King and Queen County, Virginia

King and Queen County
County
Old King and Queen County Courthouse
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°43′N76°54′W / 37.72°N 76.9°W / 37.72; -76.9
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1691
Named for	William III and Mary II of England
Seat	King and Queen Court House
Area
• Total	326 sq mi (840 km2)
• Land	315 sq mi (820 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  3.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,608
• Density	20/sq mi (7.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.kingandqueenco.net

King and Queen County is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia, located in the state's Middle Peninsula on the eastern edge of the Richmond, VA, metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,608. ^[1] Its county seat is King and Queen Court House. ^[2]

History

King and Queen County was established in 1691 from New Kent County, and was named for King William III and Queen Mary II of England. ^[3] King and Queen County is notable as one of the few counties in the United States to have recorded a larger population in the 1790 census than in the 2010 one.

Among the earliest settlers of King and Queen County was Roger Shackelford, an English emigrant from Old Alresford, Hampshire, after whom the county's village of Shacklefords is named. Shackelford's descendants continued to live in the county, and by the nineteenth century had intermarried with several local families, including Taliaferro, Beverley, Thornton, and Sears. ^[4]

In 1762 when he was 11, future president James Madison was sent to a boarding school run by Donald Robertson at the Innes plantation in King and Queen County. Robertson was a Scottish teacher who tutored numerous prominent plantation families in the South. From Robertson, Madison learned mathematics, geography, and modern and classical languages, becoming especially proficient in Latin. He attributed his instinct for learning "largely to that man (Robertson)." ^{[5] [6]} At age 16, Madison returned to his father's Montpelier estate in Orange County.

On March 2, 1864, the Battle of Walkerton, an engagement of the American Civil War, took place here, resulting in a Confederate victory.

Virginia Longest, national director of the Nursing Service for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the late 1970s, was a county native.

Richard and Mildred Loving lived in a remote part of the county in the 1960s, hoping to avoid arrest by the authorities while their legal challenge to Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws moved through the courts.

For many years, county publications noted that the county lacked any traffic lights. This is now no longer the case, as a traffic light has been installed on U.S. Route 360 at St. Stephen's Church.

Even in the 21st century, King and Queen County contains no incorporated towns or cities, and remains one of Virginia's most sparsely populated counties. For example, as of 2024 it does not have a grocery store.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 326 square miles (840 km²), of which 315 square miles (820 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (3.4%) is water. ^[7]

Measuring 63 miles (101 km) in length, it is one of the longest counties in the state of Virginia, as well as one of the narrowest, measuring less than 10 miles (16 km) across at its widest point.

Adjacent Counties

• Caroline County – north
• Essex County – northeast
• Middlesex County – east
• Gloucester County – southeast
• James City County – south
• New Kent County – southwest
• King William County – west

Major highways

• US 360
• SR 14
• SR 33
• SR 40

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	9,377		—
1800	9,879		5.4%
1810	10,988		11.2%
1820	11,798		7.4%
1830	11,644		−1.3%
1840	10,862		−6.7%
1850	10,319		−5.0%
1860	10,328		0.1%
1870	9,709		−6.0%
1880	10,502		8.2%
1890	9,669		−7.9%
1900	9,265		−4.2%
1910	9,576		3.4%
1920	9,161		−4.3%
1930	7,618		−16.8%
1940	6,954		−8.7%
1950	6,299		−9.4%
1960	5,889		−6.5%
1970	5,491		−6.8%
1980	5,968		8.7%
1990	6,289		5.4%
2000	6,630		5.4%
2010	6,945		4.8%
2020	6,608		−4.9%
2021 (est.)	6,662	[8]	0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [9] 1790–1960 [10] 1900–1990 [11] 1990–2000 [12] 2010 [13] 2020 [14]

2020 census

King and Queen County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010 [13]	Pop 2020 [14]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	4,547	4,460	65.47%	67.49%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,970	1,561	28.37%	23.62%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	109	82	1.57%	1.24%
Asian alone (NH)	17	23	0.24%	0.35%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	3	0.00%	0.05%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	7	19	0.10%	0.29%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	111	278	1.60%	4.21%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	184	182	2.65%	2.75%
Total	6,945	6,608	100.00%	100.00%

2000 Census

As of the census ^[15] of 2000, there were 6,630 people residing in the county; these included 2,673 households and 1,897 families. The population density was 21 people per square mile (8.1 people/km²). There were 3,010 housing units, at an average density of 10 units per square mile (3.9 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 61.22% White, 35.67% Black or African American, 1.42% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. 0.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 2,673 households, 26.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 13.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.94.

