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Middlesex County is a county located on the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of 2000, the population was 9,932. Its county seat is Saluda6.
History
Settlement of the area began around 1640 with the county being officially formed in 1669 from a part of Lancaster County. The county's only incorporated town, Urbanna, was established in 1680 serving initially as a port for shipping agricultural products and later as the county's commercial and governmental center. Rosegill Estate, a Middlesex County plantation first constructed in 1649, served as the temporary seat of the colony under two governors (Sir Henry Chicheley and Lord Francis Howard). The home remains a private residence to this day. During the American Civil War, Urbanna was initially planned as the point of landing for General George B. McClellan's 1862 Peninsula Campaign of 1862 to take Richmond, but ultimately, the failed campaign utilized Fort Monroe as its starting point, almost doubling the distance by land to the Confederate citadel. Delays in reaching the gates of Richmond allowed the Confederates ample time to erect substantial defensive batteries, contributing to the Union failure. The current Middlesex County courthouse was built in 1850-1874 by architects William R. Jones and John P. Hill, and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. A new courthouse complex was built in 2003-2004, but its opening has been stalled due to construction problems, leading to a legal dispute between the County board and the contractor. Urbanna was incorporated on April 2, 1902, comprising an area of 0.49 square miles. The Town of Urbanna remains the county's largest commercial center and its only incorporated area but the county seat of government has moved to the Village of Saluda on U.S. Route 17. To the east, almost to Stingray Point, the Village of Deltaville is situated on State Route 33 between the mouths of the Rappahannock and Piankatank Rivers. Once a major center for wooden boat building, the village remains a commercial and recreational center. The waterfront east to Stingray is home to many marinas, with a heavy concentration on Broad Creek. Timeline
Population History
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