King George County VA  There seems to be some a contridiction of the status of King George County The King George County page indicates that King George County is NOT a part of the WashingtonBaltimore Metropolitan Area Yet according to the BaltimoreWashington Metropolitan Area page it is  This also brings to light a local controversey regarding King George County and whether or not it is part of the Northern Neck of Virginia Historically King George County has been included as part of the Northern Neck The Northern Neck Tourism Council website lists locations in King George County amongst its historical sites and museums and the King George County Homepage labels the county as the Gateway to the Historic Northern Neck I was educated in Northumberland County Virginia and this is what we were taught during our segment on local history for th grade US History that there are FIVE counties in the Northern Neck including King George County  However until th grade I had always grown up under the assumption that the Northern Neck consisted of only four counties Northumberland Lancaster Westmoreland and Richmond counties Locals think of the Northern Neck more as a community with similar  values and interests rather than a geographical area King George county is considered to be suburban part of the Washington DC urban sprawl and therefore doesnt share the same community interests as the rest of the Northern Neck  This article from the Fredericksburg FreeLance Star highlights both sides of the King George debate  The inclusion of King George County as part of the BaltimoreWashington Metropolitan Area stems from three facts King Georges proximity to Fredericksburg its inclusion in the Washington DC media market and the presence of the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren However the historical connections between King George County and the Northern Neck shouldnt be dismissed It wouldnt be inappropriate to consider King George County as part of both as BaltimoreWashington Metropolitan Area seems to be a statistical category while the Northern Neck is a historicalgeographical region  I have also added this discussion to the pages on both the BaltimoreWashington Metropolitan Area and the King George County pages If there is no further discussion or objection I will edit the Northern Neck page to include mention of the local debate on the status of King George County