Henrico County

One of the oldest political subdivisions in Virginia, Henrico was the scene of the second settlement in the colony and was established in 1634 as one of eight original shires or counties created in this state. Its first boundaries incorporated an area from which 10 Virginia counties were later formed in whole or in part, as well as the cities of Richmond, Charlottesville, and Colonial Heights. The county was named for Henry, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James I of England.

The county is named for Henricus (also known as Henricopolis and Henrico Town), and was founded in 1611 by Sir Thomas Dale. Henricus was a progressive city, which was unfortunately wiped out during the Indian Massacre of 1622. Henrico County originally extended to both the north and south sides of the James River. Henrico County now is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The land within Henrico County encompasses much of RichmondÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s West End as well as its Ã¢â‚¬Å“North Side.Ã¢â‚¬Â?

The original county seat was at Varina at the Varina Farms plantation estate across the James River from Henricus where John Rolfe and Pocahontas had lived, and where their son Thomas Rolfe was born. In modern times, Varina Farm is still actively cultivated, and can be seen from Interstate 295 to the east just north of the Varina-Enon Bridge, not far from the WRVA transmitter site and dual radio towers, according to Wikipedia. Varina remained the county seat until 1752, when it was relocated to the new Henrico County Court House, located at 20th and Main Streets in what is now the City of Richmond, where it remained for over 200 years. In the 1970s, a new county court house complex was built in the western portion of the county. Currently, the county seat is located at 4301 East Parham Road, which is inside Henrico County, although the 1752 courthouse was still standing in Richmond as of 2006.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 634 kmÃ‚Â² (245 miÃ‚Â²). 617 kmÃ‚Â² (238 miÃ‚Â²) of it is land and 17 kmÃ‚Â² (7 miÃ‚Â²) of it (2.67%) consists of water. Henrico County has become the third Virginia county (after Arlington and Fairfax Counties) to be affected by a state law that prohibits the creation of any new towns or cities within the boundaries of a county with a population density of 1,000 or more per square mile.

Henrico County Circuit Court
P.O. Box 27032
Richmond, VA 23273
(see Circuit Court Site for further information)

The best place to gather information from Henrico County, if youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re going to be in the area, is from the Library of Virginia, located in Richmond. This library contains a massive amount of information about every county in Virginia, along with any available birth, death, marriage, court, and divorce records.

General

Henrico County Government
Census Bureau Profile
Henrico County Wikipedia
E-Podunk
NACo

Genealogical

Henrico County Rootsweb
Henrico County GenWeb Archives
Henrico County, Richmond City, Manchester City VA GenWeb
Henrico County “Olden Times”
Henrico County Vital Records

Historical

Henrico County Historical Society
Henrico County National Register of Historic Places
American Memory - Built in America - Henrico County images from the Library of Congress
Henrico County Storms (1950-2006)

Free Online Research Sources

1790-1800 Henrico County Tax Lists
Henrico County Census Online
Henrico County Confederate Units
WW II Casualties Army and Air Force

Cemeteries
USGS GNIS Henrico County Cemeteries
Henrico County Political Graveyard
Henrico County Find a Grave
Henrico County at Interment.net

Newspapers

Ricmond Times-Dispatch - includes obituaries

Online Maps, Geology