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Spotsylvania County
Spotsylvania County
County
	Historic home listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Spotsylvania County
	Flag Seal Logo
	Motto(s): Patior Ut Potiar; (Latin for 'I suffer to obtain')
	Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
	Virginia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 38°11′N 77°39′W / 38.18°N 77.65°W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1721
Named for	Alexander Spotswood
Seat	Spotsylvania Courthouse
Largest community	Spotsylvania
Area
• Total	414 sq mi (1,070 km2)
• Land	401 sq mi (1,040 km2)
• Water	13 sq mi (30 km2) 3.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	140,092
• Estimate (July 2023)	149,588
• Density	340/sq mi (130/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	22407, 22408, 22551, 22553, 22534, 22508, 22580, 23024
Congressional district	7th
Website	www.spotsylvania.va.us

Spotsylvania County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb approximately 60 miles (90km) south of D.C. It is a part of the Northern Virginia region and the D.C. area. As of 2024, Spotsylvania County is the 14th most populated county in Virginia with 149,588 residences.^[7] Its county seat is Spotsylvania Courthouse.^[8]

Located along the Rappahannock River bordering the City of Fredericksburg and Stafford County, Spotsylvania County is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Since 2010, the population has increased by 19.3%; for comparison, Virginia's population has only increased 7.7% in that time period. Spotsylvania County is currently the 74th highest-income county in America.^[9]

History

At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Spotsylvania County were a Siouan-speaking tribe called the Manahoac.^[10]

As the colonial population increased, Spotsylvania County was established in 1721 from parts of Essex, King and Queen, and King William counties. The county was named in Latin for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia Alexander Spotswood who incidentally was also the second great-grandfather of Robert E. Lee.^[11]

Many major battles were fought in this county during the Civil War, including the Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Fredericksburg, and Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. The war resulted in widespread disruption and opportunity: some 10,000 African-American slaves left area plantations and city households to cross the Rappahannock River, reaching the Union lines and gaining freedom. This exodus is commemorated by historical markers on both sides of the river.^[12]

General Stonewall Jackson was shot and seriously wounded by friendly fire in Spotsylvania County during the Battle of Chancellorsville. A group of Confederate soldiers from North Carolina were in the woods and heard General Jackson's party returning from reconnoitering the Union lines. They mistook them for a Federal patrol and fired on them, wounding Jackson in both arms. His left arm was amputated. General Jackson died a few days later from pneumonia at nearby Guinea Station. He and other Confederate wounded were being gathered there for evacuation to hospitals to the south and further away from enemy lines.

Geography

Spotsylvania County, Virginia is located in Southern Northern Virginia

Spotsylvania

It is bounded on the north by the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers, the independent city of Fredericksburg (all of which were part of the area's early history), and the counties of Stafford and Culpeper; on the south by the North Anna River and its impoundment, Lake Anna, and by the counties of Hanover and Louisa; on the west by Orange County and Culpeper County; and on the east by Caroline County.

Adjacent counties and independent city

Culpeper County, Virginia – north
Stafford County, Virginia – northeast
City of Fredericksburg, Virginia – northeast
Caroline County, Virginia – southeast
Hanover County, Virginia – south
Louisa County, Virginia – southwest
Orange County, Virginia – west and northwest

National protected area

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (part)

Points of interest

Communities

There are no incorporated towns or cities in Spotsylvania County. Unincorporated communities in the county include:

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Alsop
Arcadia
Artillery Ridge
Bells Crossroad
Belmont
Blades Corner
Brandon
Brockroad
Brokenburg
Carters Store
Chancellor
Chancellor Green, a local Hispanic enclave
Chancellorsville
Chewnings Corner
Cookstown
Cosner's Corner
Dunavant
Five Mile Fork
Four Mile Fork
Granite Springs
Lanes Corner
Leavells
Lewiston
Margo
Marye
Massaponax
McHenry
Old Trap
Olivers Corner
Partlow
Paytes
Post Oak
Shady Grove Corner
Snell
Stubbs
Thornburg
Todds Tavern

Many areas of the county have Fredericksburg addresses.

