Prince George County 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its

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 Prince George. Prince George County is located within 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 ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

History

Prince George County was formed in 1703 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 ...

from the portion of Charles City County that was south of 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 ...

. It was named in honor of Prince George of Denmark, husband of

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 8 March 1702, and List of British monarchs, Queen of Great Britain and Irel ...

. In 1619, "Charles Cittie" was one of four "boroughs" or "incorporations" created by the

Virginia Company The Virginia Company was an English trading company chartered by King James I on 10 April 1606 with the objective of colonizing the eastern coast of America. The coast was named Virginia, after Elizabeth I, and it stretched from present-day ...

. The first Charles City County courthouses were located along the

at Westover Plantation on the north side and City Point on the south side. The Virginia Company lost its charter in 1624, and Virginia became a royal colony. Charles City Shire was formed in 1634 in the Virginia Colony by order of Charles I, King of England. It was named as Charles City County in 1643. Charles Cittie, Charles City Shire, and Charles City County all extended to both sides of the

, which was the major transportation thoroughfare of the Virginia Colony throughout the 17th century. The original central city of Charles City County was Charles City Point, which was in an area south of the James River at the confluence of the

Appomattox River The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia, named for the ...

. The name was later shortened to City Point. In 1703, all of the original area of Charles City County south of the James River was severed to form Prince George County. As population increased, portions were divided and organized as several additional counties. City Point became an

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 ...

in Prince George County.

20th century to present

Annexed by the

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 ...

of Hopewell in 1923, City Point is no longer in the county. Nearby the current bridges, this water-only section of the county at the

was the site of a fatal bus accident at an open

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

on December 22, 1935; thirteen people died.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.9%) is water. The northwestern corner of the county near the cities of Hopewell and Petersburg, and the location of

Fort Gregg-Adams Fort Lee (formerly Fort Gregg-Adams), in Prince George County, Virginia is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the United States Ar ...

is exurban, but the rest of the county is rural with most land devoted to agriculture and timber production.

Adjacent counties / independent cities

* Petersburg – independent city, northwest * Chesterfield County – northwest * Hopewell – independent city, northwest * Colonial Heights – independent city, northwest * Charles City County – north * Surry County – east * Sussex County – south * Dinwiddie County – west

National protected areas

* James River National Wildlife Refuge * Petersburg National Battlefield Park (part)

Economy

Top employers

According to the County's ''Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Year Ended June 30, 2023,'' the top employers in the county were: Goya Foods has its Virginia offices south of the Prince George CDP.

Government

In modern times, there are no centralized cities or towns in the county. Prince George Court House, which uses the postal address Prince George, Virginia, is the focal point of government. The County Administrator answers to the elected Board of Supervisors, who are elected from single-member districts.

Politics

Law enforcement

Prince George County is served primarily by the Prince George County Police Department and the Prince George County Sheriff's Office. The police department's responsibility is the enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth and local ordinances. The primary responsibility of the Sheriff's Office is the security of the courts and service of court (criminal and civil) papers. The Sheriff's Office also assists the police department in the enforcement of the laws of the Commonwealth as a secondary responsibility.

Correctional institutions

Riverside Regional Jail is located west of 295 and south of the Appomattox River in the county. It serves seven member localities. It is overseen by the Riverside Regional Jail Authority Board. In addition, the Federal Correctional Institution, Petersburg is located west of the regional jail, closer to the Appomattox River as it curves south. This complex for male inmates, located west of the independent city of

Hopewell, Virginia Hopewell is an independent city (United States), independent city surrounded by Prince George County, Virginia, Prince George County and the Appomattox River in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 202 ...

, consists of both a low-security facility, with 1,111 inmates; 293 at the adjacent minimum-security satellite camp; and 1,595 at the associated medium-security facility. All are managed by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).

