King George 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 in the

Commonwealth 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 26,723. 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 ...

is the census designated place of

King George King George may refer to: People Monarchs ;Bohemia *George of Bohemia (1420-1471, r. 1458-1471), king of Bohemia ;Duala people of Cameroon * George (Duala king) (late 18th century), king of the Duala people ;Georgia *George I of Georgia (998 or ...

. The county's largest employer is the U.S.

Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division The United States Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), named for Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, is located in King George County, Virginia, in close proximity to the largest fleet concentration area in the Navy. NSWCDD is ...

. It is adjacent to the newly built, four-lane,

Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge The Governor Harry W. Nice Memorial/Senator Thomas "Mac" Middleton Bridge, also known as the Potomac River Bridge, is a , four-lane continuous truss bridge that spans the Potomac River between Newburg in Charles County, Maryland and Dahlgren ...

carrying U.S. Highway 301 over the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

. It contains the ZIP codes 22448 ( Dahlgren) and 22485 (all other areas within King George). It is within the

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

540 and contains the exchanges: 775, 644, 663, and 653.

History

King George County was established in 1720 when land was split from

Richmond County, Virginia Richmond County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 8,923. Its county seat is Warsaw. The rural county should not be confused with the large city and state ca ...

. The county is named for King George I of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

. It was substantially reorganized in 1776 and 1777, with land swapped with both

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

and Westmoreland counties to form the modern boundaries. In the early decades,

planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gent ...

cultivated

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, a labor-intensive commodity crop, depending on the labor of both indentured servants from Britain and enslaved Africans. Gradually slaves became the primary laborers, as fewer indentured servants arrived. Later mixed crops were introduced, as the land had gotten exhausted from tobacco cultivation. The county and state were dominated by slavery. On March 16, 1751,

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, the fourth

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

, was born at Belle Grove plantation, the childhood home of his mother, Eleanor Rose "Nellie" Conway. Like other women, she returned home to her mother for assistance when bearing her child. The plantation is located in Port Conway in southern King George County. Nellie Conway was the daughter of its owner, Francis Conway, for whom the town of Port Conway was named.

William "Extra Billy" Smith William "Extra Billy" Smith (September 6, 1797May 18, 1887) was a lawyer, congressman, the 30th and 35th Governor of Virginia, and a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. On his appointment in January 186 ...

, twice elected governor of Virginia, was born at Marengo, Virginia in 1797. On May 1, 1861, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Confederates installed

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

at Mathias Point in order to blockade the

. On June 27, the steamer ''Thomas Freeborn'' bombarded Mathias Point in an effort to drive away the soldiers who were manning the weapons. Confederate soldiers fired back from Mathias Point, striking and mortally wounding Commander James H. Ward of the ''Freeborn.'' He was the first Union

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

officer to die in the Civil War. After assassinating President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

and

David Herold David Edgar Herold (June 16, 1842 – July 7, 1865) was an American pharmacist's assistant and accomplice of John Wilkes Booth in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After the shooting, Herold accompanied Booth to the home o ...

tried to elude Union

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and crossed into the Virginia county by boat from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

on April 21, 1865. Booth and Herold landed at the mouth of Gambo Creek, before meeting with

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

agents, who guided their passage to Port Conway. From there they crossed into

Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...

, in Caroline County.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.3%) is water. King George County is located on the

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The P ...

and is bounded on the north by the Potomac River, which lies in

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. T ...

. It is bounded on the south by the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

, across which lie Caroline and

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

counties; on the east by Westmoreland County and on the west by Stafford County, all in Virginia.

National protected area

Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge The Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Warsaw, Virginia, United States that was established in 1996. It is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Location The refuge comprise ...

(part)- Bishop, Styer, and Toby's Point units

Major highways

* * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

2010 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 2010, there were 23,584 people, 9,411 households, and 4,525 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 6,820 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 76.7%

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 ...

, 17.9%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.8% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. 3.3% 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 6,091 households, out of which 38.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 20.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.12. In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.80% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.00 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 99.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $49,882, and the median income for a family was $55,160. Males had a median income of $38,600 versus $26,350 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 $21,562. About 4.40% of families and 5.60% 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 6.10% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Board of Supervisors

* County Administrator: Matthew Smolnik * Member (At Large): David Sullins * Member (Shiloh): Cathy Binder (Vice Chair) * Member (Madison): Ken Stroud * Member (Monroe): T.C. Collins (Chair) * Member (Dahlgren): William Davis

Constitutional officers

* Clerk of the Circuit Court: Jessica Mattingly (I) * Commissioner of the Revenue: Regina Puckett (I) * Commonwealth's Attorney: Richard H. Stuart. (I) * Sheriff: Christopher A Giles(I) * Treasurer: Randy Jones (I) * Soil and Water conservation district tri-city and county: Anthony Staats (I)Janet Gayle Harris (I)

Politics

King George is represented by Republican Richard Stuart in the

Virginia Senate The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Virg ...

