{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-json\/1-301.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-text\/1-301.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-xml\/1-301.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2026\/code-html\/1-301.html"}],"law_id":345262,"edition_id":2,"section_id":345262,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-301","catch_line":"Extent of territory of the Commonwealth after the Constitution of 1776","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7 7-1; 1966, c. 102, \u00a7 7.1-1; 2005, c. 839.","full_text":"The authorities in determining the extent of the territory of the Commonwealth after the adoption of the Constitution of 1776 shall consist of:\n\n1\n\nThe charter of April 10, 1606, granted by James the First, in the fourth year of his reign, that authorized the first plantation at any place upon the coast of the Commonwealth between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north latitude; and granted the territory from the seat of the plantation (which under this charter was begun at Jamestown), for 50 miles along the coast towards the west and southwest, as the coast lay, and for 50 miles along the coast, towards the east and northeast, or towards the north, as the coast lay, together with all the islands within 100 miles directly over against the seacoast, and all the territory from the same 50 miles every way on the seacoast, directly into the mainland for the space of 100 miles.\n\n2\n\nThe second charter of James, dated May 23, 1609, in the seventh year of his reign, that granted all the territory from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort, all along the seacoast to the northward 200 miles, and from the point of Cape Comfort all along the seacoast to the southward 200 miles, and all that space and circuit of land lying from the seacoast of the precinct, up into the land, throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest, and also all the islands lying within 100 miles along the coast of both seas of the precinct aforesaid.\n\n3\n\nThe third charter of James, dated March 12, 1611-12, in the ninth year of his reign, that granted all the islands in any part of the seas within 300 leagues of any territory granted in the former patents.\n\n4\n\nThe 1763 treaty of peace between Great Britain and France that established a line along the middle of the river Mississippi and became the Commonwealth’s western boundary.\n\n5\n\nSection 21 of the Constitution of Virginia adopted June 29, 1776, that ceded, released, and confirmed to the people of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, such parts of the territory of the Commonwealth as were contained within the charters erecting those colonies, with all the rights in those parts that might have been claimed by the Commonwealth, except the free navigation of the Rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, with the property of the Commonwealth shore or strands bordering on either of the rivers, and all improvements thereon; and that at the same time laid down in the section that the western and northern extent of the Commonwealth should in all other respects stand as fixed by the charter of James the First, granted in 1609, and by the treaty of peace between Great Britain and France in 1763, unless by act of the legislature one or more territories should thereafter be laid off, and governments established, westward of the Alleghany mountains.\n\n","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":1287233,"text":"The authorities in determining the extent of the territory of the Commonwealth after the adoption of the Constitution of 1776 shall consist of:","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1,"next_prefix":"1"},"1":{"id":1287234,"text":"The charter of April 10, 1606, granted by James the First, in the fourth year of his reign, that authorized the first plantation at any place upon the coast of the Commonwealth between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north latitude; and granted the territory from the seat of the plantation (which under this charter was begun at Jamestown), for 50 miles along the coast towards the west and southwest, as the coast lay, and for 50 miles along the coast, towards the east and northeast, or towards the north, as the coast lay, together with all the islands within 100 miles directly over against the seacoast, and all the territory from the same 50 miles every way on the seacoast, directly into the mainland for the space of 100 miles.","type":"section","prefixes":["1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"1","prefix_anchor":"1","level":1,"prior_prefix":"","next_prefix":"2"},"2":{"id":1287235,"text":"The second charter of James, dated May 23, 1609, in the seventh year of his reign, that granted all the territory from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort, all along the seacoast to the northward 200 miles, and from the point of Cape Comfort all along the seacoast to the southward 200 miles, and all that space and circuit of land lying from the seacoast of the precinct, up into the land, throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest, and also all the islands lying within 100 miles along the coast of both seas of the precinct aforesaid.","type":"section","prefixes":["2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"2","prefix_anchor":"2","level":1,"prior_prefix":"1","next_prefix":"3"},"3":{"id":1287236,"text":"The third charter of James, dated March 12, 1611-12, in the ninth year of his reign, that granted all the islands in any part of the seas within 300 leagues of any territory granted in the former patents.","type":"section","prefixes":["3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"3","prefix_anchor":"3","level":1,"prior_prefix":"2","next_prefix":"4"},"4":{"id":1287237,"text":"The 1763 treaty of peace between Great Britain and France that established a line along the middle of the river Mississippi and became the Commonwealth’s western boundary.","type":"section","prefixes":["4"],"prefix":"4","entire_prefix":"4","prefix_anchor":"4","level":1,"prior_prefix":"3","next_prefix":"5"},"5":{"id":1287238,"text":"Section 21 of the Constitution of Virginia adopted June 29, 1776, that ceded, released, and confirmed to the people of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, such