York County, Virginia

York County is a located on the  in the  region of the  of, a  of the.

Formed in 1634 as one of the eight original, York County is one of the oldest counties in the U.S. The is the unincorporated town of  , one of the three points of the , and the location where victory was accomplished in 1781 at the conclusion of he  to gain independence from.

As of 2006, the population was estimated at 61,879 and as of 2004, the median household income was $68,310.

Native Americans
The area which is now York County was long inhabited by s. These were groups during the late  (1000 BCE to 1000 CE) and earlier.

By the late 16th century, much of the draining to the  of the current Commonwealth of Virginia was called  ("densely-inhabited Land"). There, a (or chief) named  (1547-1618) created a powerful empire of eastern- language-speaking people known as the  by conquering or affiliating by agreement with approximately 30 tribes. Wahunsunacock was originally from a village near the of the  known as "Powhatan" (located close to the Powhatan Hill neighborhood of the current ). He was known as Chief Powhatan, and later established a second capital village in a centrally-located position in Tenakomakah which was known as. It was located along the north bank of the in present-day  (which was subdivided from York County in 1651).

The tribe of the Powhatan Confederacy lived in York County on the south side of the York River on the grounds of the present-day  near Yorktown until the 1630s, when escalating conflicts with the expanding English colony based at Jamestown caused them to move. The former site of the village of Chiskiack (also sometimes spelled "Kiskiack"), as well as the Cheesecake Road and Cheesecake Cemetery (names also thought to have derived from the Powhatan), remain on the military base.

Long-lost after Chief Powhatan moved his capital from there in 1609, the site believed to have been Werowocomoco near has been under continuing archaeological study projects since the early 21st century. The discoveries and ongoing research led by the  hold great promise in expanding understanding of the lives of the Native Americans in the area during that era of York County's history.

Ajacan Mission
In 1570, the was a failed attempt to establish a mission by Spanish  priests, guided by a Native American convert to Christanity who had been christened, and educated in. However, he returned to his native life, and a few months later, led an attack in which the Europeans were slain.

Virginia Colony
About 30 years later, English colonists arrived and established in 1607 on the opposite side of the  in the. In 1619, the area which is now York County was included in two of the four incorporations (or "citties") of the proprietary which were known as  and.

In 1634, what is now York County was formed as for, one of the eight original. Charles River Shire took its name from the younger son of King. In the 21st century, it was one of the five original shires considered extant in esstentially its same political form, making it one of the oldest counties in the United States.

During the, Charles River County and the Charles River (also named for the king) were changed to York County and , respectively. The river, county, and town of are believed to have been named for, a city in.

Yorktown
The first courthouse and jail were located near what is now although the community, founded as a port for shipping  to Europe, as variously called Port of York, Borough of York, York, Town of York, until Yorktown was established in 1691, when the  required each county to designate a port of entry and build warehousing. Although never formally incorporated as a town, Yorktown is the of York County. The only town ever incorporated within the county's boundaries was, which was incorporated in 1952 and became an in 1975.

It is most famous as the site of the surrender of General to General  in 1781, ending the. Yorktown also figured prominently in the during the  in 1862.

Other communities, boundary changes
The small unincorporated town of and a nearnby area known as "the Reservation" were taken over by the  during  in an area now part of the. Many of the displaced landowners eventually relocated to, located nearby along the York County-James City County border.

During, the sites of three other small York County towns were absorbed into U.S. government reservations. was the site of a munitions facility operated by the  company, and was made a part of ) in 1943. To the west of Penniman, which is reported to have had a peak population of 15,000, on land which is now part of, the smaller towns of , and  were located. Much of Magruder's population and at least one church were relocated to Grove, adding to that small community's population once again.

In 1949, the county grew by 4 sqmi, as land in that amount was ceded to York County by neighboring. At the time, the move was part of a successful attempt by Warwick County to block an annexation suit brought by the, with whom Warwick was eventually consolidated by mutual agreement in 1958. (The reduction in size allowed Warwick County to claim an exemption from the proposed annexation at the time). In 1975, the county lost 15.5 sqmi of land as the of, which had been within York County, became an , although ties between the county and the new city remained close. Over 30 years later, they continued to share courts, sheriff's office, a jail, and some constitutional services. York County also adjoins another small independent city, Williamsburg, which was long located within James City County.

