User:Leakeyroof/VA County Descriptions

Prior Nebraska Description
The County was named for John Adams. The County has Natchez as its seat and the County was created 1799. The County is located in the southwest area of the state.

Accomack Description
Accomack County is located on the Northernmost portion of Virginia's Eastern Shore and was created in 1634 as one of the eight original counties of the Commonwealth. The county’s name comes from the Native American word Accawmack, meaning “the other shore”. Accomack is the County seat.

Albemarle Description
Albemarle County is located in the Central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed in 1744 by an act of the General Assembly. It was named in honor of William Ann Keppel, second Earl of Albemarle, who was then governor of the colony. The County seat was moved to Charlottesville which was established as a city in 1888.

Alleghany Description
Alleghany County is located on the far Western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia and took its name from the mountain range on which it borders. It was formed by act of Virginia Legislature on January 5, 1822 from parts of Botetourt, Bath, and Monroe counties. Covington is the County seat.

Amelia Description
Amelia County is located in the Central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia just west of the state's capital of Richmond. It was created in 1735 from portions of Prince George and Brunswick Counties and named in honor of Princess Amelia, daughter of King George II. Amelia Courthouse is the County seat.

Amherst Description
Amherst County is located in the Piedmont region near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed in 1761 from the southern half of Albemarle County in honor of Lord Jeffery Amherst, British Commander-in-Chief. Amherst is the County seat.

Appomattox Description
Appomattox County is located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was created in 1845 when Buckingham, Prince Edward, Charlotte and Campbell Counties each surrendered portions of their territory for a new county. The area was named after the Appamatuck people who were shown on Captain John Smith's map of 1612 and the name eventually evolved into "Appomattox". Appomattox is the County seat.

Arlington Description
Arlington County is a jurisdiction of 25.8 square miles located across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. The County was originally part of the ten-mile square surveyed in 1791 for the Nation’s Capital. From 1801 to 1847, what are now Arlington and a portion of the City of Alexandria were known as Alexandria County, District of Columbia. In 1847, at the request of the local residents, Congress retroceded Alexandria County to the Commonwealth of Virginia. The name “Arlington” was chosen because General Robert E. Lee’s home of that name is located in the County, on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. Arlington is the County seat.

Augusta Description
Augusta County is located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and was created on November 1, 1738 when Orange County was divided. Augusta County was named for the Princess of Wales. Staunton is the County seat.

Bath Description
Bath County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. It was established in 1745 and named for England's resort City of Bath because it, too, is the home to a number of warm mineral springs. The County Seat is located in Warm Springs, Virginia.

Bedford Description
Bedford County is located in the Western Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed in 1754 from Lunenburg County in honor of John Russell, The Fourth Duke of Bedford. Bedford is the County seat.

Bland Description
Bland County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. Bland County was established by an Act passed by the State General Assembly on March 30, 1861 and was named after Richard Bland, a leader of Colonial Virginia. Bland is the County seat.

Botetourt Description
Botetourt County is located in the Western portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was created by an Act of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1769. It is named after popular governor Lord Botetourt, who was regarded as the best of Governors and best of men. Fincastle is the County seat.

Craig Description
Craig County is located in the Western portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. Craig was formed in 1851 from parts of six neighboring counties. Craig County was named for Robert Craig, a 19th-century Virginia congressman. New Castle is the County seat.

Franklin Description
Franklin County lies in the Western Piedmont of the Commonwealth of Virginia was formed in 1786 from parts of Bedford and Henry Counties by an act of the General Assembly. It was named for Benjamin Franklin, the governor of Pennsylvania, where many settlers originated. Rocky Mount is the County seat.

Giles Description
Giles County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with West Virginia. Giles County was formed on May 1, 1806 by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly that was passed on January 16, 1806. It was named for William Branch Giles, United States Senator from Virginia at that time. It was formed from the Counties of Montgomery, Monroe (now in West Virginia), and Tazewell. Pearisburg is the County seat.

Gloucester Description
Gloucester County is located in the Eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed from York County (one of the original Virginia Colony counties) in 1651. It was named for Henry, Duke of Gloucester, third son of Charles I. Gloucester Courthouse is the County seat.

Goochland Description
Goochland County is located in the Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia just west of the City of Richmond. It was formed from Henrico County in 1727, Henrico being one of the original eight shires in which the Colony was divided after being established on Jamestown Island. Goochland was the first subdivision of Henrico's "Shire" lines of 1634. The new County of Goochland was named for its creator, the Colonial Governor William Gooch. Goochland is the County seat.

