Dinwiddie County, Virginia

Dinwiddie County is a county in Virginia, United States, about 30 miles south of Richmond,
roughly midway to the North Carolina line. It had a population of 27,947 at the 2020 census, an
estimated 28,896 by 2024, and covers 507 square miles (1,313 km2) centred near 37°05′N 77°38′W.

Dinwiddie is the county seat; its postal code is 23841. The county holds 1 incorporated town,
1 unincorporated county seat and 7 smaller unincorporated communities across the county, and it
runs on Eastern Time.

Towns & Villages in Dinwiddie County

Dinwiddie County has 9 named places on record: McKenney, the only incorporated town; Dinwiddie
itself, a census-designated place that serves as county seat; and 7 unincorporated communities
with no local government of their own. CDP stands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers
crossroads and rural communities with no formal boundary.

Dinwiddie itself was not incorporated as a town; it was first tabulated as a census-designated
place in the 2020 census, which is why it carries no population figure from earlier counts.
McKenney is the county’s only incorporated municipality. DeWitt, Darvils, Wilsons and Carson
have small populations but no dedicated ZIP code or CDP boundary of their own on record.

ZIP Codes

• 23841 — Dinwiddie (the county seat)
• 23872 — McKenney
• 23885 — Sutherland
• 23850 — Ford
• 23833 — Church Road

DeWitt, Darvils, Wilsons and Carson have no ZIP code of their own; mail there is delivered
under the nearest post office’s code, since each is a small rural crossroads rather than a
CDP with its own postal boundary.

Geography

Dinwiddie County sits in Southside Virginia, the belt of counties south of the James River
where the rolling Piedmont gives way to the flatter coastal plain. Of its 507 square miles, 504
are land and 3.5 are water, about 0.7 percent — low for the region, since the county has no
large natural lake. Stony Creek, which runs past the historic Stony Creek Plantation near DeWitt,
is among its principal watercourses. Part of Petersburg National Battlefield, the National Park
Service site preserving the 1864–65 siege lines, lies within the county’s northern edge.

Chesterfield County lies to the north, Petersburg (an independent city) and Prince George
County to the northeast and east, Sussex County to the southeast, Greensville County to the
south, Brunswick County to the southwest, Nottoway County to the west, and Amelia County to the
northwest. Chesterfield
County, Prince George
County, Sussex County, Greensville County, Brunswick County, Nottoway County and Amelia County all border Dinwiddie
directly; Petersburg has no listed post on this site.

Demographics

Dinwiddie County had a population of 27,947 at the 2020 census, up from prior decades’
counts, with a recent estimate near 28,896 residents. About 71.7 percent of residents live in
rural areas and 28.3 percent in urban areas. Dinwiddie and McKenney are the two named census
places, though most residents live scattered across unincorporated land rather than in either.
Median household income runs $83,704 (2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimate), below
Virginia’s statewide 2023 ACS figure of $89,931, reflecting the county’s largely rural,
working-class economic base compared with Virginia’s wealthier northern suburbs. Population
density works
out to roughly 55 people per square mile of land, well below the state average, typical for
Southside Virginia outside the Petersburg-Richmond corridor.

Economy & Local Life

Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 1,843 people,
followed by retail trade at 1,473 and public administration at 1,432. Many residents commute to
jobs in neighboring Prince George County at Fort Gregg-Adams, the U.S. Army logistics and
quartermaster training post, and to Nottoway County’s Fort Barfoot, both within easy driving
distance. Petersburg, just northeast of the county line, supplies additional retail and health
care jobs. Dinwiddie’s own economic base leans on agriculture, forestry and small
manufacturing along the U.S. 460 and Interstate 85 corridors. The county is also known as the
birthplace of Gladys West, the mathematician whose orbital calculations helped develop GPS
technology, born in the Sutherland community in 1930.

History

Virginia’s colonial government formed Dinwiddie County on 1 May 1752, carving it out of
Prince George County. It was named for Robert Dinwiddie, Virginia’s lieutenant governor from
1751 to 1758.

The county saw six significant engagements during the final weeks of the Civil War’s
Petersburg Campaign in 1865. The Battle of Lewis’s Farm on 29 March 1865 opened Union
General Ulysses S. Grant’s final push to cut Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s
Southside Railroad supply line; Union forces captured the crossroads at Five Forks on 1 April
1865 and severed the rail line days later. The Battle of Dinwiddie Court House, the Battle of
White Oak Road and the Battle of Sutherland’s Station on 2 April 1865 followed in quick
succession, and Lee abandoned Petersburg and Richmond within days. Part of that battlefield land
is preserved today within Petersburg National Battlefield.

Getting There

Interstate 85 crosses the county’s eastern half near McKenney. US Route 1 and US Route
460 run through the county, along with state routes 40, 142 and 226.

• Petersburg — about 12 miles northeast
• Richmond — about 30 miles north
• South Hill — about 30 miles southwest
• Blackstone — about 20 miles west

Richmond International Airport, roughly 40 miles north of Dinwiddie, is the nearest major
commercial airport. Amtrak’s Northeast Regional and Carolinian trains stop at the Petersburg
station, just northeast of the county line.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Dinwiddie County located?
It sits in Southside Virginia, about 30 miles south of Richmond, bordered by Chesterfield,
Petersburg, Prince George, Sussex, Greensville, Brunswick, Nottoway and Amelia.

What is the population of Dinwiddie County?
27,947 at the 2020 census, with a recent estimate near 28,896.

How big is Dinwiddie County?
507 square miles (1,313 km2) in total, of which 504 square miles are land.

What is the county seat of Dinwiddie County?
Dinwiddie, a census-designated place first counted separately in the 2020 census.

How many towns are in Dinwiddie County?
One incorporated town, McKenney, plus the Dinwiddie CDP and 7 unincorporated communities:
Sutherland, Ford, Church Road, DeWitt, Darvils, Wilsons and Carson.

What ZIP codes does Dinwiddie County use?
23841 for Dinwiddie, 23872 for McKenney, 23885 for Sutherland, 23850 for Ford and 23833 for
Church Road.

What is Dinwiddie County known for?
The 1865 Petersburg Campaign battles that broke Lee’s supply lines, and as the birthplace of
GPS mathematician Gladys West.

More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Virginia.