members, of whom 526 are sworn firefighters. The division operates 68

fire apparatus A firefighting apparatus (North American English) or firefighting appliance (UK English) describes any vehicle that has been customized for use during firefighting operations. These vehicles are highly customized depending on their needs and the d ...

at 20 community fire stations. The division is rated ISO class 1. Additionally, the department encompasses several specialized units, including a Water Rescue Team, Technical Rescue Team, Hazardous Incident Team, and special events resources. In 2014, the Division of Fire responded to 41,759 emergency incidents. The department was awarded the 2024 Governor's Fire Service Award by Glenn Youngkin, who, in a press release, praised it for its work in training and regional partnerships, particularly in supporting statewide training events.

Economy

Altria Group Altria Group, Inc. (previously known as Philip Morris Companies, Inc. until 2003) is an American corporation and one of the world's largest producers and marketers of tobacco, cigarettes, and medical products in the treatment of illnesses c ...

(formerly Philip Morris) had its corporate headquarters in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Henrico County. In 2003 Philip Morris announced that it would move its headquarters from New York City to Virginia. The company said that it planned to keep around 750 employees in its former headquarters. Brendan McCormick, a spokesperson for Philip Morris, said that the company estimated that the move would save the company over $60 million each year. This relocation was made with the help of the Henrico County Economic Development Authority and the Greater Richmond Partnership, regional economic development organizations who also helped locate Aditya Birla Minacs, Alfa Laval, Genworth Financial, and Blue Bell Ice Cream to the county.

Top employers

According to the county's 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the county are:

Education

The

school division {{Use mdy dates, date=July 2023 A school division is a geographic division over which a school board has jurisdiction. Canada In Canada the term is used for the area controlled by a school board and is used interchangeably with school district, i ...

known as Henrico County Public Schools consists of 45 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, 10 high schools and two technical centers within one school division. In 2001, HCPS began distributing

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

iBooks to every high school student. In 2003, they extended the program to middle schools. In 2005, the HCPS School Board decided to replace the iBooks with

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

's Inspiron 600M at the high school level. In 2006, the HCPS School Board decided to continue using Apple iBooks at the middle school level, purchasing nearly 13,000 laptops in a contract worth $15.8 million. In 2010, HCPS School Board opened a new middle school, Holman Middle School, and opened a new high school,

Glen Allen High School Glen Allen High School, established in 2010, is a public school located in Henrico County, Virginia. The mascot of GAHS is the Jaguar, and the school's current principal is Reginald Davenport. Glen Allen is the 16th best high school in Virginia, ...

Communities

There are no existing incorporated towns, and no new municipalities can be created within the county. Henrico was the third Virginia county (after Arlington County, Virginia, Arlington and Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax counties) to be affected by a state law that prohibits the creation of any new towns or cities within the boundaries of a county with a

of 1,000 or more per square mile.

Census-designated places

* Chamberlayne, Virginia, Chamberlayne * Dumbarton, Virginia, Dumbarton * East Highland Park, Virginia, East Highland Park * Glen Allen, Virginia, Glen Allen * Highland Springs, Virginia, Highland Springs * Innsbrook, Virginia, Innsbrook * Lakeside, Virginia, Lakeside * Laurel * Montrose, Virginia, Montrose * Sandston * Short Pump, Virginia, Short Pump * Tuckahoe, Virginia, Tuckahoe * Wyndham, Virginia, Wyndham

Other communities

* Fair Oaks, Henrico County, Virginia, Fair Oaks * Varina

Former towns

Prior to 1870, the Town and later City of Richmond was located within Henrico County. Under a new Virginia state constitution in 1870, and as further clarified by the rewritten one in 1902, Richmond became an

. At the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century, several small incorporated towns were chartered by Acts of Assembly, primarily in areas of the county near to, but outside of, the city limits. As listed by the secretary of the Commonwealth, these included: * Barton Heights, incorporated 1896, annexed by the City of Richmond in 1914 * Fairmount, incorporated 1902, annexed by the City of Richmond in 1914 * Ginter Park, annexed by the City of Richmond * Highland Park, annexed by the City of Richmond in 1914 * North Richmond, annexed by the City of Richmond

Notable people

* Van T. Barfoot, Medal of Honor recipient * Carter Family, folk and country music group * Georgia May Jobson, social reformer * Daniel Lynch IV, baseball player * Debbie Matenopoulos, television personality * Gabriel Prosser, Revolutionary * Schuyler VanValkenburg, State Senator * Constance Wu, actress

Trivia

For many years, the United States Postal Service considered most of Henrico County to be unincorporated Richmond, and the majority of locations in the county had a Richmond address. However, in 2008 county residents won the right to recognize Henrico County as the locality to which they pay the majority of their taxes. As of October 1, 2008, the primary mailing address for the majority of the county was officially changed to Henrico. It was estimated that the county would recover $5 million in misdirected tax dollars due to the address change. This move has set a precedent causing many other localities in Virginia who are officially recognized by the United States Postal Service as the nearest major city to consider petitioning the United States Postal Service for their own official mailing address bearing the name of the locality to which residents actually pay their taxes. Henrico County is the location of Richmond Raceway, which is home to NASCAR Cup Series races twice a year. Henrico County is the county that handles hazardous material spills and related problems (with three HAZMAT Teams) for the entire Central Virginia Region. Partly because of this, Central Virginia has total interoperability of Emergency Communications (Police, Fire, Recreation and Parks, Volunteer Rescue Squads, etc.) between the cities and more than ten counties. William Byrd II

Henrico County has the highest bond rating (Triple, triple-A) from the three bond rating agencies in the United States, which means Henrico is known nationwide for its solid fiscal responsibility. Henrico County residents are served by the Henrico Area Mental Health and Developmental Services, which has a CARF three-year accreditation. All fees for services rendered are based on financial need, providing mental health and recovery support services to thousands who otherwise would not be able to afford this due to their own limited financial resources. Nobody is denied service due to an inability to pay. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden was founded in 1984 and has . It is one of only two independent public botanical gardens in Virginia, and designated a state botanical garden. A public place for the display and scientific study of plants, it features a glass conservatory, rose garden, healing garden, and accessible-to-all children's garden.

References

External links

*
Henrico County Historical Society
* {{authority control Henrico County, Virginia, 1634 establishments in the Colony of Virginia 1643 establishments in the Colony of Virginia States and territories established in 1634 Virginia counties Counties on the James River (Virginia) Virginia shires Geography of Richmond, Virginia Populated places established in 1634 Majority-minority counties and independent cities in Virginia Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales