Entered Union June 5, 1788 (10th state)
Virginia (8,631,373), Richmond (226,618), Virginia Beach (459,471)
The brick capitol was originally completed in 1824 using the designs of Thomas Jefferson and Charles-Louis Clerisseau. It is located on Bank Street at 9th Street. Interstate State Highway 95 is 5 blocks east of the capitol. The Capitol is designed in Early Republic and Palladian style. The Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Building in Richmond is the only supporting building. The state was officially created as the 10th state on June 5, 1788 from Native American lands and the Colony of Virginia. Richmond has been the capital since 1780 with Jamestown and Williamsburg before that. The state name is probably for Queen Elizabeth I (the Virgin Queen). Richmond is named for Richmond, England. Virginia Beach is geographically named for the state and the long stretch of beaches. Mount Rogers on the border of Grayson and Smyth counties is the highest point and the lowest point is sea level at the Atlantic Ocean.
Virginia government, in the Executive, consists of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General. There are 40 Senators and 100 Representatives in the Legislature. Seven Supreme Court Justices and Eleven Court of Appeals Justices serve Virginia in the Judicial. Virginia is located in the east central part of the United States on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The geographic center is in Buckingham County 17 miles west of Buckingham. The state is surrounded clockwise by West Virginia, Maryland, the Atlantic Ocean, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
The area is 42775 square miles. It is 35th largest state in the country. It is the 12th most populated state in the country. It has a density of 201.8 persons per square mile making it 13th in the country. Its major rivers are the Potomac, the Shenandoah, the Rappahannock, the York, the James, the Nottoway, the Roanoke, the Clinch, and the New. Richmond is located in the southeast quarter part of the state. Virginia Beach is located in the southeast quarter of the state on the border with North Carolina.
Click here to link to the Virginia county/independent city slideshow
Click below to link to a Virginia county/independent city page