Place Information
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York County is a county located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2000, the population was 56,298. Its county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown6. It is located in the Hampton Roads region.
History
The county in the Colony and Dominion of Virginia was formed in 1634 as Charles River Shire for King Charles I, one of the eight original shires of Virginia. It was renamed in 1642-43 as York County. The river, county, and town are believed to have been named for York, a city in Northern England. The first courthouse and jail were located near what is now Yorktown although the community, founded as a port for shipping tobacco to Europe, as variously called Port of York, Borough of York, York, Town of York, until Yorktown was established in 1691. Never incorporated as a town, Yorktown is the county seat of York County. The only town ever incorporated within the county's boundaries was Poquoson, which was incorporated in 1952 and became an independent city in 1975. It is most famous as the site of the surrender of General Cornwallis to General George Washington in 1781, ending the American Revolutionary War. Yorktown also figured prominently in the American Civil War during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. The small unincorporated town of Lackey and a nearnby area known as "the Reservation" were taken over by the U.S. Navy during World War I in an area now part of the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. Many of the displaced African American landowners eventually relocated to Grove, located nearby along the York County-James City County border. During World War II, the sites of three other small York County towns were absorbed into U.S. government reservations. Penniman was the site of a World War I munitions facility operated by the DuPont company, and was made a part of Cheatham Annex) 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 Camp Peary, the smaller towns of Magruder, and Bigler's Mill 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 square miles, as land in that amount was ceded to York County by neighboring Warwick County. At the time, the move was part of a successful attempt by Warwick County to block an annexation suit brought by the City of Newport News, 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 square miles of land as the incorporated town of Poquoson, which had been within York County, became an independent city, 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. In modern times, Yorktown is part of an important historical area of attractions known as the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia, which includes Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg. Yorktown is the northern terminus of the scenic Colonial Parkway operated by the U.S. National Park Service which links the three. Timeline
Population History
Note: Poquoson city, formed from York County (1975); 1970 population 5,441.. Williamsburg city, formed from James City County, but also includes territory from York County. Annexation after 1980 from James City County (1980 population 424). Research Tips
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