Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Use Restrictions

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Preferred Citation

Powhatan County (Va.) Township Records, 1870. Local government records collection, Powhatan County Court Records. The Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

Acquisition Information

This item came to the Library of Virginia in transfers of court papers from Powhatan County.

Historical Information

Powhatan County was named for the Indian chieftain who ruled the native inhabitants of tidewater Virginia in the early seventeenth century. It was formed from Cumberland County in 1777, and part of Chesterfield County was added later.

The 1870 Virginia Constitution required that each county in the state be divided into no less than three townships (see Article VII, section 2). Based on the New England administrative organization of a county, each township would elect the administration officials for the offices of supervisor, clerk, assessor, collector, commissioner of the roads, overseer of the poor, justice of the peace, and constable. The supervisors of each township would comprise the board of supervisors for the county, and would be responsible for auditing the county accounts, examining the assessors' books, regulating property valuation, and fixing the county levies. The Acts of Assembly provided that each township be divided into school and electoral districts (see Acts of Assembly 1869-1870, Chapter 39). A constitutional amendment in 1874 changed the townships into magisterial districts and each district elected one supervisor, three justices of the peace, one constable, and one overseer of the poor. The supervisors of the districts made up the county board of supervisors whose duties were identical as those set out in 1870. The published Acts of Assembly appended a list of township names by county following the acts for every year that townships existed in Virginia.

Scope and Content

Powhatan County (Va.) Township Records, 1870, consist of 2 pages of commissioners' reports on the division of the county into three townships (Macon, Spencer, and Huguenot) with the boundaries for each and the appointment of registrars. The commissioners and surveyors are also named and report how many days they were engaged in the business.

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

• Powhatan County (Va.) Circuit Court.

Subjects:

• County government -- Records and correspondence -- Virginia -- Powhatan County.
• Local government -- Virginia -- Powhatan County.
• Public records -- Virginia -- Powhatan County.

Geographical Names:

• Powhatan County (Va.) -- History -- 19th century.

Genre and Form Terms:

• Local government records -- Virginia -- Powhatan County.
• Reports -- Virginia -- Powhatan County.
• Township records -- Virginia -- Powhatan County.

Added Entry - Corporate Name:

• Township of Huguenot (Powhatan County, VA)
• Township of Macon (Powhatan County, VA)
• Township of Spencer (Powhatan County, VA)