First settled by the English colonists in 1607 at Jamestown in the Virginia Colony, the County was formally created in 1634 as James City Shire by order of King Charles I. James City County is considered one of only five original shires of Virginia to still be extant today in essentially the same political form. The Jamestown 2007 celebration marked the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown.
In modern times, the county is a popular site for relocating retirees, and is home to the Busch Gardens Europe theme park, the massive Kingsmill Resort, and the Williamsburg Pottery Factory. The Historic Jamestowne and Jamestown Settlement attractions combine with Colonial Williamsburg, and are linked to Yorktown by the National Park Service's bucolic Colonial Parkway, to make worldwide tourism to the Historic Triangle a major economic activity for the county.
As of the 2000 census, there were 48,102 people, 19,003 households, and 13,986 families residing in the county. The population density was 337/sq mi (130/km²). There were 20,772 housing units at an average density of 145/sq mi (56/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.05% White, 14.37% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.46% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the total 19,003 households, 30.50% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.80% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 21.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the county, the population was spread out with 23.30% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 26.10% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.90 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there are 91.00 males.
The county is served by Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60 along its east-west axis. A local transit bus service is offered by the county-owned Williamsburg Area Transport (WAT), with a central route system hub at the Williamsburg Transportation Center.
For additional information, including three regional airports, Amtrak service, Intercity bus service (Greyhound Lines), and local services, please see article Transportation in Williamsburg, Virginia.
For several years in the early 21st century, a major project of James City County officials and Supervisor Bruce Goodson, who represents the Roberts Magisterial District, has been to improve US Route 60 between Grove and Newport News to provide better (faster and more direct) access to Interstate 64 from the industrial sites in Grove which generate a considerable volume of truck traffic, and reduce the same on the existing roadway.
Access for the industrial traffic to I-64 currently requires a drive of about 4 miles (6.4 km) in either direction on two-laned sections of U.S. 60 at non-highway speeds through residential areas, sharing the road with local traffic and school buses serving either the James River Elementary School's county-wide magnet program or alternatively, the large elementary school in the Lee Hall community in neighboring Newport News, as well as school buses for other schools going into and out of neighborhoods along the route in both communities.
On a historical note, a very similar roads issue was earlier visited in the 1930s, when the current parallel State Route 143 (Merrimack Trail) was built as part of a four-laned through-route alternative to U.S. 60 for increasing volumes of east-west through traffic in the area. Once again, options have been chosen so that the two-laned bucolic nature of Route 60 through the Grove and Lee Hall communities to be preserved without the major impact a widening project would have upon these historic communities.
In June 2007, Virginia's Commonwealth Transportation Board approved a major portion of the funding needed for the U.S. Route 60 relocation project. The relocated divided highway will begin on its western end near the current intersection of Blow Flats Road and, on a new alignment, will cross through the Greenmount Industrial Park to reach the Newport News city limits at the western edge of Skiffe's Creek Reservoir, part of the Newport News Waterworks. The portion of relocated roadway planned in James City County is being described as the Skiffe's Creek Connector.
A connection to State Route 143 and enhanced access to Interstate 64 nearby is also under consideration.
At the Newport News border, a new crossing of Skiffe's Creek will be built, and the remainder of the roadway will continue on a new alignment and effectively bypass the two lane portion of U.S. Route 60 through the historic Lee Hall community, rejoining the current highway near the cloverleaf intersection of Fort Eustis Boulevard near the entrance to Fort Eustis, where there is access four-laned access close by to exit 250 of Interstate 64 as well as an extant four-laned section of U.S. Route 60 which begins there and extends to the east as Warwick Boulevard. In a separate project, portions of Warwick Boulevard east of Fort Eustis in Newport News are currently being widened to six lanes.