 Due to the "many Inconveniencys" suffered by the "Upper Inhabitants by reason of their Great distance from the Court house and other places usually appointed for publick meetings", New Kent County was divided "into Two distinct Countys and that that part of the County lyeing below the parish of Saint Paul shall for Ever thereafter be called and knowne by the Name of New Kent County And that that part of the County which lyeth in the parish of Saint Paul Shall be called and knowne by the Name of Hannover County".In 1720, a portion of New Kent County known then as St. Paul's Parish was formed into a separate county, now Hanover County.In 2006, the US Census Bureau rated New Kent County among the top 100 fastest-growing counties in the U.S.