{"id":8490,"date":"2023-09-28T17:44:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T17:44:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/?p=8490"},"modified":"2026-08-07T13:07:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T13:07:45","slug":"hanover-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/hanover-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Hanover County, Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hanover County is a county in Virginia, United States, about 12 miles north of Richmond and 90<br \/>\nmiles south of Washington, D.C. It had a population of 109,979 at the 2020 census, an estimated<br \/>\n116,423 by 2025, and covers 474 square miles (1,230 km2) centred near 37\u00b046\u2032N 77\u00b029\u2032W.<\/p>\n<p>Hanover Courthouse is the county seat, though the community around it counts only 52<br \/>\nresidents; its postal code is 23069. The county holds 1 incorporated town, 2 census-designated<br \/>\nplaces and 9 named unincorporated communities, and it runs on Eastern Time. Its FIPS code is<br \/>\n51085.<\/p>\n<h2>Towns &amp; Villages in Hanover County<\/h2>\n<p>Hanover County has 12 named places on record: one incorporated town, two census-designated<br \/>\nplaces (CDPs) and nine unincorporated communities with no local government of their own. CDP<br \/>\nstands for census designated place; Unincorp. covers crossroads and rural communities with no<br \/>\nformal boundary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"tv-table-scroll\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Place<\/th>\n<th>Type<\/th>\n<th>Pop.<\/th>\n<th>ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Ashland<\/td>\n<td>Town<\/td>\n<td>7,565<\/td>\n<td>23005<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Mechanicsville<\/td>\n<td>CDP<\/td>\n<td>39,482<\/td>\n<td>23111<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hanover<\/td>\n<td>CDP &middot; seat<\/td>\n<td>52<\/td>\n<td>23069<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Atlee<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>23116<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Doswell<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>23047<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Montpelier<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>23192<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Beaverdam<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>23015<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Rockville<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>23146<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Studley<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>23162<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Old Church<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Elmont<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Brown Grove<\/td>\n<td>Unincorp.<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<td>&mdash;<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ashland is Hanover County&#8217;s only incorporated place and by far its most populous single town,<br \/>\neven though the courthouse village that gives the county its seat sits well outside it. Mechanicsville,<br \/>\na Richmond-adjacent CDP, holds more people than Ashland and Hanover combined; it should not be<br \/>\nconfused with the older courthouse hamlet simply called Hanover, five miles to its north.<\/p>\n<h2>ZIP Codes<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>23005 &mdash; Ashland<\/li>\n<li>23111 &mdash; Mechanicsville<\/li>\n<li>23116 &mdash; Mechanicsville (also covers Atlee)<\/li>\n<li>23015 &mdash; Beaverdam<\/li>\n<li>23047 &mdash; Doswell<\/li>\n<li>23069 &mdash; Hanover, the county seat<\/li>\n<li>23146 &mdash; Rockville<\/li>\n<li>23192 &mdash; Montpelier<\/li>\n<li>23162 &mdash; Studley, a PO Box&#8211;only ZIP with no home delivery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Old Church, Elmont and Brown Grove have no ZIP code of their own; mail to all three is<br \/>\ndelivered under a neighboring town&#8217;s code.<\/p>\n<h2>Geography<\/h2>\n<p>Hanover County sits on Virginia&#8217;s fall line, the boundary where the rolling Piedmont drops to<br \/>\nthe flat coastal plain, giving the county both hilly ground in its west and low, flat terrain<br \/>\ntoward the east. Of its 474 square miles, 469 are land and 5 are water, about 1.1 percent &mdash;<br \/>\nlow for the region, since the county has no large natural lake. The North Anna River and South<br \/>\nAnna River join on the Hanover&ndash;Caroline county line, about five miles northeast of Ashland,<br \/>\nto form the Pamunkey River, which then runs along the county&#8217;s northern edge past Caroline and<br \/>\nKing William counties toward West Point.<\/p>\n<p>Caroline County lies to the north, King William County to the northeast, New Kent County to<br \/>\nthe east, Henrico County to the south, Goochland County to the southwest, Louisa County to the<br \/>\nwest and Spotsylvania County to the northwest. <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/caroline-county-virginia\/\">Caroline County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/king-william-county\/\">King William County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/new-kent-county\/\">New Kent County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/henrico-county\/\">Henrico County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/goochland-county\/\">Goochland County<\/a>, <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/louisa-county-virginia\/\">Louisa County<\/a> and <a\nhref=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/spotsylvania-county\/\">Spotsylvania County<\/a> all border<br \/>\nHanover directly.<\/p>\n<h2>Demographics<\/h2>\n<p>Hanover County had a population of 109,979 at the 2020 census, and a 2024 estimate puts the<br \/>\ncounty near 112,879 residents. Mechanicsville and Ashland are the two largest communities, with<br \/>\nMechanicsville alone holding more than a third of the county&#8217;s population. Median household<br \/>\nincome runs about $112,805 (2024 estimate), well above Virginia&#8217;s statewide figure of $89,931<br \/>\n(2023 ACS). Population density works out to roughly 234 people per square mile of land, moderate<br \/>\nfor a county this close to Richmond, reflecting large stretches of farmland and forest still<br \/>\nleft in the county&#8217;s northern and western reaches.<\/p>\n<h2>Economy &amp; Local Life<\/h2>\n<p>Health care and social assistance employs the most workers in the county, about 8,426 people,<br \/>\nfollowed by retail trade at 5,958 and educational services at 5,333. Hanover County government<br \/>\nis itself a major employer, alongside the school system. Bon Secours operates hospital and<br \/>\noutpatient facilities serving the county. Kings Dominion, a large amusement park in Doswell,<br \/>\ndraws seasonal crowds and staff from across the region; the adjoining Meadow Event Park, on the<br \/>\nfarm where the Triple Crown winner Secretariat was foaled in 1970, hosts the State Fair of<br \/>\nVirginia each fall. Bass Pro Shops, FedEx Ground and The Vitamin Shoppe also run large<br \/>\ndistribution or retail operations in the county. Randolph-Macon College, a liberal arts college<br \/>\nthat relocated to Ashland in 1868, anchors the town&#8217;s economy and street life.<\/p>\n<h2>History<\/h2>\n<p>Virginia&#8217;s colonial assembly formed Hanover County on 26 November 1719, carving it out of New<br \/>\nKent County and naming it for the Electorate of Hanover in Germany, the ancestral house of King<br \/>\nGeorge I. Patrick Henry, the orator and first post-colonial governor of Virginia, was born in<br \/>\nthe county in 1736; statesman Henry Clay was born there in 1777, and Ashland later took his<br \/>\nname from Clay&#8217;s Kentucky estate.<\/p>\n<p>Hanover County saw heavy fighting during the Civil War&#8217;s Seven Days Battles in 1862, including<br \/>\nthe Battle of Beaver Dam Creek near present-day Mechanicsville, and again in 1864 at the Battle<br \/>\nof Cold Harbor, one of the war&#8217;s bloodiest engagements. Doswell, originally a railroad junction<br \/>\ncalled Hanover Junction, was renamed in the early 1890s for Major Thomas Doswell.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting There<\/h2>\n<p>Interstate 95 and Interstate 295 both cross the county. US Route 1, US Route 33, US Route 301<br \/>\nand US Route 360 also run through Hanover.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Richmond &mdash; about 12 miles south<\/li>\n<li>Washington, D.C. &mdash; about 90 miles north<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Richmond International Airport, in neighboring Henrico County, is the nearest commercial<br \/>\nairport; Hanover County shares a seat on the commission that owns and operates it, alongside<br \/>\nChesterfield and Henrico counties and the city of Richmond. Amtrak&#8217;s Northeast Regional trains<br \/>\nstop at the Ashland station, connecting to Richmond, Washington, D.C. and the rest of the<br \/>\nNortheast Corridor.<\/p>\n<h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Where is Hanover County located?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt sits on Virginia&#8217;s fall line between Richmond and Fredericksburg, bordered by Caroline, King<br \/>\nWilliam, New Kent, Henrico, Goochland, Louisa and Spotsylvania counties.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the population of Hanover County?<\/strong><br \/>\n109,979 at the 2020 census, with a 2024 estimate near 112,879.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How big is Hanover County?<\/strong><br \/>\n474 square miles (1,230 km2), of which 469 square miles are land.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is the county seat of Hanover County?<\/strong><br \/>\nHanover Courthouse, a small community of 52 residents; its postal code is 23069.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many towns are in Hanover County?<\/strong><br \/>\nOne incorporated town, Ashland, plus the census-designated places Mechanicsville and Hanover and<br \/>\nnine unincorporated communities including Doswell, Montpelier and Old Church.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What ZIP codes does Hanover County use?<\/strong><br \/>\n23005 for Ashland, 23111 and 23116 for Mechanicsville, 23069 for Hanover, plus Beaverdam,<br \/>\nDoswell, Rockville, Montpelier and the PO Box&#8211;only Studley ZIP.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is Hanover County known for?<\/strong><br \/>\nKings Dominion amusement park and Meadow Event Park in Doswell, the birthplace of Secretariat,<br \/>\nand Randolph-Macon College in Ashland.<\/p>\n<p>More counties in this state: <a href=\"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/category\/virginia\/\">Towns<br \/>\nand villages in Virginia<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hanover County is a county in Virginia, United States, about 12 miles north of Richmond and 90 miles south of Washington, D.C. It had a population of 109,979 at the 2020 census, an estimated 116,423 by 2025, and covers 474 square miles (1,230 km2) centred near 37\u00b046\u2032N 77\u00b029\u2032W. Hanover Courthouse is the county seat, though [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"Towns & Villages in Hanover County, Virginia","_seopress_titles_desc":"All 12 towns and communities in Hanover County, Virginia - type, population and ZIP for each, plus Ashland, Kings Dominion and Cold Harbor history.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[6],"class_list":["post-8490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-virginia","tag-towns-and-cities","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8490"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9365,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8490\/revisions\/9365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townsvillages.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}