parts of the territory of the Commonwealth as were contained within the charters erecting those colonies, with all the rights in those parts that might have been claimed by the Commonwealth, except the free navigation of the Rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, with the property of the Commonwealth shore or strands bordering on either of the rivers, and all improvements thereon; and that at the same time laid down in the section that the western and northern extent of the Commonwealth should in all other respects stand as fixed by the charter of James the First, granted in 1609, and by the treaty of peace between Great Britain and France in 1763, unless by act of the legislature one or more territories should thereafter be laid off, and governments established, westward of the Alleghany mountains.","type":"section","prefixes":["5"],"prefix":"5","entire_prefix":"5","prefix_anchor":"5","level":1,"prior_prefix":"4"}},"ancestry":[{"id":49578,"edition_id":2,"name":"Boundaries of the Commonwealth","identifier":"3.1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":4,"parent_id":49571,"metadata":{"child_laws":14,"child_structures":0},"date_created":"2026-08-02 02:11:45","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:26:44","permalink":{"id":1370115,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":49578,"identifier":"3.1","token":"1\/3.1","url":"\/1\/3.1\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":49571,"edition_id":2,"name":"General Provisions","identifier":"1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{"child_laws":122,"child_structures":12},"date_created":"2026-08-02 02:11:27","date_modified":"2026-08-02 12:26:43","permalink":{"id":1369801,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":49571,"identifier":"1","token":"1","url":"\/1\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":345261,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-300","catch_line":"Boundaries","url":"\/1-300\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-300","metadata":false},{"id":345262,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-301","catch_line":"Extent of territory of the Commonwealth after the Constitution of 1776","url":"\/1-301\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-301","metadata":false},{"id":345263,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-302","catch_line":"Jurisdiction and ownership of Commonwealth over offshore waters and submerged lands","url":"\/1-302\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-302","metadata":false},{"id":345264,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-303","catch_line":"Cession of territory northwest of Ohio River","url":"\/1-303\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-303","metadata":false},{"id":345265,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-304","catch_line":"Boundary with North Carolina","url":"\/1-304\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-304","metadata":false},{"id":345266,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-305","catch_line":"Boundary with North Carolina eastward from low-water mark of Atlantic Ocean","url":"\/1-305\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-305","metadata":false},{"id":345267,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-306","catch_line":"Boundary with Tennessee","url":"\/1-306\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-306","metadata":false},{"id":345268,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-307","catch_line":"Compact and boundary with Kentucky","url":"\/1-307\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-307","metadata":false},{"id":345269,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-308","catch_line":"Boundary with Maryland","url":"\/1-308\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-308","metadata":false},{"id":345270,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-309","catch_line":"Boundary with Maryland eastward from Assateague Island","url":"\/1-309\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-309","metadata":false},{"id":345271,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-310","catch_line":"Boundary with Maryland in upper reaches of Pocomoke sound and lower reaches of Pocomoke River","url":"\/1-310\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-310","metadata":false},{"id":345272,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-311","catch_line":"Recession of portion of District of Columbia","url":"\/1-311\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-311","metadata":false},{"id":345273,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-312","catch_line":"Boundary with District of Columbia","url":"\/1-312\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-312","metadata":false},{"id":345274,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-313","catch_line":"Boundary line between Loudoun County, Virginia, and Jefferson County, West Virginia","url":"\/1-313\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-313","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":345261,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-300","catch_line":"Boundaries","url":"\/1-300\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-300","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":345263,"structure_id":49578,"section_number":"1-302","catch_line":"Jurisdiction and ownership of Commonwealth over offshore waters and submerged lands","url":"\/1-302\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-302","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/1-301\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 2 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1966, chapter 102; in 2005, chapter 839<\/a>.