James City County, Virginia

James City County
County
James City County-Williamsburg Combined Courthouse
UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.jamescitycountyva.gov

James City County is a

Located on the Virginia Peninsula, James City County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is often associated with Williamsburg, an independent city, and Jamestown which is within the county.

First settled by the English colonists in 1607 at

celebration marked the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.

Tourism is a major part of the region's economy, as is high technology. The

.

History

This section incorporates text from the

1911 edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain

.

17th and 18th centuries

Proprietary colony

Main article:

History of the Jamestown Settlement (1607-1699)

The

James River

.

The first five years were very difficult, and the majority of the colonists perished. In 1612, imported strains of tobacco cultivated in Virginia by colonist John Rolfe were successfully exported and a cash crop had been identified.

In 1619, the Virginia Company of London under a new leader,

.

The Virginia Company's "James Cittie" stretched across the

hundreds

" were established.

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 present-day

lost towns of Virginia

.

Over 100 years later, the property had become part of

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

.

Royal colony, creation of shires (counties)

The privately owned

. About 1642–43, the name of the James City Shire was changed to James City County.

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. By 1634, a palisade or fortification had been completed across the peninsula with Middle Plantation at the center. This protected the lower peninsula to the east.

Middle Plantation and James City County were selected for the site of the

).

19th and 20th centuries

During the

. 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. 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

Perhaps the best-known of the 20th century changes of a local nature which affected James City County was the Restoration and development of Colonial Williamsburg. Driven by the vision of an Episcopal priest and initially funded by the heir to the Standard Oil fortune, John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, Colonial Williamsburg (or "CW" as it is informally known locally) became a world-class attraction like no other.

While the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg is within the city limits of Williamsburg and not located within James City County, in the earliest periods, CW acquired vast acreage in the entire area, notably to the north and east of the Historic District. Foremost was a desire to preserve views and facilitate the effort to allow a visitor to experience as much of the late 18th century experience as possibly with regard to the surrounding environment.

The entrance roadways to the Historic Area were planned with great care. Even in modern times, pathways from the Colonial Parkway and from the relocated

was planned and built in the 1960s and early 1970s, the additional land along Route 143 from the designated "Colonial Williamsburg" exit was similarly protected from development. Even in modern times, no commercial properties are encountered to reach the Visitor's Center, although the land is very valuable and the distance is several miles.

The area to the immediate east of the Historic Area in James City County included a vast tract known as the Kingsmill Plantation property. It was bisected by the historic Quarterpath Road, dating to the 17th century, which led from Williamsburg to the James River at Burwell's Landing. The manor house, built in the 1730s, had burned in 1843, but several brick dependencies survived (and still do into the 21st century). Immediately to the east of the Kingsmill tract was Carter's Grove Plantation. It was begun by a grandson of Royal Governor Robert "King" Carter. For over 200 years, it had gone through a succession of owners and modifications. Then, in the 1960s, after the death of its last resident, Ms. Molly McRae, Carter's Grove Plantation came the control of the Rockefeller Foundation, and was given to Colonial Williamsburg as a gift. At that point in time, the mid-1960s, CW owned land extended all the way from the Historic District to Skiffe's Creek, at the edge of Newport News near Lee Hall.

(Carter's Grove, at a distance of 8 miles (13 km), was operated as a satellite facility of Colonial Williamsburg, with several important programs there, until 2003. Eventually, most of the programs were relocated to be closer to the Historic Area, and the property was sold in 2007, with restrictive and conservation covenants to protect it. See separate article Carter's Grove for more details).

Anheuser-Busch

Clydesdale horses is seen at the Busch Gardens Williamsburg theme park, part of a massive Anheuser-Busch development in James City County which also includes a brewery, office park, and the Kingsmill Resort located east of Williamsburg just west of Grove

In the second half of the 20th century, distant from the Historic Area and not along the carefully protected sight paths, the vacant land east of town which was owned by Colonial Williamsburg and locally known as the Kingsmill tract had been long unproductive for either CW or the community. That changed in the early 1970s, under the leadership of CW Chairman Winthrop Rockefeller.

Rockefeller, a son of Abby and John D. Rockefeller Jr., was a frequent visitor and particularly fond of Carter's Grove in the late 1960s. He also served as Governor of the State of

team as a company logo in the 1930s. In 1959, the company had opened what today is known as a .