York County in the late 20th and early 21st centuries
From the 1980s to modern times, York County experienced a rapid transition from a rural county to an affluent bedroom community for the neighboring core cities of and, two of the , the larger cities in the area which is encircled by the.

In modern times, York County and Yorktown in particular are part of an important historical area of attractions known as the, which includes Yorktown, and. Yorktown is the northern terminus of the scenic operated by the U.S.  which links the three. In 2005, the county completed a successful pseudo-colonial waterfront development at Yorktown to revitalize the previously deteriorating beach and town district and complement the 2007 celebration of Jamestown.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 558 (216 ). 274 km² (106 mi²) of it is land and 285 km² (110 mi²) of it (50.98%) is water. It is near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.

Also, in terms of population clusters, the County is divided by the vast expanse of federal land in the mid-section of the county. The southern portion of the County is fairly dense with suburban developments and contains the majority of the county's population and growth. The northern portion is more connected with the Williamsburg community than Yorktown and, although less populous than the south, is also fairly dense. Having not seen a significant amount of growth until recently, the northern portion is now seeing the development of new communities and shopping centers.

Adjacent counties and cities

 * (northeast, across the York River))
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 56,297 people, 20,000 households, and 15,880 families residing in the county. The was 206/km² (533/mi²). There were 20,701 housing units at an average density of 76/km² (196/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 80.00%, 13.38% or , 0.35% , 3.25% , 0.12% , 0.90% from , and 2.00% from two or more races. 2.68% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 20,000 households out of which 42.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.30% were living together, 9.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.60% were non-families. 16.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county, the population was spread out with 29.10% under the age of 18, 6.60% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $57,956, and the median income for a family was $64,892. Males had a median income of $42,948 versus $28,713 for females. The for the county was $24,560. About 2.70% of families and 3.50% of the population were below the, including 3.90% of those under age 18 and 3.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The County is traditionally organized per Virginia Law. It is governed by a, who are elected for four-year terms by voters from each of the county's five districts. The Board appoints a County Administrator to act as the administrative head of the county.

Education
The county is served by the.

Military bases
York County is home to several large and important military facilities of the United States. Located along the York River, small portions of each base extend into adjacent James City County as well.

The was originally established during  by order of President, and now includes the formerly separate Cheatham Annex Supply Complex.

was established during as a  Training Base. As the war progressed, it became valuable to the Allied Forces to house sensitive prisoners-of-war from captured German naval vessels; it was important for Nazi authorities to be unaware of their capture, since that also meant secret code books thought lost-at sea may also have been compromised. Many of these POWs made Virginia and the United States their new homeland after the War.

Trivia

 * The lost 17th century town and port of Yorke was also located along the York River, not far from present-day Yorktown.


 * York County gained territory as a gift from neighboring in 1949 as the latter needed to reduce its size slightly to successfully qualify for an exemption from an annexation suit by the . (Warwick eventually became a city itself in 1952, and then merged by mutual agreement with Newport News in 1958; however, York County kept the extra land.)


 * York County lost substantial territory when the became an  in 1975. This was widely seen as a defensive move against potential annexation by the city of Hampton with whom the town shared a border. In modern times, the ties between York County and the City of Poquoson remain close, including sharing a court system.


 * York County contains some of the including Yorke, the original  (known locally as "the Reservation"),, , , and . Many relocated residents and their descendents, many of whom were farmers and watermen, now live in such places as Yorktown, Gloucester, , , and.


 * , the hunting lodge of, last royal governor of Virginia, still stands on the grounds of Camp Peary. It is listed on the.


 * York county's sister city is,.

Publications

 * McCartney, Martha W. (1977) James City County: Keystone of the Commonwealth; James City County, Virginia; Donning and Company; ISBN 0-89865-999-X

Websites

 * "Cast Down Your Buckets Where You Are" An Ethnohistorical Study of the African-American Community on the Lands of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station 1865-1918