Surry County, Virginia

Surry County Education, Geography, and History

Surry County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 7,058. Its county seat is Surry.

Etymology - Origin of Surry County Name

Surry is named for the English county of Surrey.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Surry County History

Part of the colony of Virginia, Surry County was formed from a portion of James City County in 1652. It was named for the English county of Surrey. It included all of the portion of James City County (formed in 1634) that was located south of the James River. Surry County initially had the Lawne's Creek and Southwark parishes of the Church of England.

Nearby, in 1665, Arthur Allen built a Jacobean brick house. It later became known as Bacon's Castle because it was occupied as a fort or "castle" during Bacon's Rebellion against the Royal Governor, Sir William Berkeley in 1676. (Nathaniel Bacon never lived at Bacon's Castle, but resided at Curles Neck Plantation in Henrico County about 30 miles upriver on the northern bank of the James River).

The first town of Cobham was established in 1691 where Gray's Creek empties into the James River. Neighboring Sussex County was formed from the southwestern end of Surry County in 1754.

Surry County, Virginia formed from James City County. [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.]

Surry County was named for the county of Surrey in England, and was formed for James City County about 1652. Its area is 306 square miles, and the county seat is Surry.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 310 square miles (804 km²), of which, 279 square miles (723 km²) of it is land and 31 square miles (81 km²) of it (10.06%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Charles City County, VA to the northwest
• Isle of Wight County, VA to the southeast
• James City County, VA to the north
• Prince George County, VA to the west
• Southampton County, VA to the south
• Sussex County, VA to the southwest
  

Education

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