Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

James City County/Williamburg (Va.) Records, circa 1831-1959, undated. Local government records collection, James City County/Williamsburg Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

Two boxes came to the Library of Virginia in a transfer of court records from James City County/Williamsburg. One box (1167494) came to the Library of Virginia under the accession number 42169.

Historical Information

James City County was named for King James I. The county was one of the original eight shires, or counties, enumerated in 1634. Parts of York County and New Kent County were added later.

Williamsburg, in James City and York counties, was established by the General Assembly as Middle Plantation in 1633. Middle Plantation was renamed Williamburg in honor of William III in 1699. Although its actual status was a borough, it was declard a "city Incorporate" by a royal charter in 1722. Williamsburg served as the state's capital from 1699-1780. It was incorporated as a city in 1884. The city's area was enlarged by annexations from both York and James City counties in 1915, 1924, 1942 and 1964 and from James City County alone in 1983.

Beginning in 1770, the courts of James City county and Williamsburg shared a common courthouse. During the Civil War, the records of both localities were transferred to Richmond for safekeeping but were destroyed by fire on 3 April 1865. The records of the Superior Court of Chancery for the Williamsburg District were destroyed by a courthouse fire in April 1911.

Scope and Content

James City County/Williamsburg (Va.) Records, circa 1831-1959, undated, consist of the following series: Bonds/Commissions/Oaths, Business Records, County/City Administrative Records (subfield series include Commissioner of the Revenue Records, Board of Supervisors Records: Road and Bridge Records and Sheriff's Records), Fiduciary Records, Tax and Fiscal Records, Miscellaneous Records, Public Buildings and Ground Records, Court Records (subfield series include Chancery Records, Clerks' Records, Court Finance and Criminal Records.)

Related Material

Additional James City County and Williamsburg Records can be found on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. Consult "A Guide to Virginia County and City Records on Microfilm" found on the Library of Virginia's web site.

James City County/Williamsburg is one of Virginia's Lost Records Localities. Additional James City County/Williamsburg Records may be found in the Virginia Lost Records Localities Collection at the Library of Virginia. Search the Lost Records Localities Digital Collection .

For more information and a listing of lost records localities see Lost Records research note .

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• James City County (Va.) Circuit Court.
• Williamburg (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• Public records--Virginia--James City County.
• Public records--Virginia--Williamsburg.

Geographical Names:

• James City County (Va.)--History.
• Williamsburg (Va.)--History.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records--Virginia--James City County.
• Local government records--Virginia--Williamsburg.

Adjunct Descriptive Data