King William County
| King William County, Virginia | ||
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King William 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 | 1702 | |
| Named for | William III | |
| Seat | King William | |
| Largest town | West Point | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 286 sq mi (741 km2) | |
| • Land | 274 sq mi (710 km2) | |
| • Water | 12 sq mi (31 km2), 4.1% | |
| Population (est.) | ||
| • (2015) | 16,269 | |
| • Density | 47/sq mi (18/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 1st | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
| Website | www |
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King William County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,935. Its county seat is King William.
King William County is located in the Middle Peninsula and is included in the Greater Richmond Region.
For thousands of years before European contact, indigenous peoples of North America lived in the Tidewater area of present-day Virginia. At the time of the founding of Jamestown, 30 Virginia Native American tribes comprised the Powhatan paramountcy, numbering 14,000-21,000 people. The Algonquian-speaking Mattaponi Indian Tribe and Upper Mattaponi tribe, among the 11 tribes recognized by the state of Virginia, are located in the county. The Mattaponi are one of two Virginia Indian tribes who still occupy reservation land first allocated by the English under treaty in the 17th century.
One prominent family during Colonial Virginia times was that of William Aylett. The Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730 established a tobacco inspection warehouse at Aylett's. Aylett's daughters intermarried with other Northern Neck families.
English colonists formed King William County in 1702 out of King and Queen County. The county is named for William of Orange, King of England. The Courthouse, built in 1725, is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the United States.
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