Editing James City County, Virginia (section)

====Royal colony, creation of shires (counties)====
[[File:James City County sign on US 60 entering from east at Skiffe's Creek.jpg|300px|right|thumb|James City County sign on [[U.S. Route 60 in Virginia|U.S. Route 60]] entering [[Grove, Virginia|Grove]] from east at [[Skiffe's Creek]]. This border with the former [[Warwick County, Virginia|Warwick County]] was established in 1634 by order of King Charles I of England ''(Warwick County became part of the [[Newport News, Virginia|City of Newport News]] in 1958)'']]
The privately owned [[Virginia Company]] lost its charter in 1624, and Virginia became a royal colony. In 1634, the English Crown created eight [[shires of Virginia|shires]] (i.e., [[County (United States)|counties]]) in the colony of Virginia, with a total population of approximately 5,000 inhabitants. [[James City Shire]], as well as the James River and Jamestown which had been named earlier, took its name from King [[James I of England|James I]], the father of the then-king, [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]. About 1642–43, the name of the James City Shire was changed to James City County.