Hanover County, Virginia

Hanover County is a located in the  of. As of the, the population was 86,320. A 2007 estimate shows the county's population has grown to 100,721. Its is. It is located in the region and is a portion of the Richmond  (MSA).

History
Hanover County was created on, from the area of  called St. Paul's Parish. It was named for the in, because King  of  was  at the time.

Hanover County was the birthplace and home of noted American statesman. And is the home of the Hanover Courthouse, which was the site of the case in the, in which attorney Henry argued against taxes levied on preachers by the King. The historic Hanover Courthouse is pictured in the county seal. Hanover County was also the birthplace of politician, author of the.

Hanover County at its closest point is only 5 miles from the current city limits of Richmond. However, the is located at this closest point, which is in the  area. Although the came within earshot of the bells from Richmond's churches along this river during the 1862  of the, no one learned more what an obstacle that river can be than Union General. He failed in the attempt to get all of his troops across it and overwhelm the smaller-sized forces defending Richmond, effectively prolonging the War almost 3 more years. Hanover County was the site of a number of Civil War battles, including the of the Peninsula Campaign and  in 1864. 

amusement park opened in 1975 and impacted the county's economy.

The incorporated town of is located within Hanover County.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,228 (474 ). 1,224 km² (473 mi²) of it is land and 4 km² (1 mi²) of it (0.30%) is water.

It is bounded on the north by, and  counties; on the south by  and  counties; on the east by ; and on the west by.

Hanover County is about 90 miles south of Washington, D.C., and about 12 miles north of Richmond.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 86,320 people, 31,121 households, and 24,461 families residing in the county. The was 71/km² (183/mi²). There were 32,196 housing units at an average density of 26/km² (68/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.32%, 9.34% or , 0.33% , 0.79% , 0.01% , 0.37% from , and 0.83% from two or more races. 0.98% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 31,121 households out of which 39.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.40% were living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.40% were non-families. 17.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $59,223, and the median income for a family was $65,809. Males had a median income of $42,523 versus $30,689 for females. The for the county was $25,120. About 2.50% of families and 3.60% of the population were below the, including 3.90% of those under age 18 and 5.80% of those age 65 or over.

Unincorporated communities

 * Atlee