Powhatan County

Powhatan County location. Powhatan County was formed on 3 June 1777 from Cumberland County between the Appomattox and James rivers. In 1850, a small portion of Chesterfield County was annexed, creating what today is the 272 square-mile County of Powhatan.

Although nine counties in Virginia bear Indian names, Powhatan County is the only county named for an Indian chief. Chief Powhatan was the supreme ruler of most of the indigenous tribes in the Chesapeake Bay area from north of the Mattaponi River, a tributary of the York River, to the lands south of the James River, and he was the father of Pocahontas.

The original courthouse was constructed in 1778, and the area was named Scottville after General Charles Scott, a revolutionary war hero. The name of the County seat was changed to Powhatan in 1836. The present courthouse building was erected in 1848, and an addition and renovation were completed in 1992. Powhatan is located approximately twenty miles west from Richmond.

Powhatan County is probably best known as the final landing place for approximately 700 French Huguenots who arrived here in 1700 from London. As soon as they arrived in what is now known as Manakin, King William Parish was formed to accommodate the refugees. King William Parish was an anomaly among Virginia parishes, as they Huguenots were free to practice the Anglican religion according to their will with French-speaking ministers for several decades.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 680 kmÃ‚Â² (262 miÃ‚Â²). 677 kmÃ‚Â² (261 miÃ‚Â²) of it is land and 3 kmÃ‚Â² (1 miÃ‚Â²) of it (0.43%) is water.

Powhatan County Circuit Court
3880 Old Buckingham Road
Suite C
Powhatan, VA 23139
Phone: (804) 598-5660
FAX: (804) 598-5608

General

Powhatan County Government
Powhatan Today
Census Bureau Profile
Powhatan County Wikipedia
E-Podunk
NACo

Genealogical

Powhatan County RootsWeb
Powhatan County GenWeb Archives
Powhatan County VA GenWeb
Powhatan County Vital Records

Historical

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

Free Online Research Sources

Powhatan County Census Online
Powhatan County Confederate Units
WW II Casualties Army and Air Force

Cemeteries
USGS GNIS Powhatan County Cemeteries
Powhatan County Political Graveyard
Powhatan County Find a Grave

Newspapers

Richmond Times-Dispatch - includes obituaries
Richmond.com