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Virginia Counties
The Commonwealth of Virginia is divided into ninety-five counties and thirty-eight independent cities, which are considered county-equivalents for census purposes.Albemarle County, Virginia
Albemarle County Education, Geography, and History
Albemarle County is a county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is
Charlottesville, which is an independent city enclave entirely surrounded by the county.Albemarle County is part of the Charlottesville
Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Albemarle County was created in 1744 from the western portion of Goochland County, though portions of Albemarle were later carved out to
create other counties. Albemarle County was named in honor of Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle. However, its most famous
inhabitant was Thomas Jefferson, who built his estate home, Monticello, in the county.
As of the 2010 census, the population was 98,970
Etymology - Origin of Albemarle County Name
Albemarle County was named for William Anne Keppel, second earl of Albemarle and governor of the Virginia colony from 1737 to 1754.
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts
Albemarle County History
Albemarle County, Virginia formed from Goochland, Louisa, and certain islands in the Fluvanna River. Boundary changes seem to have continued from 1836-1838, 1855-1856, 1861, and from 1876-1877. Virginia Counties: Those Resulting from Virginia Legislation, by Morgan Poitiaux Robinson, originally published as Bulletin of the Virginia State Library, Volume 9, January, April, July 1916, reprinted 1992 by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD.]
It was formed from Goochland County in 1744, and part of Louisa County and certain islands in the Fluvanna River, now called the James, were added in 1762 and 1838. As originally created, the western section of Louisa County included the northern third of modern-day Albemarle County. In 1762, this region was cut from Louisa County and added to Albemarle County. Prior to 1762, the Louisa County line extended from about where the Fluvanna-Louisa line intersects the eastern boundary of Albemarle in the northwesterly direction, across the point where Ivy Creek enters the Rivanna River, to the crest of the Blue Ridge just south of Brown's Cove. (Before 1742 this area had been the westernmost part of Hanover County.) As a result of this legislative action of 3 Jun 1777 Fluvanna County was formed from Albemarle County and Fluvanna parish was formed from the Albemarle parish of St. Anne. Albemarle has an area 740 square miles, and the county seat is Charlottesville. Albemarle County is distinct from Albemarle Parish, Surry County.
Geography: Land and Water
As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 726 square miles (1,880 km2), of which 721 square
miles (1,870 km2) is land and 5 square miles (13 km2) (0.7%) is water.
The Rivanna River rises in Albemarle County and was historically important for transportation.
Neighboring Counties
Bordering counties are as follows:
- Greene County, Virginia (north)
- Orange County, Virginia (northeast)
- Louisa County, Virginia (east)
- Fluvanna County, Virginia (southeast)
- Buckingham County, Virginia (south)
- Nelson County, Virginia (southwest)
- Augusta County, Virginia (west)
- Rockingham County, Virginia (northwest)
In addition, the city of Charlottesville is enclaved within Albemarle County. Under Virginia law in effect since 1871, all municipalities in the state incorporated as cities are legally and politically independent of any county
Education
The Albemarle County Public School System operates public education in the County, including Murray High School, a charter school, that is located in the City of Charlottesville. Many private schools in Albemarle serve the County and students from surrounding areas.
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