Yorktown is located in York County in Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown’s population is at 200, while York County’s population is at 66,000. The town is most famous as the site of the siege and subsequent surrender of General Cornwallis to General George Washington and the French Fleet during the American Revolutionary War on October 19, 1781. Although the war would last for another year, this British defeat at Yorktown effectively ended the war. Yorktown also figured prominently in the American Civil War (1861–1865), serving as a major port to supply both northern and southern towns, depending upon who held Yorktown at the time. read more…