Virginia's 1st congressional district (from 2023)

Virginia's first congressional district is a United States congressional district in the commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. It is a district split between a suburban north and rural south. Virginian politicians now sometimes refer to it as "America's First District" since during the 20th century it included Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World. However, Jamestown Island and the historic settlement were redistricted to the 2nd congressional district in 2017. Moreover, in the 18th and early 19th century, it comprised northwestern Virginia (that became Frederick County, Virginia as well as the

Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia The Eastern Panhandle is the eastern of the two panhandles in the U.S. state of West Virginia; the other is the Northern Panhandle. It is a small stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Some sourc ...

after the

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). For years, the first district also included the other two points of the Historic Triangle– Williamsburg, the longtime capital of the colony, and Yorktown, where the decisive battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. The district continues to include major military installations, and has been represented by Republican Rob Wittman since 2007.

2016 redistricting

As of 2016, the adjacent 3rd district has been ruled unconstitutional. New districts have been drawn.

Area covered

Starting in 2023, the first district will cover all or part of the following political subdivisions:

Counties

* Chesterfield *

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

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Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

* Henrico * James City * King and Queen * King William * Lancaster * Mathews *

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

* New Kent *

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

* Richmond County * Westmoreland *

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Cities

The entirety of: * Poquoson * Williamsburg

Historic district boundaries

The Virginia First District started in 1788 covering the counties of Berkeley, Frederick,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

Hardy Hardy may refer to: People * Hardy (surname) * Hardy (given name) * Hardy (singer), American singer-songwriter Places Antarctica * Mount Hardy, Enderby Land * Hardy Cove, Greenwich Island * Hardy Rocks, Biscoe Islands Australia * Hardy, Sout ...

, Harrison, Monongalia,

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, Randolph and Shenandoah. Of these only Shenandoah and Frederick Counties are in Virginia today; the rest are now part of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. The modern counties of

Clarke Clarke is a surname which means "clerk". The surname is of English and Irish origin and comes from the Latin . Variants include Clerk and Clark. Clarke is also uncommonly chosen as a given name. Irish surname origin Clarke is a popular surname i ...

, Warren and most of

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as well as the independent city of

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

were included as part of Frederick and Shenandoah counties in 1788. In West Virginia all the current state north and east of a generalized line running from Wood County to Pocahontas County was in the congressional district. The one exception was that Pendleton County, West Virginia was in Virginia's 3rd congressional district. In the redistribution which followed the 1850 census (in force 1853–1863), the First District comprised sixteen counties in eastern Virginia. The counties included (amongst others) Accomack,

, James City, King and Queen, Mathews,

, New Kent,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

and Westmoreland. In an 1862 Union special election three out of the sixteen counties in the Union district supplied returns. The First District is noted for its strong presence of military institutions, including the

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. Increasing numbers of military and retired voters have swung the district to the right.

Recent election results

List of members representing the district

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virginia's 1st Congressional District 01 Constituencies established in 1789 1789 establishments in Virginia Constituencies disestablished in 1933 1933 disestablishments in Virginia Constituencies established in 1935 1935 establishments in Virginia