Major highways

Governance

County government

Spotsylvania County's highest level of management is that of County Administrator. This post oversees all county departments and agencies and serves as the Spotsylvania County's Board of Supervisors' liaison to state and regional agencies.

Board of Supervisors

Spotsylvania is governed by a Board of Supervisors. The board consists of seven members (one from each district within the county). The Board of Supervisors sets county policies, adopts ordinances, appropriates funds, approves land rezoning and special exceptions to the zoning ordinance, and carries out other responsibilities set forth by the county code.^[13]

The following is the current list of supervisors and districts which they represent:^[14]

	Name	Affiliation	District
Chairman	Jacob Lane	Republican	Livingston
Vice Chairman	Chris Yakabouski	Republican	Battlefield
Member	Kevin Marshall	Independent	Berkeley
Member	Gerald Childress	Republican	Chancellor
Member	Drew Mullins	Republican	Courtland
Member	Lori Hayes	Independent	Lee Hill
Member	Deborah H. Frazier	Independent	Salem

County wide offices

	Name	Affiliation
Commonwealth's Attorney	Ryan Mehaffey	Republican
Commissioner of the Revenue	Deborah F Williams	Independent
Sheriff	Roger Harris	Independent
Treasurer	Larry Keith Pritchett	Independent
Clerk of Circuit Court	Christalyn Mitchell Jett	Republican

State representation

Virginia House of Delegates
	Name	Party	District
Delegate	Phillip Scott	Republican	63
Delegate	Joshua G. Cole	Democratic	65
Delegate	Bobby Orrock	Republican	66

Virginia State Senate
	Name	Party	District
Senator	Richard Stuart	Republican	25
Senator	Tara Durant	Republican	27
Senator	Bryce Reeves	Republican	28

Federal representation

Spotsylvania residents are represented by Abigail Spanberger (D-7th District) in the House of Representatives. The current U.S. senators from the Commonwealth of Virginia are Mark Warner (D) and Tim Kaine (D).

United States presidential election results for Spotsylvania County, Virginia^[15]^[16]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	42,531	53.49%	35,747	44.96%	1,236	1.55%
2020	39,411	52.33%	34,307	45.55%	1,599	2.12%
2016	34,623	55.35%	24,207	38.70%	3,719	5.95%
2012	31,844	54.93%	25,165	43.41%	965	1.66%
2008	28,610	52.91%	24,897	46.05%	562	1.04%
2004	28,527	62.77%	16,623	36.58%	295	0.65%
2000	20,739	59.22%	13,455	38.42%	827	2.36%
1996	13,786	52.62%	10,342	39.48%	2,069	7.90%
1992	11,829	49.26%	8,133	33.87%	4,052	16.87%
1988	10,978	66.16%	5,486	33.06%	129	0.78%
1984	8,207	66.74%	4,012	32.63%	78	0.63%
1980	5,385	53.82%	4,039	40.37%	581	5.81%
1976	3,210	42.46%	4,210	55.69%	140	1.85%
1972	3,577	65.73%	1,775	32.62%	90	1.65%
1968	1,675	34.00%	1,647	33.43%	1,604	32.56%
1964	1,261	37.45%	2,097	62.28%	9	0.27%
1960	1,288	46.02%	1,482	52.95%	29	1.04%
1956	1,244	51.94%	993	41.46%	158	6.60%
1952	1,174	48.98%	1,194	49.81%	29	1.21%
1948	517	34.24%	818	54.17%	175	11.59%
1944	504	40.29%	744	59.47%	3	0.24%
1940	365	31.63%	785	68.02%	4	0.35%
1936	453	35.01%	836	64.61%	5	0.39%
1932	346	30.17%	784	68.35%	17	1.48%
1928	654	59.84%	439	40.16%	0	0.00%
1924	255	34.65%	448	60.87%	33	4.48%
1920	380	45.56%	440	52.76%	14	1.68%
1916	249	38.37%	398	61.33%	2	0.31%
1912	58	9.40%	390	63.21%	169	27.39%
1908	282	43.93%	346	53.89%	14	2.18%
1904	237	40.79%	330	56.80%	14	2.41%
1900	817	51.19%	774	48.50%	5	0.31%
1896	903	50.50%	877	49.05%	8	0.45%
1892	679	42.62%	849	53.30%	65	4.08%
1888	922	51.22%	876	48.67%	2	0.11%
1884	820	49.28%	844	50.72%	0	0.00%
1880	576	42.76%	771	57.24%	0	0.00%

