Colonial Heights | ||
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Independent city | ||
Boulevard, in Colonial Heights, Virginia
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Location in the State of Virginia | ||
Coordinates: 37°14′38″N 77°24′38″W / 37.24389°N 77.41056°WCoordinates: 37°14′38″N 77°24′38″W / 37.24389°N 77.41056°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Virginia | |
County | None (Independent city) | |
Incorporated (town) | 1926 | |
Incorporated (city) | 1948 | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | C. Scott Davis | |
Area | ||
• Independent city | 7.8 sq mi (20 km2) | |
• Land | 7.5 sq mi (19 km2) | |
• Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.8 km2) 3.7% | |
Elevation | 95 ft (29 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Independent city | 17,411 | |
• Density | 2,321/sq mi (896/km2) | |
• Metro | 1,126,262 | |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
Area code(s) | 804 | |
FIPS code | 51-18448 | |
GNIS feature ID | 1496852 | |
Website | colonialheightsva |
Colonial Heights is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,411. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the City of Colonial Heights (along with the City of Petersburg) with Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes.
Colonial Heights is located in the Tri-Cities area of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).
Like much of eastern Virginia, the site of Colonial Heights was located within the Algonquian-speaking confederation known as Tenakomakah, ruled by Chief Powhatan, when the English colonists arrived at Jamestown on May 14, 1607. Captain John Smith's early map of Virginia testifies that the present area of Colonial Heights included the principal town of the Appamattuck subtribe, led by their weroance, Coquonasum, and his sister, Oppussoquionuske. In the aftermath of the Indian attacks of 1622 and 1644, the Appamattuck became tributary to England and relocated to nearby Ettrick, and its opposite bank, near Fort Henry (within modern-day Petersburg, Virginia).
The area including present-day Colonial Heights was made a part of "Henrico Cittie", one of 4 huge "incorporations" formed in the Virginia Colony in 1619 by the London Company. English colonists first settled in the Colonial Heights area in 1620. A small group sailed up the Appomattox River looking for clear land, and finally settled in an area where Swift Creek runs into the Appomattox River, which they named Conjurer's Neck. This confluence was formerly the residence of a Native American healer (known as a "conjurer") who was thought to have cast spells over the waters.