Hanover County

BY REED WILLIAMS - Staff Writer
Published: July 22, 2008

For the second consecutive year, Hanover County was named one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People in 2008. Last year it passed the 100,000 population mark.

Hanover is 12 miles north of Richmond. Its 471 square miles are bordered to the south by the Chickahominy River and to the north by the North Anna River and crisscrossed by interstates 95 and 295 and U.S. 1, 33, 301 and 360.

The county strives to maintain its rural heritage while becoming increasingly suburban. Growth has expanded to agricultural areas as it continues in the Mechanicsville area northeast of Richmond. Ninety-two percent of respondents rated the quality of life in Hanover as excellent or good in a 2005 survey conducted by Hanover County.

History: Hanover is the birthplace of Patrick Henry – “Give me liberty or give me death” – and of Henry Clay, a Kentucky lawyer who ran three times for president.

Henry’s life and career are highlighted by at least a half-dozen sites, including Scotchtown, Polegreen Church, Hanover Tavern and the county courthouse. The county is the site of several Civil War battles.

It is also home to Ashland, an incorporated town. Randolph-Macon College, a small liberal arts school, is in Ashland. The downtown area has several shops along the train tracks and a passenger train station.

A Fun Thing to Do: Hanover County Parks and Recreation offers four boat/canoe launch sites on the North Anna, South Anna and Pamunkey rivers. The North Anna Ramp is at 17600 Washington Highway in northern Hanover at the Caroline County line.

There is a South Anna ramp at 15008 Mountain Road (U.S. 33), and another South Anna ramp at 13151 Patrick Henry Road (state Route 54). The Pamunkey Ramp is at 13600 Hanover Courthouse Road.

Government: Hanover is governed by seven elected district supervisors and their appointed county administrator. They oversee an annual operating budget of $343.5 million.

Schools: Hanover’s public schools project an enrollment of 19,682 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 for 2008-09.

The school system has a $217.3-million operating budget for fiscal year 2009 and employs about 2,850 people. For the 2007-08 school year, each of the county’s 23 schools had earned full accreditation according to the Virginia Standards of Learning assessments.

Libraries: The Pamunkey Regional Library has 10 branches and a bookmobile, providing library service to residents of Hanover and the counties of King and Queen, Goochland and King William.

Most branch libraries offer public computers with printers, copiers, facsimile service, small quiet rooms, wireless Internet access, meeting rooms, DVDs and audio books.

Parks: The Hanover Parks and Recreation Department has nine parks, including Montpelier Park and Washington Lacy Park, which has horse and walking trails on a 222-acre site on the March family property off state Route 54 east of Ashland.

Other parks include Pole Green Park, a 232-acre park off state Route 627. Poor Farm Park, off state Route 54 at 13400 Liberty School Road, has an amphitheater on its 205 acres.

The National Park Service manages five Civil War sites in the county: Gaines’ Mill, Cold Harbor, Totopotomoy Creek, Beaver Dam Creek and the Garthright House.

The town of Ashland has five parks. For more information, call (804) 798-1073.