Albemarle County, Virginia

Albemarle County, Virginia
The Albemarle County Office Building
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1744
Named for	Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle
Seat	Charlottesville
Largest town	Scottsville
Area
• Total	726 sq mi (1,880 km2)
• Land	721 sq mi (1,867 km2)
• Water	5 sq mi (13 km2), 0.7%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	105,703
• Density	146/sq mi (56/km²)
Congressional district	5th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.albemarle.org

Albemarle County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Albemarle County was created in 1744 from the western portion of Goochland County, though portions of Albemarle were later carved out to create other counties. Albemarle County was named in honor of Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle. However, its most famous inhabitant was Thomas Jefferson, who built his estate home, Monticello, in the county.

As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,970. The population has more than tripled since the 1960 census.

At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Albemarle County were a Siouan-speaking tribe called the Saponi. In 1744, the Virginia General Assembly created Albemarle County from the western portion of Goochland County. The county was named in honor of Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and titular Governor of Virginia at the time. The large county was partitioned in 1761, forming Buckingham and Amherst counties, at which time the county seat was moved from the formerly central Scottsville to a piece of newly central land, christened Charlottesville. In 1777, Albemarle County was divided and Fluvanna County established, finalizing the boundaries of modern Albemarle County.