Prince William County was created by an act of the General Assembly of the colony of in 1731, largely from the western section of Stafford County as well as a section of King George County. The area encompassed by the Act creating Prince William County originally included all of what later became ArlingtonCounty, the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, the City of Fairfax,the City of Falls Church, Fauquier County, Loudoun County,the City of Manassas,and the City of Manassas Park. The County was named for Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, a son of King George II. The County was a rural community for years and the population was centered in two areas, one at Manassas (home to a major railroad junction), the other near Occoquan and Woodbridge along the Potomac River. 

Beginning in the late 1930s, a larger suburban population grew up near the existing population centers, particularly in Manassas. The town's post-World War II growth led it to become an independent city in 1975. Beginning in the late 1960s, the County began transitioning into a bedroom community of Washington DC and its population expanded dramatically to the point where, by the end of the 20th century, it was the third most populous local jurisdiction in Virginia.

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