While details have never been widely publicized, by the time "Win" Rockefeller and "Gussie" Busch completed their discussions and negotiations, the biggest changes in the Williamsburg area since the Restoration began 40 years earlier were underway. Among the goals were to complement Colonial Williamsburg attractions and enhance the local economy.

The large tract consisting primarily of the Kingsmill land was sold by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to

AB and related entities from that development plan now are the source of the area's largest employment base, surpassing both Colonial Williamsburg and the local military bases. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch ranked as the world's second largest brewer.

21st century

At the turn of the 21st century, new

, with the premise of new historical discoveries. Each is especially attractive to archaeologists because of the lack of development after the mid 19th century.

Another archeological site, Wolstenholme Towne at Carter's Grove, was protected by covenants when it was sold in 2007, and may see future activity.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 179 square miles (460 km²), of which 142 square miles (370 km²) is land, and 37 square miles (96 km²) (20.5%) is water.^[4] The James City County GIS office specifies the county as being 115,011.9 acres (46,543.7 ha)

Jamestown, VA[5]
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.3     48 28     2.9     52 30     4     61 37     3.4     71 45     3.9     78 55     3.5     86 64     4.6     89 68     4.5     88 66     4.3     81 59     3.3     72 48     3.3     62 39     3.4     51 31 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     84     9 −2     74     11 −1     102     16 3     86     22 7     99     26 13     89     30 18     117     32 20     114     31 19     109     27 15     84     22 9     84     17 4     86     11 0 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

James City County straddles two major watersheds, the James River Watershed and the York River Watershed. (Both are sub watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which stretches from Pennsylvania to Virginia). Within the James River and York watersheds are eleven sub watersheds: Diascund Creek, Ware Creek, Yarmouth Creek, Gordon Creek, Powhatan Creek, Mill Creek,

Adjacent counties and independent cities

New Kent County, Virginia - northwest King and Queen County, Virginia - northeast Gloucester County, Virginia - northeast York County, Virginia - east

Williamsburg, Virginia - east Newport News, Virginia - southeast Surry County, Virginia - south Charles City County, Virginia - west

National protected areas

• Colonial National Historical Park (part)
• Jamestown National Historic Site

Demographics

2020 census

James City County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010[13]	Pop 2020[12]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	52,049	56,647	77.67%	72.39%
Black or African American alone (NH)	8,662	9,832	12.93%	12.56%
Alaska Native alone (NH)	173	165	0.26%	0.21%
Asian alone (NH)	1,488	2,254	2.22%	2.88%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	54	48	0.08%	0.06%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	127	361	0.19%	0.46%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	1,432	3,748	2.14%	4.79%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	3,024	5,199	4.51%	6.64%
Total	67,009	78,254	100.00%	100.00%

2010 Census

As of the 2010

of any race.

Of the total 19,003 households, 30.50% had 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 were 91.00 males.

Government

State and Federal elected representatives

• Virginia Senate
  • Danny Diggs (24th District - R)
  • Ryan McDougle (26th District - R)
• Virginia House of Delegates
  • Chad Green (69th District - R)
  • Amanda Batten (71th District - R)
• U.S. House of Representatives
  • Rob Wittman (R)

Presidential elections
At the national level, James City County had been a Republican-leaning county in presidential elections for decades, although as the county grew in the 2000s it began to trend Democratic and recent results suggest the county may soon become more of a

.

