Henrico County , officially the County of Henrico, is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 334,000 making it the fifth-most-populous county in Virginia. Henrico County is included in the Greater Richmond Region. There is no incorporated community within Henrico County; thus, it has no incorporated county seat. Laurel, an unincorporated census designated place, serves this function.
The county was named for Henry, Prince of Wales. In 1634, Henrico was reorganized as Henrico Shire, one of the eight original Shires of Virginia. It is one of the United States' oldest counties. The City of Richmond was officially part of Henrico County until 1842, when it became a fully independent city.
The present-day Henrico County curves around the City of Richmond, surrounding it to the west, north, and east. The county is bounded by the Chickahominy River to the north, Tuckahoe Creek to the west, and the James River and Richmond to the south.
Richmond International Airport is located in the eastern portion of Henrico County in Sandston. Top private employers in the county include Capital One, Bon Secours, and Elevance Health.
History In 1611, Thomas Dale founded the Citie of Henricus on a peninsula in the James River that is now called Farrar's Island. Henricus was named for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, but it was destroyed during the Indian massacre of 1622, during which local Native American warriors of the Powhatan confederacy attacked the English settlers to drive them from the area.In 1634, Henrico Shire was one of the eight original Shires of Virginia established in the Virginia Colony. Since then, 10 counties and three independent cities have been formed from the original territory of Henrico Shire.
County/City Year founded Goochland County 1728 Albemarle County 1744 Chesterfield County 1749 Cumberland County 1749 Amherst County 1761 Buckingham County 1761 Fluvanna County 1777 Powhatan County 1777 Nelson County 1807 City of Richmond 1842 Appomattox County (part) 1845 City of Charlottesville 1888 City of Colonial Heights 1948In 1776, Richard Adams and Nathaniel Wilkenson participated in the Fifth Virginia Convention, which voted to send delegates to the Continental Congress to propose separation from the British. That proposal led to the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolutionary War, when Benedict Arnold's invading army occupied Richmond in January 1781, the Henrico militia was called to active duty. During the brief British occupation of Richmond, many Henrico court records were destroyed. Three months later when Arnold's men, now part of British forces led by General William Phillips, approached Richmond for a second time, the British were stopped by the sight of local militiamen and American Continental troops led by a young Frenchman, the Marquis de Lafayette. Outnumbered, Lafayette abandoned Richmond when General Charles Cornwallis occupied the town in June 1781. Cornwallis then retired to Williamsburg and later to Yorktown. After being surrounded there by General George Washington and his French allies, Cornwallis surrendered, effectively ending the American Revolution.
Since becoming independent in 1842, the City of Richmond has successfully annexed portions of Henrico five times. Chesterfield County annexed the site of Henricus in 1922.
Henrico was badly hurt in the Civil War. During the Reconstruction era, Virginia Estelle Randolph was a pioneer educator and humanitarian who lived from 1874 to 1958. She opened the old Mountain Road School in 1892 and was named the first Jeanes Supervisor Industrial Teacher in Henrico County Schools in 1908. She conducted the first Arbor Day program in Virginia.
The USS Henrico was a Bayfield-class attack transport involved in World War II and subsequent conflicts.
Richmond attempted to completely merge with Henrico in 1961, but 61% of the votes in a referendum in Henrico County voted against the merger. In 1965, Richmond attempted to annex 145 square miles of Henrico County, but after a lengthy court battle, the city was given permission to annex only 17 square miles. Since the city would have had to reimburse Henrico a hefty $55 million, Richmond opted against annexing the area.
In 1981, the Virginia General Assembly placed a moratorium on all annexations throughout the state. Henrico's borders have not changed since Richmond's 1942 annexation.
The original county seat was at Varina, at the Varina Farms plantation across the James River from Henricus. Colonist John Rolfe built this plantation, where he lived with his wife, Pocahontas. Henrico's government was located at Varina from around 1640 until 1752.
In 1752, Henrico relocated its seat to a more central location inside the city of Richmond, between Church Hill and what is now Tobacco Row. The county seat remained at 22nd and Main St in Richmond even after the city's government became fully independent of the county in 1842. In 1974, the county moved out of the Henrico County Courthouse to a complex in the western portion of the county at the intersection of Parham Road and Hungary Springs Road in Laurel.
