| Prince George County, Virginia | ||
|
||
Location in the state of Virginia |
||
Virginia's location in the U.S. |
||
| Founded | 1703 | |
|---|---|---|
| Seat | Prince George | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
282 sq mi (730 km²) 266 sq mi (689 km²) 16 sq mi (41 km²), 5.76% |
|
| Population - Density |
35,725 124/sq mi (48/km²) |
|
| Website | www.princegeorgeva.org | |
Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 35,725.[1] Its county seat is Prince George[2]. It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond–Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond, VA MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area).
Contents |
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 282 square miles (730 km²), of which 266 square miles (688 km²) is land and 16 square miles (42 km²) (5.76%) is water. The northwestern corner of the county near the cities of Hopewell and Petersburg, and the location of Fort Lee is suburban, but the rest of the county is still very rural with most land devoted to agriculture and timber production.
Prince George County was formed in 1703 in the Virginia Colony from a portion of Charles City County. It was named in honor of Prince George of Denmark, husband of England's reigning monarch, Queen Anne.
In 1619, "Charles Cittie" [sic] was one of four "boroughs" or "incorporations" created by the Virginia Company. The first Charles City County courthouses were located along the James River at Westover and City Point. 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 became Charles City County in 1643, and is considered one the five shires in Virginia still extant in essentially the same political entity (county) as they were originally formed in 1634.
Charles Cittie, Charles City Shire, and Charles City County all extended to both sides of the James River, 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 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 and eventually, several other counties. City Point later became an incorporated town in Prince George County. Annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923, it is no longer in the county.
According to the County's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[3] the top employers in the city are:
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Department of Defense | 1,000+ |
| 2 | County of Prince George | 1,000+ |
| 3 | Food Lion | 500-999 |
| 4 | United States Department of Justice | 500-999 |
| 5 | Standard Motor Products | 250-499 |
| 6 | United States Army | 250-499 |
| 7 | Riverside Regional Jail | 250-499 |
| 8 | Perdue Farms | 250-499 |
| 9 | United States Departments of the Army & Air Force | 250-499 |
| 10 | Ace Hardware | 100-249 |
High School
Jr. High School
Middle School
Elementary Schools
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.
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.[4]
There are currently no incorporated towns within Prince George County. Unincorporated towns or communities in the county include:
Prince George County adjoins the independent cities of Petersburg, Hopewell, and Colonial Heights and is considered part of the Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg (or Greater Richmond) region. It also borders 5 other counties: Charles City (County), Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Sussex, and Surry.
Interstate Highways 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 northern shore of the James River near several of the James River plantations located in the county.
Freight railroad service for the county is provided by CSX Transportation, which interchanges with Norfolk Southern at Petersburg. The famous 52-mile long tangent rail line between Petersburg and Suffolk of the former Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built by William Mahone in the 1850s, and now forms a vital link of the Norfolk Southern system. A Norfolk Southern Railway automobile transloading facility is located nearby. There are future plans underway for a large Intermodal freight transport railroad-trucking transfer facility in Prince George County as well.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 8,173 |
|
|
| 1800 | 7,425 | −9.2% | |
| 1810 | 8,050 | 8.4% | |
| 1820 | 8,030 | −0.2% | |
| 1830 | 8,367 | 4.2% | |
| 1840 | 7,175 | −14.2% | |
| 1850 | 7,596 | 5.9% | |
| 1860 | 8,411 | 10.7% | |
| 1870 | 7,820 | −7.0% | |
| 1880 | 10,054 | 28.6% | |
| 1890 | 7,872 | −21.7% | |
| 1900 | 7,752 | −1.5% | |
| 1910 | 7,848 | 1.2% | |
| 1920 | 12,915 | 64.6% | |
| 1930 | 10,311 | −20.2% | |
| 1940 | 12,226 | 18.6% | |
| 1950 | 19,679 | 61.0% | |
| 1960 | 20,270 | 3.0% | |
| 1970 | 29,092 | 43.5% | |
| 1980 | 25,733 | −11.5% | |
| 1990 | 27,394 | 6.5% | |
| 2000 | 33,047 | 20.6% | |
| 2010 | 35,725 | 8.1% | |
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile (48/km²). There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 60.93% White, 32.54% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 1.73% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 2.19% from other races, and 2.03% from two or more races. 4.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
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 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 for the county was $20,196. About 6.50% of families and 8.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.40% of those under age 18 and 8.30% of those age 65 or over.
| City of Petersburg; Chesterfield County; and City of Hopewell | Charles City County | |||
| Dinwiddie County | Surry County | |||
| Prince George County, Virginia | ||||
| Sussex County |
|
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||