James City County, Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| James City County, Virginia | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Virginia |
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| Statistics | |
| Formed | 1634 |
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| Seat | Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
180 sq mi (465 km²) 143 sq mi (370 km²) 37 sq mi (95 km²), 20.47% |
| Population - (2004) - Density |
54,000 378/sq mi (146/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern : UTC-5/-4 |
| Website: www.jccEgov.com | |
James City County (formally, the County of James City) is a County located on the Virginia Peninsula, in the U.S. State of Virginia. Its population is 48,102 (as of 2000), and it is often associated with Williamsburg, an independent city which borders James City County.
First settled by the English colonists in 1607 at Jamestown, the County was formally created in 1634 as James City Shire by order of King Charles I. James City County is considered one of only five original shires of the Virginia Colony to still be extant today in essentially the same political form.
Beginning in 2006, and extending into 2008, the county will host the Jamestown 2007 celebration to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement.
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[edit] History
- This section incorporates text from the 1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
[edit] 17th & 18th centuries
[edit] Proprietary colony
The Virginia Company of London was granted a proprietorship (charter) by the King of England to attempt to establish a colony in the area we now know as Virginia. England had been at war with Spain and was seeking both capital funds and income in the form of royalties. In December, 1606, 3 ships set sail from England, led by Captain Christopher Newport. Upon reaching the New World at Cape Henry, they selected a site to settle about 40 miles inland from the coast along a river to be better protected from attacks by sea from other Europeans. Soon after the establishment of the Jamestown Settlement in 1607 in the new Colony of Virginia, English settlers first explored and then began settling more of the areas adjacent to Hampton Roads and along the James River.
In 1619, the Virginia Company of London instituted a number of changes, to help stimulate more investment and attract settlers from England. In the long view, foremost among these was the establishment of what became the House of Burgesses, the first representative legislative body in the European settlement of North America, predecessor of today's Virginia General Assembly. Also in 1619, the plantations and developed portions of the Colony were divided into four "incorporations" or "citiies" (sic), as they were then called. These were Charles Citiie, Elizabeth Citiie, Henrico Citiie, and James Citiie. The latter, which stretched across the Peninsula to the York River, included the seat of government for the entire colony at Jamestown Island. Each of the four "citiies" (sic) extended across the James River, the major thoroughfare of commerce for the settlers, and included land on both the north and south shores. Many new developments, known as "hundreds" were established.
[edit] Wolstenholme Towne, Carter's Grove Plantation
About this same time, downriver from Jamestown, in the southeastern end of what is now James City County near the current Grove Community, an fortified settlement known as Wolstenholme Towne was established near the river and just east of the confluence of Grove Creek on a land grant known as Martin's Hundred. However, the population of the town, named for Sir John Wolstenholme, a principal of the Martin's Hundred investors back in England, was severely decimated during the Indian Massacre of 1622, and many men, women and children were killed or abducted. While it was rebuilt, Wolstenholme Towne was eventually abandoned about 1643, and soon even the location was forgotten as it became one of the lost towns of Virginia.
Over 100 years later, the property had become part of Carter's Grove Plantation, itself built around 1753 by the grandson of Robert "King" Carter, who had become one of the wealthiest planters and served for a period as Virginia's acting governor. Another 200 years later, the long-lost the site of Wolstenholme Towne was rediscovered in 1976 during an archaeological dig overseen by Ivor Noel Hume after the Carter's Grove Plantation property came under the ownership of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
[edit] Royal colony, creation of shires (counties)
The privately owned Virginia Company lost its charter in 1624, and Virginia became a royal colony. In 1634, the English Crown created eight shires (i.e., counties) in the colony of Virginia, with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. James City Shire, as well as the James River and Jamestown which had been named earlier, took its name from King James I, the father of the then-king, Charles I. About 1642-43, the name of the James City Shire was changed to James City County.
[edit] Middle Plantation, Williamsburg, Green Spring
On high ground midway across the Virginia Peninsula, Middle Plantation was established in 1632 as a fortress in the ongoing conflicts with Native Americans. It became the site of the College of William and Mary in 1693 and became the location of the capital in 1699 after Jamestown was burned (again) in 1698. Shortly thereafter, Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in honor of King William III of England. The capital was moved to Richmond in 1780 at the outset of the American Revolution. The Battle of Green Spring was fought in the county just a short time before the British surrender at Yorktown. (Green Spring Plantation was the former home of Royal Governor William Berkeley).
