King George County, Virginia

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King George County, Virginia

Map
Location in the state of Virginia
Virginia's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1720
Seat	King George
Area - Total - Land - Water	188 sq mi (487 km²) 8 sq mi (21 km²), 4.15%
Population - (2000) - Density	16,803 93/sq mi (36/km²)
Website: www.king-george.va.us

King George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 16,803. Its county seat is King George located primarily on Courthouse Road. The county's largest employer is the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division proving ground facility at Dahlgren, Virginia, which is adjacent to the 2-lane, 2-mile long Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge carrying U.S. Highway 301 over the Potomac River. The county is located on the Northern Neck peninsula and is part of the Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA winemaking appellation.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Festivals
5 Communities
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

King George County was established in 1720 from Richmond County, Virginia. The county is named for King George I of Great Britain.

President of the United States James Madison was born in King George County on March 16, 1751, in the Port Conway area of the county.

On May 1, 1861 during the American Civil War, Confederates installed artillery at Mathias Point in order to blockade the Potomac River. On June 27, the steamer Thomas Freeborn bombarded Mathias Point in an attempt to drive away the soldiers who were manning the weapons. Conferderate soldiers fired back from Mathias Point, striking and mortally wounding Commander James H. Ward of the Freeborn, who became the first Union naval officer to die in the Civil War.

While trying to elude Union cavalry, John Wilkes Booth and David Herold crossed into the county from Maryland on April 21, 1865 after assassinating US president Abraham Lincoln. Booth and Herold landed at the mouth of Gambo Creek, before meeting with Confederate agents, who guided their passage to Port Conway, where they would cross into Port Royal, in Caroline County, Virginia.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 188 square miles (486 km²), of which, 180 square miles (466 km²) of it is land and 8 square miles (20 km²) of it (4.15%) is water.

It is bounded on the north by the Potomac River, which lies in Charles County, Maryland. It is bounded on the south by the Rappahannock River across which lie Caroline and Essex Counties; on the east by Westmoreland County and on the west by Stafford County.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ^[1] of 2000, there were 16,803 people, 6,091 households, and 4,525 families residing in the county. The population density was 93 people per square mile (36/km²). There were 6,820 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile (15/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.69% White, 18.73% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 1.01% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. 1.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,091 households out of which 38.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 20.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.80% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 101.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $49,882, and the median income for a family was $55,160. Males had a median income of $38,600 versus $26,350 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,562. About 4.40% of families and 5.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.10% of those under age 18 and 6.40% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Festivals

The King George Fall Festival is held the second weekend of October in King George. All proceeds from this event go to support the King George Fire & Rescue. The Fall Festival Committee is made up of representatives from all of the county's community organizations that work together to organize and put on the Fall Festival. Committee meetings are held the fourth Thursday of each month at the King George Fire Station. DECA (an Association of Marketing Students) at King George High School is a member of this committee and prepares and serves the Bar-B-Que lunch for this event on Saturday. The Fall Festival also includes a parade through town, a carnival, a craft fair, a dance, and the Fall Festival Queen Pagent. The King George Fall Festival began in October 1959.