James City County, Virginia
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 19 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1966; 1 is also National Historic Landmark. Most listings are in or near Williamsburg, Toano, Jamestown.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Virginia is not yet loaded on this site. Browse James City titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP2 of 19 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
19 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Amblers | Jamestown | 2015 |
| Archeological Site No. 44JC308 | Williamsburg | 1993 |
| Carter's Grove NHL | Williamsburg | 1969 |
| Chickahominy Shipyard Archeological Site | Toano | 1979 |
| Colonial National Historical Park | Jamestown and | 1966 |
| Croaker Landing Archaeological Site (44JC70) | Croaker | 1987 |
| Governor's Land Archeological District | Jamestown | 1973 |
| Green Spring | Williamsburg | 1978 |
| Hickory Neck Church | Toano | 1973 |
| Jamestown National Historic Site | Jamestown | 1966 |
| Kingsmill Plantation | Williamsburg | 1972 |
| Norge Train Depot | Williamsburg | 2009 |
| Pinewoods | Lightfoot | 1971 |
| Powhatan | Five Forks | 1970 |
| Riverview | Williamsburg | 1996 |
| Stone House Site | Toano | 1973 |
| Toano Historic District | Toano | 2019 |
| White Hall | Toano | 2007 |
| Windsor Castle | Toano | 1987 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBJames City was formed in 1634 (1634-12-31) from unknown / original county.
[1634] JAMES CITY created as one of the eight original shires.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusJames City County population from 1790 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1790 | 1800 | 1820 | 1840 | 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,070 | 3,931 | 4,563 | 3,779 | 5,798 | 5,422 | 3,688 | 3,676 | 4,907 | 6,317 | 11,539 | 22,763 | 48,102 | 78,254 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Colonial National Historical Park | National Historical Park | 16.7 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS6 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 6 of 6 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Curtis Cemetery |
| James City Chapel Cemetery |
| Mount Gilead Cemetery |
| Mount Pleasant Cemetery |
| Travis Cemetery |
| Williamsburg Memorial Park |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Civil War battlefields nearby
ABPPAmerican Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) Civil War study areas near this county.
| Battlefield | Study acres | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| Eltham'S Landing | 6,104 | 21.0 km |
Source: NPS American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Study Areas (public ArcGIS feature service).
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for James City County, Virginia
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.