Stafford County, Virginia

Stafford County is a located in the "" of, a. As of the, the population was 92,446, however, the current estimated population as of 2006 is 120,170, a 30.0% increase. Its is.

This county is also a part of the.

History
Stafford County was established by the British colonial government of Virginia in from territory that was previously part of, , the , , and , and thusly encompassed the majority of what is now considered. The county is named for, and is the  of , England.

, the Indian princess, was kidnapped at Marlborough Point in the eastern part of the county and taken to a secondary English settlement known as (or Henrico Town). While there, she converted to Christianity and married an English settler named John Rolfe in April 1614. See also Kidnapping of Pocahontas Highway Marker or Pocahontas Highway Marker.

spent much of his childhood in the lower part of the county on his family's home,, along the across from the city of. It was during this time that George supposedly cut down the legendary cherry tree. was built on a tract of land owned by his father,.

Aquia Episcopal Church, a National Historic Landmark, was built in 1757 and remains open today.

During the the Stafford iron works furnished arms for the American soldiers.

Aquia sandstone quarried from Stafford's Government Island was used to build the and the.

More than 100,000 troops occupied Stafford during the for several years. The took place in Stafford in the  area.

In, a town in the southern part of Stafford County bordering Fredericksburg, is Belmont, home to the late-19th century artist.

Stafford County today is considered part of the and many residents commute north on Interstate Highway 95, U.S. Route 1, and.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 725 (280 ). 700 km² (270 mi²) of it is land and 25 km² (10 mi²) of it (3.43%) is water. The flows along part of the eastern border of the county, while the  runs along the extent of the county's southern border. It is bounded on the north by, on the south by , , and and the  of ; on the east by  and, across the Potomac River, by ; and bounded on the west by.

Demographics
As of the of 2005, there were 117,874 people, 38,237 households, and 24,481 families residing in the county. The was 132/km² (342/mi²). There were 31,405 housing units at an average density of 45/km² (116/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.00%, 15.6% or , 0.45% , 2.1% , 0.10% , 1.21% from , and 2.47% from two or more races. 5.5% of the population were or  of any race.

By 2005 Stafford County's population was 72.8% non-Hispanic whites. African-Americans were 16.1% of the total population. Native Americans were 0.4% of the county total. Asians 2.3%. Native Hawai'ians and other pacific islanders 0.2%, thus making Stafford County one of the high percentage NHPI population counties in the country. Latinos were 6.4% of the population, above the percentage of Latinos in all of Virginia, put far below Stafford County's northern neighbors.

As of 2000 there were 38,187 households out of which 46.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.00% were living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.90% were non-families. 13.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.32.

In the county, the population was spread out with 31.60% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 33.70% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 5.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 101.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $75,546, and the median income for a family was $78,575. Males had a median income of $47,080 versus $31,469 for females. The for the county was $24,762. About 2.40% of families and 3.50% of the population were below the, including 3.30% of those under age 18 and 5.30% of those age 65 or over.

Points of interest

 * Belmont
 * Aquia Church
 * Chatham Manor
 * Chatham Manor

Local newspapers

 * The
 * The Stafford County Sun

Zip Codes

 * 22405, 22406, 22554, 22555, 22556

Middle Schools

 * T. Benton Gayle Middle School
 * Edward E. Drew Middle School
 * Stafford Middle
 * Dixon-Smith Middle School
 * Rodney Thompson Middle
 * A.G. Wright Middle
 * H.H. Poole Middle

Elementary Schools

 * Conway Elementary
 * Falmouth Elementary
 * Ferry Farm Elementary
 * Grafton Village Elementary
 * Garrisonville Elementary
 * Hartwood Elementary
 * Kate Waller Barrett Elementary
 * Anthony Burns Elementary
 * Margaret Brent Elementary
 * Moncure Elementary
 * Park Ridge Elementary
 * Rockhill Elementary
 * Garrisonville Elementary
 * Stafford Elementary
 * Hampton Oaks Elementary
 * Widewater Elementary
 * Winding Creek Elementary