Henrico City (or Henrico Cittie as it was then called) was one of four incorporations established in the Virginia Colony in 1619 North America by the proprietor, the Virginia Company. The plantations and developments were divided into four "incorporations" or "citties", as they were called. These were Charles City, Elizabeth City, Henrico City, and James City. The latter included the seat of government for the colony at Jamestown. Each of the four "citties [sic]" extended across the James River, the main conduit of transportation of the era.
Henrico's most promising early development, Sir Thomas Dale's Henricus (also known as Henricopolis), was wiped out and not rebuilt after the Indian Massacre of 1622, as were the Falling Creek Ironworks. Both locations were recently rediscovered and are now located in Chesterfield County, which was formed from parts of Henrico before the American Revolutionary War.
In 1634, under Royal authority, a portion became Henrico Shire, later Henrico County, Virginia. The county seat was designated near John Rolfe and Pocahontas' former home Varina Farms and remained there until 1752, when a new courthouse was built in Richmond.