, Republican Hillary Pugh Kent in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

, and Democrat

Eugene Vindman Eugene Semyon Vindman (born Yevgeny Semyonovich Vindman; June 6, 1975) is an American politician, lawyer, and retired U.S. Army officer serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 7th congressional district since 2025. A member of the De ...

in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Festivals

The King George Fall Festival is held the second weekend of October in King George. All proceeds from this event go to support the Volunteer King George Fire & Rescue. The Fall Festival also includes a parade through town, a carnival, a craft fair, a car show, a dance, a 5-K run, and the Fall Festival Queens Pageant. The King George Fall Festival began in October 1959.

Communities

Census-designated places

* Dahlgren * Dahlgren Center * Fairview Beach *

Passapatanzy Passapatanzy is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in King George County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 1,283. History It was recorded as a Patawomeck village ruled by ''Japazaws,' ...

Other unincorporated communities

* Berthaville * Dogue *

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

* Ninde * Owens * Port Conway *

Rollins Fork Rollins is a surname which may refer to: People * Adrian Rollins (born 1972), English cricketer * Al Rollins (1926–1996), Canadian ice hockey goaltender * Annie Katsura Rollins, American Chinese shadow puppeteer * Bridgett Rollins (born 1956), ...

* Sealston * Shiloh * Weedonville

Education

King George County Schools serves all parts of the county for grades PK-12, except for those within

, which are served by the

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...

(DoDEA). The DoDEA property has a single PreK-8 school, Dahlgren Elementary Middle School.

Notable people

, fourth President of the United States * Francis Dade, US Army officer, killed at the

Dade Battle The Dade battle (often called the Dade massacre) was an 1835 military defeat for the United States Army. Under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 the U.S. was attempting to force the Seminoles to move away from their land in Florida provided by ...

in the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups of people collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Muscogee, Creek and Black Seminoles as well as oth ...

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...

, US Senator, maintains a residence and farm *

Krystal Ball Krystal Marie Ball (born November 24, 1981) is an American political commentator and media host. She was previously a political candidate, as well as a television host at MSNBC, a regular contributor to ''The Huffington Post'', and a co-host of ...

, political talk show co-host and one-time Congressional candidate, grew up in King George *

Collette Wolfe Collette Wolfe is an American actress known for her roles in films including '' Observe and Report'' (2009), ''Hot Tub Time Machine'' (2010), and ''Young Adult'' (2011). Early life Wolfe was raised in Virginia, where she was the King George ...

, actress, grew up in King George, Virginia *

Jermon Bushrod Jermon Terrell Bushrod (born August 19, 1984) is a former American professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Towson TigersTaft Coghill, Jr.,"Saints' Bushrod set to mar ...

, tackle for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League (NFL), grew up in King George, Virginia *

Al Bumbry Alonza Benjamin Bumbry (né Bumbrey; born April 21, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres from 1972 through 1985. Bumbry was the 1973 Major League Baseball Rook ...

, Major League Baseball Player *

Nell Zink Helen "Nell" Louise Zink (born 1964) is an American writer living in Germany. After being a long term penpal of Avner Shats, she came to prominence in her fifties with the help of Jonathan Franzen and her novel, ''Mislaid'', was longlisted for th ...

, American novelist, grew up in King George County *

Dorthia Cottrell Dorthia Cottrell (born March 11, 1986) is an American singer for the doom metal band Windhand. She also has an acoustic solo career. In 2024, her second solo album, ''Death Folk Country'', was included on the shortlist for the third annual New ...

, musician, grew up in King George County * Philip Scholz, author and former Paralympic swimmer. *

Gladys West Gladys Mae West (née Brown; born October 27, 1930) is an American mathematician. She is known for her contributions to mathematical modeling of the shape of the Earth, and her work on the development of satellite geodesy models, that were lat ...

, Black American Mathematician,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

hall of fame inductee, for help development of satellite

geodesy Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the Figure of the Earth, geometry, Gravity of Earth, gravity, and Earth's rotation, spatial orientation of the Earth in Relative change, temporally varying Three-dimensional spac ...

which was later used to create the Global Positioning System (GPS) * Thomas Lomax Hunter, poet and newspaper columnist.

References

External links

King George County Administration

King George County Public Schools

King George County Historical Society

RootsWeb King George County

{{authority control Virginia counties Virginia counties on the Potomac River Northern Neck 1720 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Populated places established in 1720