United States presidential election results for James City County, Virginia^[15]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	23,153	46.66%	25,553	51.50%	916	1.85%
2016	21,306	49.35%	19,105	44.26%	2,758	6.39%
2012	22,843	55.39%	17,879	43.35%	518	1.26%
2008	20,912	54.17%	17,352	44.95%	339	0.88%
2004	18,949	60.95%	11,934	38.39%	207	0.67%
2000	14,628	59.73%	9,090	37.11%	774	3.16%
1996	10,120	54.45%	7,247	38.99%	1,219	6.56%
1992	8,781	48.19%	6,536	35.87%	2,904	15.94%
1988	8,945	64.95%	4,642	33.70%	186	1.35%
1984	7,104	66.54%	3,486	32.65%	87	0.81%
1980	4,289	53.29%	3,068	38.12%	691	8.59%
1976	3,186	49.36%	3,000	46.48%	268	4.15%
1972	3,372	61.97%	1,992	36.61%	77	1.42%
1968	1,443	35.50%	1,521	37.42%	1,101	27.08%
1964	1,092	38.46%	1,744	61.43%	3	0.11%
1960	873	50.49%	845	48.87%	11	0.64%
1956	728	62.54%	312	26.80%	124	10.65%
1952	527	60.23%	346	39.54%	2	0.23%
1948	177	39.78%	198	44.49%	70	15.73%
1944	161	33.68%	317	66.32%	0	0.00%
1940	146	32.16%	306	67.40%	2	0.44%
1936	70	18.82%	302	81.18%	0	0.00%
1932	116	27.29%	302	71.06%	7	1.65%
1928	204	50.37%	201	49.63%	0	0.00%
1924	54	22.50%	173	72.08%	13	5.42%
1920	61	22.51%	207	76.38%	3	1.11%
1916	34	20.86%	127	77.91%	2	1.23%
1912	10	6.41%	128	82.05%	18	11.54%
1908	62	31.63%	132	67.35%	2	1.02%
1904	34	24.64%	98	71.01%	6	4.35%
1900	255	46.36%	294	53.45%	1	0.18%
1896	291	52.43%	261	47.03%	3	0.54%
1892	466	66.57%	233	33.29%	1	0.14%
1888	607	73.49%	219	26.51%	0	0.00%
1884	609	71.48%	243	28.52%	0	0.00%
1880	358	59.77%	241	40.23%	0	0.00%

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% were under the age of 18 and 4.80% were 65 or older.

theme park

in James City County outside Williamsburg

Jamestown and the

brings major economic activity to the county.

Industry

James City County is located 45 minutes from the state capital in Richmond and from the metropolitan port city of Norfolk. It is also two and a half hours from the nation's capital in Washington, D.C.

A significant advantage for all import/export oriented commercial enterprises is James City County's close proximity to the deep-water ports of Hampton Roads. The county is within 40 minutes of the Port of Hampton Roads, the second largest commercial port on the East Coast with access to 75 international shipping lines.

Just to the east of the Anheuser-Busch properties, in the southeastern section of the county, on the south side of U.S. Route 60, the county's James River Enterprise Zone, an

. The 5.6-square-mile (15 km²) area contains 2,400 acres (9.7 km²) planned and zoned for industrial uses. James City County is actively seeking additional industrial business in this prime area of the county. The sites within a designated "enterprise zone" offer state and local incentives to businesses that locate in those zones, invest and create jobs.

Since the James River Enterprise Zone's inception in 1996, James River Commerce Center and Greenmount

Education

Elementary, secondary schools

The local public school division is jointly operated with City of Williamsburg, and is known as Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (often abbreviated locally as "W-JCC").

The area is also served by Walsingham Academy, Williamsburg Christian Academy, Williamsburg Montessori School, and Providence Classical School, each independent schools.

Higher education

A campus of Virginia Peninsula Community College is located near Warhill High School in the Lightfoot area.

Portions of the

(which is actually a university with post-graduate programs) are located in the county, while the main campus is located in Williamsburg.

Transportation

The county is served by Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60 along its east–west axis. A local transit bus service is offered by the county-owned Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA), with a central route system hub at the Williamsburg Transportation Center. The county is within 45 minutes of Interstate 95 and has access to all major transportation arteries of the East Coast of the United States.

There are three international airports within a 45-minute drive from James City County: Richmond International Airport, Norfolk International Airport, and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport. Depending on the often congested traffic conditions on I-64, driving times are subject to significant delays, especially for trips toward or through the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.

U.S. Route 60 Grove-Lee Hall traffic

For several years in the early 21st century, a major project of James City County officials and Supervisor Bruce Goodson, who represents the Roberts Magisterial District, has been to improve U.S. Route 60 between Grove and Newport News to provide better (faster and more direct) access to Interstate 64 from the industrial sites in Grove which generate a considerable volume of truck traffic, and reduce the same on the existing roadway.^[18] Access for the industrial traffic to I-64 currently requires a drive of about 4 miles (6.4 km) in either direction on two-laned sections of U.S. 60 at non-highway speeds through residential areas, sharing the road with local traffic and school buses serving either the James River Elementary School's county-wide magnet program or alternatively, the large elementary school in the Lee Hall community in neighboring Newport News, as well as school buses for other schools going into and out of neighborhoods along the route in both communities.

