Formed January 1, 1791 (70th county)
Mathews County (8,978), Mathews* (555), Gwynn* (608)
The Modern 2005 red brick courthouse sits on Buckley Hall Road at St. Ives Street. Buckley Hall Road is Virginia State Highway 14. A red brick building from 1830 preceded the current one. Moseley Architects are the designers. The building features columns with veteran memorials on the grounds. 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 created on January 1, 1791 from Gloucester County as the 70th county with Mathews as the only county seat. Mathews County and its county seat are named for American Revolutionary General Thomas Mathews.
Mathews County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors. Four Circuit Court Judges and Six District Court Judges serve Mathews, Charles City, Gloucester, James City, King and Queen, King William, Middlesex, New Kent, and York counties and Poquoson and Williamsburg cities and Sixty-two Magistrate Court Judges serve Mathews, Caroline, Charles City, Essex, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, James City, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Middlesex, New Kent, Northumberland, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Westmoreland, and York counties and Fredericksburg, Poquoson, Richmond, and Williamsburg cities. The county is in the eastern part of the state. The Chesapeake Bay forms its eastern border. Virginia Beach, Virginia is southeast and Richmond, Virginia is southwest of the county. The county center is 3.2 miles South of Mathews nearer Beaverlett. The county is surrounded clockwise by Middlesex, Northampton, and Gloucester counties.
The area of the county is 252 square miles. It is 84 out of 135 in the state. It ranks 118 out of 133 in population in the state. It has a density of 35.63 persons per square mile making it 113 out of 133 in the state. Mathews County has 0.0% of its population in its incorporated areas since there aren’t any incorporated cities. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The county’s shape could be described as a three-leg caterpillar. The City of Mathews is located near the center of the county. Gwynn is on an extreme northern island. Mathews is the county seat and Gwynn is the largest populated area. Mathews is 6.2% of the county population while Gwynn is 6.7% of the county population. This county is in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Mathews (unincorporated)