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":1370121,"object_type":"law","relational_id":345262,"identifier":"1-301","token":"1\/3.1\/1-301","url":"\/1-301\/","edition_id":2,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/1-301\/","token":"1\/3.1\/1-301","dublin_core":{"Title":"Extent of territory of the Commonwealth after the Constitution of 1776","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 1-301","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The authorities in determining the extent of the territory of the Commonwealth after the adoption of the Constitution of 1776 shall consist of:<\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> The charter of April 10, 1606, granted by James the First, in the fourth year of his reign, that authorized the first plantation at any place upon the coast of the Commonwealth between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north latitude; and granted the territory from the seat of the plantation (which under this charter was begun at Jamestown), for 50 miles along the coast towards the west and southwest, as the coast lay, and for 50 miles along the coast, towards the east and northeast, or towards the north, as the coast lay, together with all the islands within 100 miles directly over against the seacoast, and all the territory from the same 50 miles every way on the seacoast, directly into the mainland for the space of 100 miles. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> The second charter of James, dated May 23, 1609, in the seventh year of his reign, that granted all the territory from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort, all along the seacoast to the northward 200 miles, and from the point of Cape Comfort all along the seacoast to the southward 200 miles, and all that space and circuit<\/span> of land lying from the seacoast of the precinct, up into the land, throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest, and also all the islands lying within 100 miles along the coast of both seas of the precinct aforesaid. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> The third charter of James, dated March 12, 1611-12, in the ninth year of his reign, that granted all the islands in any part of the seas within 300 leagues of any territory granted in the former patents. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

4.<\/span> The 1763 treaty of peace between Great Britain and France that established a line along the middle of the river Mississippi and became the Commonwealth’s western boundary. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

5.<\/span> Section 21 of the Constitution of Virginia adopted June 29, 1776, that ceded, released, and confirmed to the people of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, such parts of the territory of the Commonwealth as were contained within the charters erecting those colonies, with all the rights in those parts that might have been claimed by the Commonwealth, except the free navigation of the Rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, with the property of the Commonwealth shore or strands bordering on either of the rivers, and all improvements thereon; and that at the same time laid down in the section that the western and northern extent of the Commonwealth should in all other respects stand as fixed by the charter of James the First, granted in 1609, and by the treaty of peace between Great Britain and France in 1763, unless by act of the legislature one or more territories should thereafter be laid off, and governments established, westward of the Alleghany mountains. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nEXTENT OF TERRITORY OF THE COMMONWEALTH AFTER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1776 (\u00a7\n1-301)\n\nThe authorities in determining the extent of the territory of the Commonwealth\nafter the adoption of the Constitution of 1776 shall consist of:\n\n1. The charter of April 10, 1606, granted by James the First, in the fourth year\nof his reign, that authorized the first plantation at any place upon the coast\nof the Commonwealth between the thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees of north\nlatitude; and granted the territory from the seat of the plantation (which under\nthis charter was begun at Jamestown), for 50 miles along the coast towards the\nwest and southwest, as the coast lay, and for 50 miles along the coast, towards\nthe east and northeast, or towards the north, as the coast lay, together with\nall the islands within 100 miles directly over against the seacoast, and all the\nterritory from the same 50 miles every way on the seacoast, directly into the\nmainland for the space of 100 miles.\n\n2. The second charter of James, dated May 23, 1609, in the seventh year of his\nreign, that granted all the territory from the point of land called Cape or\nPoint Comfort, all along the seacoast to the northward 200 miles, and from the\npoint of Cape Comfort all along the seacoast to the southward 200 miles, and all\nthat space and circuit of land lying from the seacoast of the precinct, up into\nthe land, throughout from sea to sea, west and northwest, and also all the\nislands lying within 100 miles along the coast of both seas of the precinct\naforesaid.\n\n3. The third charter of James, dated March 12, 1611-12, in the ninth year of his\nreign, that granted all the islands in any part of the seas within 300 leagues\nof any territory granted in the former patents.\n\n4. The 1763 treaty of peace between Great Britain and France that established a\nline along the middle of the river Mississippi and became the\nCommonwealth’s western boundary.\n\n5. Section 21 of the Constitution of Virginia adopted June 29, 1776, that ceded,\nreleased, and confirmed to the people of Maryland, Pennsylvania, North and South\nCarolina, such parts of the territory of the Commonwealth as were contained\nwithin the charters erecting those colonies, with all the rights in those parts\nthat might have been claimed by the Commonwealth, except the free navigation of\nthe Rivers Potomac and Pocomoke, with the property of the Commonwealth shore or\nstrands bordering on either of the rivers, and all improvements thereon; and\nthat at the same time laid down in the section that the western and northern\nextent of the Commonwealth should in all other respects stand as fixed by the\ncharter of James the First, granted in 1609, and by the treaty of peace between\nGreat Britain and France in 1763, unless by act of the legislature one or more\nterritories should thereafter be laid off, and governments established, westward\nof the Alleghany mountains.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7 7-1; 1966, c. 102, \u00a7 7.1-1; 2005, c. 839.","edition":{"id":2,"name":"2026","slug":"2026","date_created":"2026-07-16 18:40:23","date_modified":"2026-08-02 15:14:36","current":1,"order_by":2,"last_import":"2026-08-02 12:37:30"}}