King and Queen County is a county in Virginia, United States, on the rural Middle Peninsula east of Richmond. It had a population of 6,608 at the 2020 census and covers 326 square miles (844 km2), of which 315 square miles (820 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) is water, centred near 37°43′N 76°54′W.
King and Queen Court House is the county seat, and its postal code is 23085. The county has no incorporated cities or towns — every place listed below is an unincorporated community or census-designated place — and it sits in the Eastern time zone.
Towns & Villages in King and Queen County
King and Queen County has no incorporated municipalities. The list below covers its unincorporated communities and hamlets, most clustered along U.S. Route 360, Virginia Route 14, and Virginia Route 33. King and Queen Court House, the seat, is the county’s only recognized census-designated place; every other entry is an unincorporated community with no separately tabulated 2020 population.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| King and Queen Court House | CDP · seat | — | 23085 |
| Saint Stephens Church | Unincorp. | — | 23148 |
| Shacklefords | Unincorp. | — | 23156 |
| Mattaponi | Unincorp. | — | 23110 |
| Walkerton | Unincorp. | — | 23177 |
| Little Plymouth | Unincorp. | — | 23091 |
| Bruington | Unincorp. | — | 23023 |
| Newtown | Unincorp. | — | 23126 |
| Stevensville | Unincorp. | — | 23161 |
| Mascot | Unincorp. | — | 23108 |
| Belleview | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Beverly | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Biscoe | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Boardley | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brookeshire | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cauthornville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Coldwater | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cologne | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Courthouse Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dahlgrens Corner | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dragonville | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Gressitt | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Henleys Fork | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hillsboro | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Indian Neck | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Locust Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Log Landing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mantapike | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Owenton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Plain View | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Rickahock | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Roane | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Salvia | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Shanghai | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Snow Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Truhart | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Velma | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Whitehall | Unincorp. | — | — |
ZIP Codes
- 23085 — King and Queen Court House
- 23148 — Saint Stephens Church
- 23156 — Shacklefords
- 23110 — Mattaponi
- 23177 — Walkerton
- 23091 — Little Plymouth
- 23023 — Bruington
- 23126 — Newtown
- 23161 — Stevensville
- 23108 — Mascot
Every other community in the county, including Belleview, Biscoe, Indian Neck, and the dozens of smaller hamlets, is served by the ZIP code of the nearest post-office town above rather than one of its own.
Geography
King and Queen County occupies a long, narrow slice of the Middle Peninsula, stretching about 63 miles from its southern tip near the Mattaponi River to its northern boundary in the Dragon Run watershed. The Mattaponi River forms the county’s entire southwestern border, while Dragon Run, a blackwater swamp that eventually feeds the Piankatank River, threads through the north. The terrain is flat and low-lying, mostly forest and farmland, with almost no incorporated development anywhere in the county.
King and Queen County borders Caroline County to the north, Essex County to the northeast, Middlesex County to the east, Gloucester County to the southeast, James City County to the south, New Kent County to the southwest, and King William County to the west.
Demographics
The county’s population was 6,608 at the 2020 census, giving a density of roughly 21 people per square mile — among the lowest in Virginia east of the mountains. King and Queen Court House and Saint Stephens Church are the county’s two largest population clusters, though neither is large enough to be described as a town. County-level household income was not independently verified for this profile; statewide, Virginia’s median household income is $89,931 (2023 ACS), and rural Middle Peninsula counties like this one typically run below that figure.
Economy & Local Life
Agriculture and forestry anchor the local economy — soybeans, corn, and timber on the county’s flat, well-watered land — alongside county government and school employment centred on King and Queen Court House. Many residents commute to jobs in Richmond, West Point, or the Middle Peninsula’s seafood and boatbuilding industries near the Chesapeake Bay. The county has no shopping district or industrial park of any size; local life still centres on churches, volunteer fire companies, and the county courthouse complex.
History
King and Queen County was formed in 1691 from New Kent County and named for King William III and Queen Mary II of England, who jointly ruled at the time. It is one of only a handful of Virginia counties to carry both a king’s and a queen’s name. The county’s population peaked in the 1790 census at 9,377 and has declined for most of the two centuries since, a pattern unusual among U.S. counties and driven by the collapse of the plantation-era tobacco economy and later out-migration. In recent decades the county has drawn some notice for its unusually elongated, narrow shape — and, locally, for the installation of the county’s first traffic signal, at the intersection of U.S. Route 360 and Virginia Route 14 near St. Stephen’s Church.
Getting There
U.S. Route 360 crosses the county from southwest to northeast and is the main travel corridor; Virginia Routes 14, 33, and 623 connect the smaller communities to it.
- Richmond — 40 miles southwest
- West Point — 15 miles south
- Tappahannock — 20 miles north
- Gloucester Court House — 25 miles southeast
The nearest commercial airport is Richmond International Airport, about 45 miles southwest of King and Queen Court House. The county has no Amtrak station; the closest is in Richmond.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is King and Queen County, Virginia?
It sits on the rural Middle Peninsula east of Richmond, bordered by the Mattaponi River to the south and Dragon Run to the north.
What is the population of King and Queen County?
6,608 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is King and Queen County?
315 square miles of land and 11 square miles of water, stretching about 63 miles from end to end.
What is the county seat of King and Queen County?
King and Queen Court House.
Are there any incorporated towns in King and Queen County?
No. Every community in the county, including the county seat, is unincorporated.
What ZIP codes are in King and Queen County?
Ten ZIP codes serve the county, from 23085 (King and Queen Court House) to 23177 (Walkerton); see the ZIP Codes section above.
What river forms the county’s southern border?
The Mattaponi River separates King and Queen County from James City and New Kent counties.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Virginia.