Ophelia is an unincorporated community in Northumberland County,
in the U.S. state of Virginia.
Northumberland County, and the Northern Neck community of
Ophelia, 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, and the Northern Neck community of Ophelia, 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, and the Northern Neck community of
Ophelia, 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 community of
Ophelia, ended up being an "ancestor" of 116 of these –– more
than the current 95 counties (several having been lost to other
states)
The county is governed by a Board of Supervisors, who are
elected every four years from each of the five districts
including the Northern Neck community of Ophelia.
There is no police department in the county. 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; 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 community of
Ophelia, 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. |
