Richmond 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 on the Northern Neck in the U.S. state 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 8,923. 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 ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state capital

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. It was formed in 1692 when the first Rappahannock County was divided to form Richmond County and Essex County.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (11.5%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Westmoreland County, Virginia Westmoreland County is a County (United States), county located in the Northern Neck of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population sits at 18,477. Its county seat is Montross, Virginia, Montross ...

– north * Northumberland County, Virginia – east *

Lancaster County, Virginia Lancaster County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 10,919. Its county seat is Lancaster. Located on the Northern Neck near the mouth of the Rappahanno ...

– southeast *

Essex County, Virginia Essex County is a County (United States), county located in the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia; the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River on the north and King and Queen County, Virginia, King and Queen County on the s ...

– southwest

National protected area

* Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part) Franklin, Island Farm, Laurel Grove, Peter, Tayloe, Wellford, Wilna, Wright units; Menokin, Wellford easements

Major highways

* * * * * *

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.''

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 8809 people, 2,937 households, and 2,000 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 3,512 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 64.77%

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 ...

, 33.17%

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 ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.07%

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 ...

, 0.85% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. 2.10% 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 2,937 households, out of which 27.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.90% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 18.40% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 31.80% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 17.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 127.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 131.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $33,026, and the median income for a family was $42,143. Males had a median income of $30,722 versus $21,807 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 $16,675. About 11.90% of families and 15.40% 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 21.20% of those under age 18 and 12.50% of those age 65 or over. In 2004 the Menokin Bluegrass Festival (later changed to Menokin Music Festival) was launched in Richmond County at the ruins of Francis Lightfoot Lee's (a signer of the Declaration of Independence) ancestral home, Menokin. The festival attracts thousands of music fans every year in a celebration of the Northern Neck's historical legacy.

Government

Supervisors of Richmond County (2022) are: * Richard E. Thomas Sr. (District 1, Vice Chair) * John David Parr (District 2) * William C. Herbert, II (District 3) * Robert B. Pemberton (District 4) * F. Lee Sanders (District 5, chair) The County Administrator is R. Morgan Quicke.

Education

Richmond County Public Schools operates 2 public school campuses with about 1300 total students enrolled. Richmond County Elementary / Middle School serves grades K-7, and Rappahannock High School serves grades 8–12. The current Superintendent (2022) is Bernard S. "Trey" Davis III.

Communities

Town

Unincorporated communities

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

* Foneswood * Haynesville * Lyells * Rich Neck * Sharps *

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

* Newland Germans Corner another locality name in the county. It is about 1.5 miles north of Naylors Beach, at the junction of Virginia State Route 636 and Virginia State Route 624. It is named from Wilber L. Jerman, who built a large dwelling at the location in 1923, and lived there until 1946. Jerman's wife Cleva May was deeded 50 acres extending from the south and west of the corner from her father in 1920. Over time the original "Jerman's Corner" has come to be misspelled and known as "German's Corner."Ryland, Elizabeth Lowell. Richmond County, Virginia: A Review Commemorating the Bicentennial, p. 48 )(1976)

Politics

Notable people

* Annie R. Blount (1839–unknown), poet, short story writer, and newspaper editor

References

External links

Menokin Bluegrass Festival
{{Authority control Virginia counties 1692 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Northern Neck Populated places established in 1692