| County: | King and Queen County |
| State: | Virginia |
| Flag: | Flag of King and Queen County, Virginia.png |
| Seal: | King and Queen County, Virginia seal.png |
| Founded: | 1691 |
| Seat Wl: | King and Queen Court House |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 326 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 315 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 11 |
| Area Percentage: | 3.4 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 6608 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Web: | www.kingandqueenco.net |
| Ex Image: | KING AND QUEEN COURTHOUSE GREEN HISTORIC DISTRICT.jpg |
| Ex Image Cap: | Old King and Queen County Courthouse |
| Ex Image Size: | 225px |
| Time Zone: | Eastern |
| District: | 1st |
| Named For: | William III and Mary II of England |
King and Queen County is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia, located in the state's Middle Peninsula on the eastern edge of the Richmond, VA, metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,608.[1] Its county seat is King and Queen Court House.[2]
King and Queen County was established in 1691 from New Kent County, and was named for King William III and Queen Mary II of England.[3] King and Queen County is notable as one of the few counties in the United States to have recorded a larger population in the 1790 census than in the 2010 one.
Among the earliest settlers of King and Queen County was Roger Shackelford, an English emigrant from Old Alresford, Hampshire, after whom the county's village of Shacklefords is named. Shackelford's descendants continued to live in the county, and by the nineteenth century had intermarried with several local families, including Taliaferro, Beverley, Thornton, and Sears.[4]
In 1762 when he was 11, future president James Madison was sent to a boarding school run by Donald Robertson at the Innes plantation in King and Queen County. Robertson was a Scottish teacher who tutored numerous prominent plantation families in the South. From Robertson, Madison learned mathematics, geography, and modern and classical languages, becoming especially proficient in Latin. He attributed his instinct for learning "largely to that man (Robertson)."[5] [6] At age 16, Madison returned to his father's Montpelier estate in Orange County.
On March 2, 1864, the Battle of Walkerton, an engagement of the American Civil War, took place here, resulting in a Confederate victory.
Virginia Longest, national director of the Nursing Service for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the late 1970s, was a county native.
Richard and Mildred Loving lived in a remote part of the county in the 1960s, hoping to avoid arrest by the authorities while their legal challenge to Virginia's anti-miscegenation laws moved through the courts.
For many years, county publications noted that the county lacked any traffic lights. This is now no longer the case, as a traffic light has been installed on U.S. Route 360 at St. Stephen's Church.
Even in the 21st century, King and Queen County contains no incorporated towns or cities, and remains one of Virginia's most sparsely populated counties. For example, as of 2024 it does not have a grocery store.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (3.4%) is water.[7]
Measuring in length, it is one of the longest counties in the state of Virginia, as well as one of the narrowest, measuring less than across at its widest point.
| White alone (NH) | 4,547 | 4,460 | 65.47% | 67.49% | |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 1,970 | 1,561 | 28.37% | 23.62% | |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 109 | 82 | 1.57% | 1.24% | |
| Asian alone (NH) | 17 | 23 | 0.24% | 0.35% | |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 0 | 3 | 0.00% | 0.05% | |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 7 | 19 | 0.10% | 0.29% | |
| Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) | 111 | 278 | 1.60% | 4.21% | |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 184 | 182 | 2.65% | 2.75% | |
| Total | 6,945 | 6,608 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 6,630 people residing in the county; these included 2,673 households and 1,897 families. The population density was 21/mi2. There were 3,010 housing units, at an average density of 10/mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 61.22% White, 35.67% Black or African American, 1.42% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. 0.87% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 2,673 households, 26.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 13.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.94.
The median age in the county was 41 years, with 22.70% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 27.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.40% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.
The median household income was $35,941, and the median family income was $40,563. Males had a median income of $33,217, versus $21,753 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,236. 10.90% of the population and 7.80% of families were below the poverty line. Of the total people living in poverty, 8.10% were under the age of 18 and 14.80% were 65 or older.
King and Queen is represented by Republican Thomas K. "Tommy" Norment in the Virginia Senate, Republican M. Keith Hodges in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican Robert J. "Rob" Wittman in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Presidentially, King and Queen County is a bellwether county of sorts. It correctly predicted the winner of all but four presidential elections between 1928 and 2020, voting for losing candidates only in 1968, 1980, 2012, and 2020.