Prince William County, Virginia

Prince William County is a located in the  of, a  of the. As of the, the population was 280,813. Its is the  of.

This county is a part of the.

History
Prince William County was created by an act of the General Assembly of the colony of Virginia in, largely from the western section of as well as a section of. The area encompassed by the Act creating Prince William County originally included all of what later became, the , , the , , , the , and the (and the various incorporated towns therein). The County was named for, a son of King.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 902 (348 ). 875 km² (338 mi²) of it is land and 27 km² (11 mi²) of it (3.04%) is water. It is bounded on the north by and  counties; on the south by ; on the east by the, across the river is ; and on the west by.

Government and politics
The county is divided into seven magisterial districts: Brentsville, Coles, Dumfries, Gainesville, Neabsco, Occoquan, and Woodbridge. The magisterial districts each elect one supervisor to the Board of Supervisors which governs Prince William County. There is also a Chairman elected by the county at-large, bringing total Board membership to 8; this may increase after the when an eighth magisterial district is likely to be added. A Vice-Chairman is selected by the Board from amongst its membership. The current Chairman is Corey A. Stewart, who previously served as the Occoquan District Supervisor. The current Vice-Chairman is Martin E. Nohe, the Coles District Supervisor. The County operates under the county form of the system of government, with an elected Board of Supervisors. The Board then appoints a professional, nonpartisan County Executive to manage government agencies.

Republicans hold six of the eight seats on the Board of Supervisors as well as the office of the County. Republicans hold all three Congressional seats that include parts of Prince William County and control the five seats that include parts of the County. The county's seats are split among Democrats and Republicans, with each party controlling two Senate seats. In 2005, Governor  won the County with 49.95% of the vote. In 2006, Democratic U.S. Senator won with 50.51% of the vote. The Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney is also a Democrat.

The County has had several special elections of late. In 2006, the then-Chairman of the Board of Supervisors,, was appointed as head of the by President. A special election to fill the vacancy was called for the same day as the between Jim Webb and. Occoquan District Supervisor Stewart won the election and a special election was called for January 2007 to fill the vacancy in the Occoquan District. Mr. Stewart's successor was a fellow Republican.

Public schools
The system consists of around 62 elementary, 15 middle, and 10 high public schools, as well as a virtual high school, two traditional schools, five special education schools, and two alternative schools.

The Superintendent of Prince William County Public Schools is Steven L. Walts. He is serving his 2nd year as Superintendent (2006–2007).

The system has a television station called PWCS-TV. It is programmed and operated by Prince William County Public Schools' Media Production Services Department and is accessible to all Prince William County Comcast subscribers.

Edulink Intouch Online is a parent-school communication system that allows secure access to student information such as school attendance and grades.

Private/Religious schools

 * Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School (opening 2008)
 * St. Francis of Assisi Elementary School - Triangle, Virginia
 * St. Thomsas Aquinas Regional School - Woodbridge, Virginia
 * All Saints School - Manassas, Virginia
 * Holy Family School - Dale City, Virginia

Colleges

 * – Woodbridge Campus and Manassas Campus

Universities

 * – Prince William Campus
 * – Woodbridge Campus and Manassas Campus
 * – Manassas Campus

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 280,813 people, 94,570 households, and 72,724 families residing in the county. The was 321/km² (831/mi²). There were 98,052 housing units at an average density of 112/km² (290/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 68.93%, 18.76% or , 0.39% , 3.81% , 0.13% , 4.35% from , and 3.62% from two or more races. 9.74% of the population were or  of any race.

By 2005 non-Hispanic whites were 54.2% of Prince William County's population. 19.4% of the population was African-American. 0.5% was Native American. 6.4% of the population was Asian. The growth of the Asian population was numerically and as a percentage of the total population in this subgroup dwarfed by the growth of the Latino population which was 18.0% of the county's total population by 2005.

There were 94,570 households out of which 44.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.30% were living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.10% were non-families. 17.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.94 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the county, the population was spread out with 30.40% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 35.20% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 4.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $65,960, and the median income for a family was $71,622. Males had a median income of $45,595 versus $34,286 for females. The for the county was $25,641. About 3.30% of families and 4.40% of the population were below the, including 5.60% of those under age 18 and 4.70% of those age 65 or over.

Sports
The are a  team located in. The Nationals play in the high-A Carolina League and are an affiliate of the. The are an American minor league  team located in. The Royals have minor league affiliation with,   franchise.

Museums
The is the new historical museum of the. It is located in and is free to the public.

Prince William Forest Park
was established as Chopawamsic Recreational Demonstration Area in 1936 and is located in eastern,. The park is the largest protected natural area in the metropolitan region at over 15,000 acres (61 km²).

Manassas National Battlefield Park
, located north of in, , preserves the site of two major American Civil War battles: the  on July 21, 1861, and the  which was fought between  and ,.

Public Bus Service
(PRTC) is the public transportation system in,. Services provided by PRTC include OmniRide, OmniLink, and OmniMatch.

Commuter Rail Service
(VRE) is a service that connects the  area with.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-66.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:I-95.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 1.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image: US 15.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 29.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:Virginia 28.svg‎|20px]]
 * [[Image:Virginia 234.svg‎|25px]]
 * [[Image:VA_CY_3000.PNG|25px]]

Incorporated towns
Four incorporated towns are located within Prince William County:

Independent cities
The of ' and ' are surrounded by Prince William County. Prince William, Manassas Park, and Manassas are combined for purposes of criminal, traffic, civil, and juvenile and domestic relations courts within Circuit 31. The Courthouse Complex itself is located in a Prince William County enclave surrounded by the City of Manassas. The County Government Administration Complex is located at 1 County Complex Court in the unincorporated community of.

Other important features

 * , the second largest property in the, region
 * , a large military installation
 * , an important battlefield
 * , a large concert venue
 *  shopping mall, the 10th most popular tourist destination in Virginia