Towns, communities, region

There are currently no

s within Prince George County. Unincorporated towns or communities in the county include:

Census-designated places

* Disputanta *

(a military base) * Prince George * Templeton

Other unincorporated communities

* Burrowsville * Carson * Garysville * Jordan Point * Kingwood * New Bohemia * Newville

Transportation

Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

s 95 and 295 pass through the county, as does north-south U.S. Route 301 and east-west U.S. Route 460. State Route 10 runs along the southern shore of the James River near several of the James River plantations located in the county. State Route 106 runs through Prince George, the

. Freight

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 ...

service for the county is provided by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

, which interchanges with

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

at Petersburg. The famous 52-mile long tangent rail line between Petersburg and

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

of the former Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built by

William Mahone William Mahone (December 1, 1826October 8, 1895) was a Confederate States Army general, civil engineer, railroad executive, prominent Virginia Readjuster Party, Readjuster and ardent supporter of former slaves. He later represented Virginia in th ...

in the 1850s, and now forms a vital link of the Norfolk Southern system. A

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

automobile

transloading Transloading, also known as cross-docking, is the process of transferring a shipment from one mode of transportation to another. It is most commonly employed when one mode cannot be used for the entire trip, such as when goods must be shipped in ...

facility is located nearby. There are future plans underway for a large

Intermodal freight transport Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation (e.g., rail, ship, aircraft, and truck), without any handling of the freight itself when changing ...

railroad-trucking transfer facility in Prince George County as well.

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, enters Prince George County from Sussex County. Access to the county is available at Exits 37, 41, 45, and 46 before the road enters the City of Petersburg. * is the north-south bypass around Petersburg and Richmond, further north. Besides its southern terminus at Exit 46 on I-95, access to the county is available at Exits 3A and 3B before the road enters the City of Hopewell. * , the principal south-north route Sussex County until it was supplanted by I-95. A spur of US Route 1, it enters Prince George County from Sussex County and serves as a frontage road along I-95, until reaching Carson, where it moves further away from the interstate. However, it does cross over I-95 at exit 41 along with an overlap of VA 35 (''see below''), and again at Exit 45 eventually entering Petersburg. * , a major west-to-east corridor that runs southeasterly in the south-central of Prince George County, as a connecting route between the Central Appalachian Mountains and the Hampton Roads area. A spur of

US 60 U.S. Route 60 is a major east–west United States highway, traveling from southwestern Arizona to the Atlantic Ocean coast in Virginia. The highway's eastern terminus is in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where it is known as General Booth Bouleva ...

, it enters the county from Petersburg entering New Bohemia, then later runs through Disputanta before leaving the county at the Sussex County line northwest of Waverly. * , is a state route that runs west to east along the south side of the James River. Named James River Drive throughout the county, it enters the county from Hopewell at the bridges over the Bailey Creek, and briefly takes an overlap of VA 106/156 between Ruffin Road and Jordan Point Road. From there it passes south of the privately-owned Henshaw Airport near Garysville, then passes through Burrowsville, and after the intersection with Chippokes Road (VSR 610), crosses the Prince George-Surry County Line. * , a south-north state road that enters the county from rural areas north of Disputanta. The route runs mainly southeast to northwest along Courtland Street from the Sussex-Prince George County Line and terminates at a pair of Virginia Secondary Routes northwest of the US 301/VA 35 overlap in Templeton. Both VA 35 and US 301 were part of the historic Jerusalem Plank Road, which was the site of a Civil War Battle in Petersburg. * runs northeast from Petersburg as Courthouse Road, through Prince George, where it runs under I-295 with no interchange. It then encounters VA 156 (''see below'') which joins VA 106 in an overlap towards the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge. * runs northeast from Templeton at the southeast end of the US 301/VA 35 overlap. It passes through Disputanta, then joins VA 106 in an overlap east of Prince George where it too heads towards the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

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 35,725 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 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 10,726 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 60.93%

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 ...

, 32.54%

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 ...

, 0.42% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.15%

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 ...