On a historical note, a very similar roads issue was earlier visited in the 1930s, when the current parallel State Route 143 (Merrimack Trail) was built as part of a four-laned through-route alternative to U.S. 60 for increasing volumes of east–west through traffic in the area. Once again, options have been chosen so that the two-laned bucolic nature of Route 60 through the Grove and Lee Hall communities to be preserved without the major impact a widening project would have upon these historic communities.

Skiffe's Creek Connector

In June 2007, Virginia's

. The portion of relocated roadway planned in James City County is being described as the Skiffe's Creek Connector.

A connection to State Route 143 and enhanced access to Interstate 64 nearby is also under consideration.

Newport News section

At the Newport News border, a new crossing of

. In a separate project, portions of Warwick Boulevard east of Fort Eustis in Newport News are currently being widened to six lanes.

Major highways

Military sites, bases

17th century

A fort was underway at Jamestown very shortly after the colonists began establishing themselves there in May, 1607.

work has been extensive, and is a major aspect of the current attractions there.

By 1634, the settlers of the Colony of Virginia had completed a palisade of approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) length across the peninsula, anchored by College Creek (earlier known as Archer's Hope Creek) and Queen's Creek, which led to the James and York rivers respectively. The goal was to protect the lower peninsula to the east from attacks by the Native Americans, who were still a threat in the area until after 1644.

The exact location of this line of wooden defenses has been lost to time. A portion was found during archaeological research on the property occupied by the home of

19th century

During the

, an earthen fortification, was located at a strategic point at the juncture of the roads from Lee's Mill and Yorktown to Williamsburg.

At Fort Magruder, a few earthworks and a small memorial remain along present-day Penniman Road in a residential area. In early 2006, Riverside Health System donated 22 acres (89,000 m²) of the 350 acres (1.4 km²) of land that it had bought from Colonial Williamsburg in 2004, to create a public park. The land, located about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south of Fort Magruder (towards the James River), includes two redoubts that were part of the line of defenses made up of 14 redoubts, of which Fort Magruder was the largest.

20th century

The

.

At the southwestern edge of Grove, the U.S. Army's Camp Wallace operated from 1918 to 1971. It was a satellite facility of Fort Eustis, which was established as Camp Abraham Eustis in neighboring Warwick County in 1918. In this hilly terrain, the base had its Upper Artillery Range. Some years after World War II, Camp Wallace became was the site of the Army's first installation of its aerial tramway. The Camp Wallace property became part of the Anheuser Busch developments beginning in the 1970s.

21st century

No military installations are currently headquartered in the county. Small portions of Camp Peary and the 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 and the southeastern tip of the Greenmount Industrial Park is also located in the county, although almost all of Fort Eustis is now located in the independent city of Newport News (which consolidated with the former Warwick County in 1958 to form the present large city).

Communities

From the establishment of Jamestown in 1607 through the middle of the 20th century, James City County's economy was based largely on an agriculture, with many farms and substantial tracts of undeveloped forests. After the decline of Jamestown in the 18th century, commerce was centered on Williamsburg, which was partially located within the county. Small unincorporated towns and villages were scattered throughout. The end of the Civil War in 1865 saw some of the larger farms divided into smaller tracts as

.

Williamsburg

Although it received its

In Colonial times, and for about 100 years thereafter,

has always been the county seat of York County. In 1870, the Virginia General Assembly moved the county line so that Williamsburg was located entirely within James City County.

After a new Virginia state constitution was adopted in 1871, all incorporated cities in the state became independent cities that were politically independent of counties. Williamsburg was incorporated as a city in 1884, and separated from James City County.^[20] However, although politically separate entities, Williamsburg has remained the county seat of James City County. They continue to share many services, including courts, several constitutional officers and a joint public school system.

Unincorporated communities

There are no incorporated towns in the county. Unincorporated communities include:

Several areas of the county have Williamsburg mailing addresses.

Gated residential communities in the county^[23] include:

• Colonial Heritage
• Stonehouse at Millpond^[24]
• Ford's Colony
• Kingsmill
• Governor's Land

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in James City County, Virginia

References

Notes

Further reading

• McCartney, Martha W. (1977) James City County: Keystone of the Commonwealth; James City County, Virginia; Donning and Company;
  ISBN 0-89865-999-X
• "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

External links

• James City County (official website)
• Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools
• James City County Office of Economic Development - Open for Business since 1607

37°19′N 76°46′W / 37.31°N 76.77°W / 37.31; -76.77