Heathsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county
seat of Northumberland County, Virginia, United States. The
population as of the 2010 Census was 142.[1] It is located on
U.S. Route 360 (the Northumberland Highway) west of Reedville
and east of Warsaw.Northumberland County is a county located on
the Northern Neck in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state in
the United States. In 2010, its population was 12,330[1]. Its
county seat is Heathsville[2]. The county is located on the
Northern Neck peninsula and is part of the Northern Neck George
Washington Birthplace AVA winemaking appellation.
The county was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1648
during a period of rapid population growth and geographic
expansion. Settlement began in this area of the Northern Neck
around 1635. Originally known as the Indian district Chickacoan,
the first appearance of the name Northumberland, in the colonial
records was in 1644. The following year, John Mottrom served as
the first burgess for the territory in the House of Burgesses,
which met at the capital of the Virginia Colony at Jamestown.
The size of the county was drastically reduced in 1651 and 1653
as Lancaster County and Westmoreland County, respectively, were
carved out of it.
Of the 172 counties that have ever existed in Virginia's
history, Northumberland, and the Northern Neck towm of
Heathsville, ended up being an "ancestor" of 116 of these ––
more than the current 95 counties (several having been lost to
other states)
The county, and the Northern Neck towm of Heathsville, is
governed by a Board of Supervisors, who are elected every four
years from each of the five districts.
There is no police department in the county, and the Northern
Neck towm of Heathsville. Instead, law enforcement is the
responsibility of the county Sheriff, who is a constitutional
officer elected every four years. The Northumberland County
Sheriff's Office is located in Heathsville.
Northumberland County has two courthouses both in Heathsville;
an antebellum building constructed before the Civil War and a
new building constructed in the late 1990s behind the older
structure. The county courts (Circuit Court, General District
Court, and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court) and
the Clerk of the Circuit Court, a constitutional officer, are
located in the new building. The Commissioner of Revenue and the
Treasurer, both constitutional officers, have offices in the
older building.
Northumberland County, and the Northern Neck towm of
Heathsville, is one of the few counties left in Virginia that
has all volunteer emergency services. The county is served by
two fire departments, Callao Volunteer Fire Department in Callao
and Fairfields Volunteer Fire Department in Reedville. There are
3 rescue squads that serve the county, Callao Volunteer Rescue
Squad in Callao, Mid-County Volunteer Rescue Squad in
Heathsville and, Northumberland County Rescue Squad in
Reedville. The county also has a water rescue service, Smith
Point Sea Rescue. |
