Gloucester County, Virginia

Gloucester County
County
Gloucester County Courthouse Square, historic district
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°24′N 76°31′W / 37.4°N 76.52°W / 37.4; -76.52
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1651
Named for	Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester
Seat	Gloucester Courthouse
Largest community	Gloucester Point
Area
• Total	288 sq mi (750 km2)
• Land	218 sq mi (560 km2)
• Water	70 sq mi (200 km2)  24.4%
Population  (2020)
• Total	38,711
• Density	130/sq mi (52/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	gloucesterva.info

Gloucester County (/ˈɡlɒstər/ GLOST-ər)^[1] is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,711.^[2] Its county seat is Gloucester Courthouse.^[3] The county was founded in 1651 in the Virginia Colony and is named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (third son of King Charles I of England).

Gloucester County is included in the Virginia Beach–Norfolk–Newport News, VA–NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located at the east end of the lower part of the Middle Peninsula, it is bordered on the south by the York River and the lower Chesapeake Bay on the east. The waterways shaped its development. Gloucester County is about 60 miles (97 km) east of Virginia's capital, Richmond.

Werowocomoco, capital of the large and powerful Powhatan Confederacy (a union of 30 indigenous tribes under a paramount chief), was located on this part of the peninsula. In 2003 archeologists established that dense village had been located at this site from AD 1200 to the early 17th century.

The county was developed by colonists primarily for tobacco plantations, based on the labor of enslaved Africans imported in the slave trade. Tobacco was one of the first commodity crops but fishing also developed as an important industry. The county was home to numerous planters who were among the First Families of Virginia and leaders before the American Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson wrote early works for Virginia and colonial independence while staying at Rosewell Plantation, home of John Page (his close friend and fellow student at the College of William and Mary).

Gloucester County is rich in farmland. Its fishing industry is important to the state as well. It has a retail center located around the main street area of the county seat. Gloucester County and adjacent York County are linked by the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge, a toll facility across the York River carrying U.S. Route 17 to the Virginia Peninsula area. Gloucester County is self-nicknamed the "Daffodil Capital of the World"; it hosts an annual daffodil festival, parade and flower show.