The median age in the county was 41 years, with 22.70% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 27.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.

The median household income was $35,941, and the median family income was $40,563. Males had a median income of $33,217, versus $21,753 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,236. 10.90% of the population and 7.80% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total people living in poverty, 8.10% were under the age of 18 and 14.80% were 65 or older.

Government

Board of Supervisors

• Buena Vista District: James M. Burns
• Newtown District: Sherrin C. Alsop (I)
• Shanghai District: R.F. "Rusty" Bailey, Jr. (I)
• St. Stephens Church District: James Lawrence Simpkins (I)
• Stevensville District: Doris H. Morris (I)

Constitutional officers

• Clerk of the Circuit Court: Vanessa D. Porter
• Commissioner of the Revenue: Kelly N. Lumpkin(I)
• Commonwealth's Attorney: Meredith D. Adkins
• Sheriff: William Balderson
• Treasurer: Irene B. Longest

King and Queen is represented by Republican Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment in the Virginia Senate, Republican M. Keith Hodges in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican Robert J. "Rob" Wittman in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Presidentially, King and Queen County is a bellwether county of sorts. It correctly predicted the winner of all but four presidential elections between 1928 and 2024, voting for losing candidates only in 1968, 1980, 2012, and 2020.

United States presidential election results for King and Queen County, Virginia ^[16]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	2,608	62.27%	1,536	36.68%	44	1.05%
2020	2,450	59.54%	1,590	38.64%	75	1.82%
2016	2,099	56.88%	1,468	39.78%	123	3.33%
2012	1,865	51.03%	1,745	47.74%	45	1.23%
2008	1,763	47.58%	1,918	51.77%	24	0.65%
2004	1,737	52.86%	1,506	45.83%	43	1.31%
2000	1,423	49.77%	1,387	48.51%	49	1.71%
1996	1,073	38.93%	1,393	50.54%	290	10.52%
1992	1,206	41.34%	1,363	46.73%	348	11.93%
1988	1,376	50.46%	1,309	48.00%	42	1.54%
1984	1,449	54.39%	1,201	45.08%	14	0.53%
1980	949	44.14%	1,128	52.47%	73	3.40%
1976	778	39.06%	1,111	55.77%	103	5.17%
1972	1,033	58.30%	708	39.95%	31	1.75%
1968	568	27.40%	882	42.55%	623	30.05%
1964	699	46.94%	786	52.79%	4	0.27%
1960	432	43.95%	536	54.53%	15	1.53%
1956	495	54.64%	289	31.90%	122	13.47%
1952	415	51.23%	387	47.78%	8	0.99%
1948	171	31.26%	293	53.56%	83	15.17%
1944	166	31.38%	363	68.62%	0	0.00%
1940	124	25.31%	365	74.49%	1	0.20%
1936	124	24.95%	372	74.85%	1	0.20%
1932	154	28.79%	368	68.79%	13	2.43%
1928	319	53.26%	280	46.74%	0	0.00%
1924	134	29.65%	314	69.47%	4	0.88%
1920	181	34.28%	347	65.72%	0	0.00%
1916	127	31.91%	271	68.09%	0	0.00%
1912	68	18.78%	246	67.96%	48	13.26%

Communities

• King and Queen Court House (a census-designated place)
• Newtown
• St. Stephen's Church
• Shacklefords

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in King and Queen County, Virginia

References

1. "King and Queen County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Henry Gannett (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  175.
4. Bagby, Alfred (April 10, 2018). King and Queen County, Virginia. Neale Publishing Company. ISBN   9780722246290 . Retrieved April 10, 2018– via Google Books.
5. Boyd-Rush, Dorothy. "Molding a founding father". James Madison University. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
6. "James Madison's Biography". The Montpelier Foundation. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
7. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2021" . Retrieved April 6, 2022.
9. "Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000". US Census Bureau . Retrieved January 24, 2022.
10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
11. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
13. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - King and Queen County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau .
14. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - King and Queen County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau .
15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
16. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved December 9, 2020.

37°43′N76°54′W / 37.72°N 76.90°W / 37.72; -76.90