History

In 2011, Henrico County is celebrating its 400th Anniversary, for more information click here.

The "Citie of Henricus", also known as Henricopolis or Henrico Town, was a city founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around Jamestown Settlement, Virginia. It was named for Prince Henry, the eldest son of King James I and was the second successful English city in the New World; it was later called Henrico County in 1634.  Its borders extended along the James River from its junction with the Appomattox River to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

In 1634, a new system of local government was created in the Virginia Colony by order of King Charles I of England.  Based on the form of government used in England at that time, eight shires were named by the House of Burgesses, each with its own local officers.  Henrico was the westernmost of the original eight shires.  These shires were officially redesignated as counties only a few years later.

From Henrico County came nine other counties and part of a tenth and two cities:

• Goochland, founded in 1728
• City of Richmond in 1737
• Albemarle in 1744
• Chesterfield and Cumberland in 1749
• Amherst and Buckingham in 1761
• City of Charlottesville in 1762
• Fluvanna and Powhatan in 1777
• Nelson in 1807

Part of Appomattox, in 1845, was also formed from the territory that had once been part of Henrico as well as the cities of Richmond (became a town still part of Henrico County in 1742, incorporated as a city in 1782 and completely independent in 1842), Charlottesville (formed by charter in 1762, incorporated as a town in 1801 and as a city in 1888), and Colonial Heights (established in 1910, became an incorporated town in 1926 and an independent city in 1948.) There have also been a series of annexations by the City of Richmond and an annexation in 1922 by Chesterfield County that claimed the site of Henricus, changing the boundary of Henrico to what it is today. 

The Colony of Virginia was a British colony from 1607 to 1775. It was founded by the Virginia Company of London, a for-profit venture to develop new resources.  After independence from Great Britain in 1783, the southwestern portion of the original Virginia Colony became the Commonwealth of Virginia. Eight states were formed in whole or in part from the territory of Virginia: West Virginia, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.