Iberian Publishing Company's On-Line Catalog: Surry County Virginia
Surry County was formed in 1652 from the James City County lands south of the James River. Its initial boundaries extended from the river to the North Carolina line. In 1723 the southern portion was cut off to form part of newly-established Brunswick County, and additional territory was ceded to Brunswick in 1732. The middle portion of Surry County was formed into Sussex County in 1753 and Surry reached its present bounds at that time.
Surry was settled very early in Virginia history. Smith's Fort Plantation was the first permanent settlement erected there in 1608/09. The first land patent in the county's lands dates from 1624.
Four courthouse fires and two major wars have swept through the county, but the county court records have survived these disasters. Only the court order books from 1719 to 1740 and one nineteenth-century deed book is missing.