Charles City County, VA
| Charles City County, Virginia | ||
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Charles City County Courthouse
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 Location in the U.S. state of Virginia |
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 Virginia's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1619 | |
| Named for | Charles I of England | |
| Seat | Charles City | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 204 sq mi (528 km2) | |
| • Land | 183 sq mi (474 km2) | |
| • Water | 21 sq mi (54 km2), 10.5% | |
| Population (est.) | ||
| • (2015) | 7,040 | |
| • Density | 35/sq mi (14/km2) | |
| Congressional district | 4th | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC−5/−4 | |
| Website | www |
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Charles City County is a historic county located in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated southeast of Richmond and west of Jamestown. It is bounded on the south by the James River and on the east by the Chickahominy River.
The area that would become Charles City County was first established as "Charles Cittie" by the Virginia Company in 1619. It was one of the first four "boroughs" of Virginia, and was named in honor of Prince Charles, who would later become King Charles I of England. After Virginia became a royal colony, the borough was changed to "Charles City Shire" in 1634, as one of the five original Shires of Virginia. It acquired the present name of Charles City County in 1643.
In the 21st century, Charles City County is part of the Greater Richmond Region of the state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 7,256; it is still relatively rural and one of smaller counties in Virginia by population. Its county seat is the community of Charles City.
Notable natives include the 9th and 10th Presidents of the United States, William Henry Harrison and John Tyler.
Various Indian tribes had used this area for thousands of years. When the region was explored by the English in the 17th century, the Algonquian-speaking Chickahominy tribe inhabited areas along the river that was later named for them by English colonists. The Paspahegh lived in Sandy Point, and the Weanoc lived in the Weyanoke Neck area. The latter two tribes were part of the Powhatan Confederacy. They were all Algonquian-speaking tribes, the language family of the varied peoples who occupied the Tidewater and low country in Virginia and along the East Coast from Canada to south of the Carolinas. Algonquian was one of the three major language family groups of American Indians in Virginia. The others spoke Siouan and Iroquoian languages, and inhabited lands of the interior.
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