It is the site of the last battle and surrender of British forces in 1781 at the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War, when the patriots gained independence from Great Britain.

Heritage tourism to the Historic Triangle draws international visitors and is a major economic activity for the county.

By the late 16th century, much of the coastal plain draining to the Chesapeake Bay of the current Commonwealth of Virginia was called Tenakomakah in Algonquian, meaning "densely inhabited land".

Rediscovered in the early 21st century by archeological work, it was located along the north bank of the York River in present-day Gloucester County.

After the Powhatan moved his capital from this area in 1609, the site believed to have been Werowocomoco near Purtan Bay was lost to history.

The discoveries and ongoing research led by the College of William and Mary hold great promise in expanding understanding of the lives of the Native Americans in the area during that era of York County's history.

In the 21st century, it was one of the five original shires considered extant in essentially its same political form, making it one of the oldest counties in the United States.

Porto Bello, the hunting lodge of Lord Dunmore, last royal governor of Virginia, still stands on the grounds of Camp Peary.

Many of the displaced African American landowners were eventually relocated to Grove, along the border between York and James counties.

During World War II, the sites of three other small York County towns were absorbed into U.S. government reservations.

Penniman was the site of a World War I munitions facility operated by the DuPont company and was made a part of Cheatham Annex) in 1943.

To the west of Penniman, which is reported to have had a peak population of 15,000, on land which is now part of Camp Peary, the smaller towns of Magruder and Bigler's Mill were located.

At the time, the move was part of a successful attempt by Warwick County to block an annexation suit brought by the City of Newport News.

In the 20th century, some areas of York County adjacent to Williamsburg were lost to the growing small city through annexation.

Yorktown is the northern terminus of the scenic Colonial Parkway operated by the U.S. National Park Service which links the three.

In 2005, the county completed Riverwalk Landing, a successful pseudo-colonial waterfront development at Yorktown to revitalize the previously deteriorating beach and town district and complement the 2007 celebration of Jamestown.

There is little room for additional growth in the southern portion of York County because it is a relatively small area and was essentially fully developed by the early 2000s.

Having not seen a significant amount of growth until recently, the northern portion is now seeing the development of new residential communities and shopping areas.

State Route 199, which circumvents Williamsburg, joins Interstate 64 close to the Water Country USA in the county.

Routes 60 passes York County to the north of Williamsburg and west of Water Country USA.

Located along the York River, small portions of each base extend into adjacent James City County as well.

The Naval Weapons Station Yorktown was originally established during World War I by order of President Woodrow Wilson, and now includes the formerly separate Cheatham Annex Supply Complex.

As the war progressed, it became valuable to the Allied Forces to house sensitive prisoners-of-war from captured German naval vessels; it was important for Nazi authorities to be unaware of their capture, since that also meant secret code books thought lost-at sea may also have been compromised.

Separating these two large military reservations is Queen's Creek, which originates in the western reaches of the county and drains to the York River.

These include the original Lackey (known locally as "the Reservation"), Halstead's Point, Penniman, Bigler's Mill, and Magruder.

Many relocated residents and their descendants, many of whom were farmers and watermen, now live in such places as Yorktown, Gloucester, Lee Hall, Grove, and Lightfoot.