Powhatan County Probate Records

Powhatan County was named after Powhatan, the Indian chieftain who ruled and terrorized 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 James River forms its northern border and the Appomattox River is on the south side. Historically the area had been occupied by the Monacan, and in 1700 French Huguenot refugees settled at their abandoned village, known as Manakin Town. Powhatan County is located southwest of Richmond along US Route 60 in the Richmond-Petersburg region.