[edit] 19th & 20th centuries
During the American Civil War, the Battle of Williamsburg was waged in York and James City County during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. Some earthworks remain at the site of the Confederate Fort Magruder. After the War, Collis P. Huntington extended the new Chesapeake and Ohio Railway through the county to reach new coal piers he had built at Newport News on Hampton Roads. Railroad stations were established (listed west to east) at Diascund, Toano, Vaiden's Crossing, Kelton, Ewell, Williamsburg, and Grove. In Williamsburg, the temporary tracks initially laid ran down the middle of Duke of Gloucester Street.
After a change in the Virginia constitution in 1871, Williamsburg became an independent city from James City County in 1884, although it remained the county seat. Williamsburg and James City County share a combined school system, courts, and some constitutional officers.
Beginning in the early 20th century, preservation and restoration efforts resulted in a major increase in tourism to the county and surrounding area. Attractions developed included Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, the Colonial Parkway, Carter's Grove Plantation, and Busch Gardens. At the turn of the 21st century, new archaeological work was underway at Jamestown and nearby Green Spring Plantation, with the promise of new historical discoveries. Each is especially attractive to archaeologists because of the lack of development after the mid 19th century.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 180 mi² (465 km²), of which 143 mi² (370 km²) is land, and 37 mi² (95 km², or 20.47%) is water.
James City County straddles two major watersheds, the James River Watershed and the York River Watershed. (Both are subwatersheds of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which stretches from Pennsylvania to Virginia). Within the James River and York watersheds are eleven subwatersheds - Diascund Creek, Ware Creek, Yarmouth Creek, Gordon Creek, Powhatan Creek, Mill Creek, College Creek, James River, York River, Skiffe's Creek and Chickahominy River. [1]
[edit] Demographics
As of the 2000 census[1], there were 48,102 people, 19,003 households, and 13,986 families residing in the county. The population density was 337/mi² (130/km²). There were 20,772 housing units at an average density of 145/mi² (56/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.05% White, 14.37% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the total 19,003 households, 30.50% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.80% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the county, the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 26.10% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.90 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there are 91.00 males.
[edit] Economy
The median income for a household in the county was $55,594, and the median income for a family was $66,171. Males had a median income of $43,339 versus $27,016 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,256. 6.40% of the population and 4.10% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.30% are under the age of 18 and 4.80% are 65 or older.
[edit] Towns and communities
There are no incorporated towns in the county. Unincorporated communities include:
[edit] Military bases
Fort Magruder, an earthen fortification, was located in the county at the juncture of the roads from Lee's Mill and Yorktown to Williamsburg during the American Civil War. A few earthworks and a small memorial remain along present-day Penniman Road in a residential area.
No military installations are currently headquartered in the county. Small portions of Camp Peary and Yorktown Naval Weapons Station are located in James City County, although most portions of each of these large installation are located in neighboring York County. Also, a very small portion of Fort Eustis property adjacent to Skiffe's Creek Reservoir is also located in the county, although almost all of that facility is located in the independent city of Newport News.
The Grove Community in the southeastern end of the county was populated with many African-American families displaced during World War I and World War II as the military reservations for the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and Camp Peary respectively were created on the sites of the lost towns of Lackey and Magruder.
[edit] Sources
[edit] Publications
- McCartney, Martha W. (1977) James City County: Keystone of the Commonwealth; James City County, Virginia; Donning and Company; ISBN 0-89865-999-X
[edit] Websites
- "Cast Down Your Buckets Where You Are" An Ethnohistorical Study of the African-American Community on the Lands of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station 1865-1918
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] Government
- James City County (official website)
- Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools
[edit] Political parties
[edit] Attractions
- Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's official site
- APVA web site for the Jamestown Rediscovery project
- Historic Jamestowne
- Jamestown 2007 Celebration
- Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center
- Virtual Jamestown
- National Park Service: Jamestown National Historic Site
- Busch Gardens Williamsburg web site
- Friends of Green Spring a large interactive web site with streaming video and more than a dozen essays ("The voices of Green Spring")
- National Park Service, Green Spring web page
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| Middle Peninsula: | |
| Virginia Peninsula: |
Hampton | James City County | Newport News | Poquoson | Williamsburg | York County |
| South Hampton Roads: |
Chesapeake | Isle of Wight County | Norfolk | Portsmouth | Suffolk | Surry County | Virginia Beach |
| Northeast North Carolina: |