, 2.19% from other races, and 2.03% from two or more races. 4.92% 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. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, on July 1, 2019, it is estimated that there is a population of 38,353 people living in Prince George County. There were 10,159 households, out of which 41.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.50% 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, 12.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.30% were non-families. 17.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.11. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.10% under the age of 18, 13.60% from 18 to 24, 33.30% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 117.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 120.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $49,877, and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $37,363 versus $26,347 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 $20,196. About 6.50% of families and 8.00% 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 11.40% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Colleges and Universities

* Richard Bland College

K-12 education

The school division is the Prince George County Public Schools school district.
Text list
/ref> ; Secondary schools * Prince George High School 10–12 * N.B. Clements Jr. High 8–9 * J.E.J Moore Middle School 6–7 ; Elementary schools * D. A. Harrison Elementary School K–5 * L.L. Beazley Elementary School K-5 * Middle Road Elementary School K-5 * North Elementary School K-5 * South Elementary School K-5

Notable people

* Richard Bland – planter and statesman, member of the

Virginia House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses () was the lower house of the Virginia General Assembly from 1619 to 1776. It existed during the colonial history of the United States in the Colony of Virginia in what was then British America. From 1642 to 1776, the Hou ...

. * Richard Bland II – Planter and statesman, member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and delegate to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

. * Theodorick Bland of Cawsons – Planter and statesman, member of the

. * Theodorick Bland – Physician,

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

soldier, and statesman who became a major figure in the formation of the new

United States Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

, representing Virginia in both the Continental Congress and the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. * Colonel Robert Bolling – Planter and merchant who resided at Kippax Plantation. * Jane Rolfe Bolling – Wife of Colonel Robert Bolling, granddaughter of

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 ...

and English 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 ...

* Jackie Bradley Jr. – Major League Baseball player, attended Prince George High School. * Larry Brooks –

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

player, graduated from Prince George High School * Robert Williams Daniel – Banker who survived the sinking of the ''

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that Sinking of the Titanic, sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking Iceberg that struck the Titanic, an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York Ci ...

'' and later served in the Virginia Senate; resided at Brandon Plantation. * Margery Durant Daniel – Second wife of Robert Williams Daniel, daughter of Billy Durant, a businessman and founder of

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

* Robert Williams Daniel Jr. – Member of the US House of Representatives; served five terms representing Virginia's 4th congressional district. * Richard Eppes – Planter and surgeon in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

; resided at Appomattox Manor. * Rick Gates – Political consultant, lobbyist, and business associate of

Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

campaign manager

Paul Manafort Paul John Manafort Jr. (; born April 1, 1949) is an American former lobbyist, political consultant, and attorney. A long-time Republican Party campaign consultant, he chaired the Trump presidential campaign from June to August 2016. Manafo ...

graduated from Prince George High School. * Elmon T. Gray – Waverly businessman and son of Garland Gray; served in the Virginia Senate from 1971 to 1992. * Samuel Jordan – Jamestown colonist and one of the first colonial legislators; established Jordan's Point Plantation * John Martin – Jamestown colonist who established Martin's Brandon Plantation * Johnny Oates –

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player, coach, and manager, graduated from Prince George High School. * Edmund Ruffin – Planter,

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.) is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the Uni ...

, and southern

secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

; born at Evergreen Plantation in Prince George. * Reggie Williams –

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player; graduated from Prince George High School. *

George Yeardley Sir George Yeardley () was a Planter class, planter and colonial governor of the colony of Virginia. He was also among the first slaveowners in Colonial history of the United States, Colonial America. A survivor of the Virginia Company of London's ...

– Jamestown colonist who established

Flowerdew Hundred Plantation Flowerdew Hundred Plantation dates to 1618/19 with the patent by Sir George Yeardley, the Governor and Captain General of Virginia, of on the south side of the James River (Virginia), James River. Yeardley probably named the plantations in the ...

References

19
"Quick Facts Prince George County, Virginia"
Retrieved July 1, 2019

External links

Prince George County official website

Prince George County Economic Development
{{authority control Virginia counties 1703 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Counties on the James River (Virginia) Greater Richmond Region Populated places established in 1703 Virginia counties on the Chesapeake Bay Prince George of Denmark