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| Sun, Dec. 06 - - Mobile - RSS | |
| YOUR TOWN: Caroline | Culpeper | King George | Fredericksburg | Orange | Spotsylvania | Stafford | Westmoreland | |
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KING GEORGE SIZE AND CHARACTER
King George County is 183 square miles, bounded by Maryland, Stafford County, Westmoreland County and Caroline County. Although the county’s western half is becoming increasingly developed, King George is still a largely rural county. King George is home to the area’s largest employer, the Naval Base at Dahlgren, a research facility on the banks of the Potomac River.
The county’s other major economic assets include Birchwood Power Plant, which produces up to 222 megawatts of electricity per hour for Virginia Power, and a 348-acre commercial landfill. The landfill accepts about 1.2 million tons of trash a year from Virginia, Maryland and Washington.
Communities:
King George’s biggest and most developed community is Dahlgren, near the Potomac River Bridge. Other communities include the village of King George, situated around the courthouse on State Route 3; Passapatanzy; Sealston and Fairview Beach on the western side of the county; and Port Conway, Jersey, Shiloh and Ninde in the east part of the county.
Population:
Census 2006 estimate: 21,780
Census 2000: 16,803
King George County was formed in 1720 from Richmond County and named for King George I of England.
Its current boundaries were established in 1776. King George is the birthplace of James Madison, the father of the Constitution and the fourth president of the United States.
William “Extra Billy” Smith, a two-time Virginia governor and Confederate general, was also from King George. On April 21, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth escaped through King George, only to be caught later in Caroline County.
In 1918, a Navy Proving Ground was started and named after John A. Dahlgren, the father of naval ordnance.
In 1940, King George was linked to Maryland with the opening of the Potomac River Bridge.
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