Culpeper County

ABOUT CULPEPER COUNTY
Culpeper View Nov 1 2012Culpeper County is located in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and lies entirely within the Piedmont Plateau. The County varies in landscape from open fields to forested hills, with numerous rivers and streams, all of which flow to the Rappahannock River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Culpeper County is bounded by the Rappahannock River to the northeast, the Rapidan River to the southeast and the Hughes River, Crooked Run and the Robinson Rivers to the west.

Culpeper County, situated in north-central Virginia, is a rural community with a population of 48,506 (U.S. Census Bureau 2013). Culpeper possesses a strong agricultural base and a diversity of service and production industries. As one of 95 counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Culpeper County encompasses 381 square miles and contains 243,840 acres. The Town of Culpeper is the county seat, located in the approximate geographic center of the County. As the only incorporated town in the County, it is the business, service and cultural center for the County.

Culpeper County is located centrally between four major localities. Washington, D.C. / Northern Virginia, located 75 miles northeast of the Town of Culpeper, is the largest of these and is responsible for most of the development pressures that face Culpeper County. The second largest nearby locality is the City of Richmond that is located 90 miles southeast of Culpeper. The two other areas that are somewhat smaller but closer to Culpeper County are Charlottesville, located 45 miles to the southwest, and Fredericksburg located 30 miles to the east. These localities are linked to Culpeper by several major primary roads including Routes 29, 15, 3, 522 and 211. Additionally, Interstate Routes 66, 64, 81, and 95 are all within a forty-mile radius of Culpeper County.

An elected seven member Board of Supervisors governs Culpeper County. One member represents each magisterial district and each serves a four-year term of office. An appointed county administrator oversees the daily operation of the County government.