In addition to the 1974 complex, in 1988, the county opened its Eastern Government Center to be more convenient to county residents in the eastern portion of the county. It is located on Nine Mile Road.
American Civil War battle sites During the Civil War in 1862, Henrico County was the site of numerous battles during the Peninsula Campaign, including: Battle of Seven Pines Battle of Savage's Station Battle of Oak Grove Battle of Garnett's & Golding's Farm Battle of White Oak Swamp Battle of Glendale Battle of Malvern Hill
Additional significant battles took place in 1864 during the Overland Campaign prior to and during the Siege of Petersburg, which led to the fall of Richmond. Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded in Henrico County at the Battle of Yellow Tavern on May 12, 1864.
Transportation Henrico County is one of only two counties in Virginia that maintain their own roads, with the other being Arlington County. This special status was due to the existence of county highway departments prior to the creation in 1927 of the state agency that is now Virginia Department of Transportation and the assumption by that agency in 1932 of local roads in most counties. (Henrico and Arlington were grandfathered and allowed to continue pre-existing arrangements.) The control of the roads system is considered a powerful advantage for community urban planners, who can require developers to contribute to funding needed for road needs serving the planners' and developers' projects.
Henrico County is the site of Richmond International Airport. It hosts an Amtrak rail passenger station, Richmond Staples Mill Road station. It purchases public bus route services from Greater Richmond Transit Company, an FTA-funded public service company that is owned equally by the City of Richmond and neighboring Chesterfield County.
After Reconstruction, Henrico County used convict leasing to build roads in 1878.
Some old roads continue to be in use today, such as Horsepen Road, Three Chopt Road, and Quiocassin Road.
Major highways Interstates
US Highways
State routes
Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (4.6%) are covered by water.
Adjacent counties Charles City County (southeast) Chesterfield County (south) Goochland County (west) Hanover County (north) New Kent County (northeast) Richmond (south) Powhatan County (southwest at James River)
National protected area Richmond National Battlefield Park (part)
Climate Henrico County is located within the humid subtropical climate zone and has hot and humid summers with moderately cold winters. Henrico County on average has 8 snow days and 88 days when the low falls below freezing, 50 days when the high exceeds 90 °F, and 8 days when the high does not exceed freezing.
Source: Climate-data.org
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Henrico County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)150,140167,062178,000174,799167,03083.07%76.68%67.86%56.95%49.95%Black or African American alone (NH)26,93843,64864,34289,44996,33214.90%20.03%24.53%29.14%28.81%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)4366178628448880.24%0.28%0.33%0.27%0.27%Asian alone (NH)1,4684,2899,41519,95632,1750.81%1.97%3.59%6.50%9.62%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census71112127xx0.03%0.04%0.04%Other race alone (NH)338944287921,9550.19%0.04%0.16%0.26%0.58%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3,2365,98213,797xx1.23%1.95%4.13%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,4152,1715,94615,00122,0850.78%1.00%2.27%4.89%6.60%Total180,735217,881262,300306,935334,389 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 334,389. The median age was 39.1 years; 22.6% of residents were under 18 and 16.6% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 88.8 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 85.0 males 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 51.0% White, 29.2% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 9.7% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.3% from some other race, and 6.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 6.6% of the population.
About 96.3% of the residents lived in urban areas, while 3.7% lived in rural areas.
Of the 134,234 households in the county, 31.6% had children under 18 living with them, and 32.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.
The county had 140,739 housing units, of which 4.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 62.7% were owner-occupied and 37.3% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%.
2010 Census As of the 2010 census, 306,935 people, 127,111 households, and 69,846 families were residing in the county. The population density was . As of 2019, the 139,274 housing units had an average density of . In 2018, the racial makeup of the county was 57% White, 29.5% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 8.2% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.98% from other races, and 3.1% from two or more races. About 5.5% (17,959) of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
The largest ancestry groups in Henrico County are: Black or African American (25%), English American (14%), German (11%), Irish (10%) and Italian (4%)
In 2000, of the 108,121 households, 31.9% had children under 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were not families. About 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39, and the average family size was 2.97.
In the county, the age distribution was 25.1% under 19, 7.80% from 19 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 38.5 years. For every 100 females. there were 90.1 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.
In 2019, the median income in the county for a household was $68,024 and for a family was $91,956. The per capita income for the county was $40,222, with 9% of the population below the poverty line. Government and politics