Albemarle County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city enclave entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Albemarle County was created in 1744 from the western portion of Goochland County, though portions of Albemarle were later carved out to create other counties.