Dinwiddie

Formed May 1, 1752 (40^th county)

Dinwiddie County (27,940), Dinwiddie* (619), McKenney (454)

The 1997 Modern courthouse is located on Boydton Plank Road at Main Street.  United States Highway 1 passes one block north of the location.  Hening Vest Coving Chenault Company provided the building designs.  It features columns.  There was an 1852 courthouse previously.  Many of the Virginia counties have their county seat at a location named after the county followed by the words Court House.  Some counties maintain this in their official name.  The county was established on May 1, 1752 from Prince George County as the 40^th county and Dinwiddie has always been the county seat.  The county and county seat are named for Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie. 

Dinwiddie County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors.  Three Circuit Court Judges and Five District Court Judges serve Dinwiddie, Amelia, Nottoway, and Powhatan counties and Petersburg City and Forty-nine Magistrate Court Judges serve Dinwiddie, Amelia, Appomattox, Brunswick, Buckingham, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Greensville, Halifax, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Powhatan, Prince Edward, Prince George, Surry, and Sussex counties and Colonial Heights, Emporia, Hopewell, and Petersburg cities.  Dinwiddie County is in southern Virginia.  Richmond, Virginia is north and Virginia Beach, Virginia is east of the county.  The county center is 3.1 miles Northwest of Dinwiddie.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Chesterfield County and the City of Petersburg and Prince George, Sussex, Greensville, Brunswick, Nottoway, and Amelia counties. 

The area of the county is 504 square miles.  It is 24 out of 133 in the state.  It ranks 64 out of 133 in population in the state.  It has a density of 55.4 persons per square mile making it 97 out of 133 in the state.  Dinwiddie County has 1.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 85 crosses through the county from northeast to southwest from the City of Petersburg to Brunswick County.  United States Highway 1 parallels Interstate Highway 85 from Petersburg City to Brunswick County.  United States Highway 460 is joined with Interstate Highway 85 from Petersburg City, splits and continues west into Nottoway County.  The county resembles a six-pointed star.  The City of Dinwiddie is located in the eastern third of the county.  McKenney is near the southwest border of the county.  Dinwiddie is the county seat and McKenney is the largest city since it is the only incorporated city.  Dinwiddie is 2.2% of the county population although it is unincorporated.  McKenny is 1.6% of the county population.  The county and county seat are pronounced DIN-WID-DEE.  The largest city is pronounced MUK-KEN-NEE.  This county is in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area.