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1790	11,252	—
1800	13,002	15.6%
1810	13,296	2.3%
1820	14,254	7.2%
1830	15,134	6.2%
1840	15,161	0.2%
1850	14,911	−1.6%
1860	16,076	7.8%
1870	11,728	−27.0%
1880	14,828	26.4%
1890	14,233	−4.0%
1900	9,239	−35.1%
1910	9,935	7.5%
1920	10,571	6.4%
1930	10,056	−4.9%
1940	9,905	−1.5%
1950	11,920	20.3%
1960	13,819	15.9%
1970	16,424	18.9%
1980	34,435	109.7%
1990	57,403	66.7%
2000	90,395	57.5%
2010	122,397	35.4%
2020	140,032	14.4%
U.S. Decennial Census^[17] 1790–1960^[18] 1900–1990^[19] 1990–2000^[20] 2010^[21] 2020^[22]

2020 census

**Spotsylvania County, Virginia - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010^[21]	Pop 2020^[22]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	88,077	87,278	71.96%	62.33%
Black or African American alone (NH)	18,298	22,436	14.95%	16.02%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	323	375	0.26%	0.27%
Asian alone (NH)	2,768	3,933	2.26%	2.81%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	135	122	0.11%	0.09%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	272	845	0.22%	0.60%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	3,246	8,389	2.65%	5.99%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	9,278	16,654	7.58%	11.89%
Total	122,397	140,032	100.00%	100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2010 census

As of the census^[23] of 2010, there were 122,397 people, 31,308 households, and 24,639 families residing in the county. The population density was 226 inhabitants per square mile (87/km²). There were 33,329 housing units at an average density of 83 units per square mile (32 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was:

78.4% White
15.8% Black or African American
0.4% Native American
2.4% Asian
0.05% Pacific Islander
2.8% from other races, and
1.88% from two or more races.

7.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 31,308 households, out of which 42.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.30% were non-families. 16.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.87 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 30.00% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 32.20% from 25 to 44, 22.20% from 45 to 64, and 8.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.10 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.

The 2021 median income for a household in the county was $98,973 compared to $69,021 for the United States; the median income for a family was $87,922. Males had a median income of $49,166 versus $38,076 for females. The per capita income for the county was $37,212. 6.6% of the population lives below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 5.20% of those age 65 or over.^[24]

Infrastructure

Emergency services

Fire and rescue services in Spotsylvania County are provided by a combination of career and volunteer organizations. The career staff of the Department of Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Management provide fire and rescue services 24/7/365 at all 11 stations, 1 (Courthouse), 2 (Brokenburg), 3 (Partlow), 4 (Four Mile Fork), 5 (Chancellor), 6 (Salem Church), 7 (Wilderness), 8 (Thornburg), 9 (Belmont), 10 (Salem Fields), 11 (Crossroads). Volunteers provide additional staffing nights and weekends at Stations 1, 2, 4, and 8. The volunteer organizations include The Spotsylvania Volunteer Fire Department, and The Spotsylvania Volunteer Rescue Squad.^[25]

Education

Public schools

Private schools

Fredericksburg Academy
Fredericksburg Christian School
The Summit Academy
Odyssey Montessori School
Saint Patrick School
Saint Michael the Archangel High School
Faith Baptist Christian School
Mount Hope Academy

Colleges and universities

Germanna Community College is part of the Virginia Community College System and serves the City of Fredericksburg, and the counties of Stafford, Spotsylvania, Orange, Culpeper, and King George.

The University of Mary Washington located in neighboring Fredericksburg, Virginia, is a four-year university and graduate school that also serves the area.