Richland County, Verona

Richland County, officially the County of Richland, is a county in the Commonwealth of Verona. It is situated in central Verona and is the most central county in the state. In 2021, the county's population was estimated to sit at 3,214,798, making it the fifth-largest county in Verona by population, and the most populous outside of the Palm Coast. It is the 3rd highest-income county in Verona, and among the top 20 in Cartadania by median family income. It is home to the state's capital, Georgetown, which is also the county seat and Verona's eighth-largest city. The city of Villega is the county's largest city.

History
Richland County was one of the original counties of Verona, created at the time of Verona statehood in 1710.

At the time of its establishment in 1710, Richland County was relatively large, and included a large portion of east-central Verona, with all of what are now Amari, Belleaire, Nassica, Sinas and Varina Counties. During the later part of the 18th and 19th century, there were numerous changes in the boundaries of Richland County, when various areas were separated to make up the counties aforementioned.

Education
Georgetown Independent School District is the public school district serving all of central county, including all of the city of Georgetown, the cities of Bridgeton and Auria, and the CDPs of Fairway and Central, and portions of the cities of Shearwater and Troy. 84 of district's 87 schools are fully accredited at rank Exemplary. The district enrolls approximately 76,000 students.

Villega Independent School District is the public school district serving all of north county, including all of the city of Villega and the CDPs of Amblin, Destin, and Folley. The district has 71 schools, 60 of which are ranked at Exemplary, nine are rank Accredited, and the remaining two are unranked due to having recently been constructed. The district serves approximately 59,000 students.

Richland Independent School District is the public school district serving all of south county and any portions of Richland County not served by Georgetown or Villega ISDs. It enrolls approximately 116,000 students in 104 schools, all of which are ranked at Exemplary. The district pulls a large portion of its funding from the county's local revenues designated on education. Most of RISDs funding, however, is from state funding, bonds, and property taxes.

The city of Georgetown is home to two universities: Forryn University, a private university founded by Jose Forryn, which has historically focused on graduate education but has recently established an undergraduate program as well. Sousa University, associated with the Reslin organization, the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE), offers M.A. degrees in Transpersonal Studies, with many New Age subjects thanks to its Reslin link.

Villega State University and VCU Villega are in Villega and both the University of Verona and Verona Tech operate campuses in Georgetown. Harper Valley Community College, a major junior college, also has its largest campus located in the city of Georgetown. Morrison University's main campus is located in the city of Shearwater. Additional institutions of higher education are located in other communities of greater Villega.

Transportation
Richland County Metro Transit Authority (METRO or RCMTA) is the metropolitan transit authority for Richland County. It operates the bus, light rail, and ferry systems within the county and is an arm of the county government. It has the largest single jurisdiction transit fleet in Verona (larger counties of Sierra, Andina, Victoria, and Sinhedes are served by the large PCMTA).

RCMTA also operates Richland International Airport, which sits in a unincorporated section of the county between the cities of Georgetown and Villega. Seven airlines provide nonstop services to seven countries, although most flights to destinations outside of Verona (and Cartadania as a whole) tend to pass through Sierra International Airport. RCA had 9,703,664 passengers take off or land at its facility and 68,778,934 pounds of cargo were processed through its facilities. Fort Mackenzie/Amari Airport, located in Amari County also provides commercial air service for the area.

The county is criss-crossed by a number of highways and roads, including IH-12, IH-35, and Verona SH-295 (which has no speed limit for a large portion of its length).