Grayson Description
Grayson County is located in the Southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia sharing a border with North Carolina. Grayson County was named for William Grayson one of Virginia’s first two senators, and was formed in 1793. Independence is the County seat.

Greene Description
Greene County is located in the Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed from Orange County in 1838 by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly. The new county was given the name of Greene in honor of Nathanael Greene who gained fame in the Revolutionary War as second-in-command to General George Washington. Stanardsville is the County seat in honor of William Stanard who developed a large portion of Green County in the 1700s.

Hanover Description
Hanover County is located in the Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia just north of the City of Richmond. Hanover County was officially formed on November 26, 1720 from the area of New Kent County called St. Paul's Parish and was named for King George I of England, who was Elector of Hannover in Germany when he came to the throne. Hanover is the County seat.

Henrico Description
Henrico County is located in the Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia, bordering the City of Richmond on the west. In 1634, Virginia was divided into eight shires, or counties, one being Henrico and it was named for Henry, Prince of Wales, the eldest son of King James I of England. Henrico is the County seat

Louisa Description
Louisa County is located in the Central portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed in 1742 from Hanover County in honor of Princess Louisa, daughter of King George II and Queen Caroline of England. Louisa is the County seat.

Pittsylvania Description
Pittsylvania is the largest county (per square miles) in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is situated in the South-Central Piedmont plateau region. The County was formed in 1767 from Halifax County and was named for William Pitt, First Earl of Chatham, a British Statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Chatham is the County seat.

Pulaski Description
Pulaski County is located in the Southwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is known as the heart of the New River Valley. The County was created from portions of Montgomery and Wythe Counties on March 30, 1839 and was named in honor of Count Casimir Pulaski, an exiled Polish nobleman, who came to the colonies in 1777 to join Washington's army. Pulaski is the County seat.

Powhatan Description
Originally settled by French Huguenots in the early 1700s, Powhatan County was created by The Virginia General Assembly in 1777. The County was named in honor of the Indian Chief Powhatan, father of Pocahontas. Powhatan County is located in the Central portion of the state, 20 miles west of Richmond, the Commonwealth's capital. Powhatan is the County seat.

Rappahannock Description
Rappahannock County was formed from Culpeper County by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1833 and named for the Rappahannock River. It is located in the Piedmont Region of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Washington is the County seat.

Roanoke Description
Roanoke County is located in the Western portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and in 1838 the County was carved out of Botetourt and Montgomery Counties. Roanoke County's name comes from the Indian word "Rawrenock," which means wampum. These were white shell beads worn by native Americans. Salem is the County seat.

Russell Description
Russell County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed in 1786 from Washington County. It was named for Colonel William Russell who fought with Daniel Boone in 1774 when he was only 16 to protect early settlements. Lebanon is the County seat.

Scott Description
Scott County is located along the Tennessee border in the corner of Southwest Virginia and was formed from Washington, Lee, and Russell Counties. It was established by an Act of the Virginia General Assemby on November 24, 1814 and named after General Winfield Scott. Gate City is the County seat.

Shenandoah Description
Shenandoah County is located in the Northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and shares a border with West Virginia. Shenandoah County was formed in 1772 from Spotsylvania and Orange Counties and was initially named Dunmore County. Woodstock is the County seat.

Spotsylvania Description
Spotsylvania County was formed in 1721 and was named for Alexander Spotswood, lieutenant governor of the Virginia colony from 1710 to 1720. Spotsylvania is located midway between the Nation’s capital of Washington, DC and the Commonwealth’s capital of Richmond. Spotsylvania is the County seat.

Stafford Description
Stafford County was formed from parts of Alexandria (City), Arlington County, Fairfax County, Prince William County and Westmoreland County on September 27, 1664. It was named after Staffordshire England. Stafford County is located in the Northern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and is included in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. Stafford is the County seat.

Surry Description
Surry County was formed in 1652 from a portion of James City County and was named for the English County of Surrey. Surry County is located across the James River from the historic sites of Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown and is centrally located between the Commonwealth's capital of Richmond and the Hampton Roads. Surry is the County seat.

Sussex Description
Sussex County was formed from Surry County by an Act of the Virginia Legislature in 1754 and is located in the Eastern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was named after Sussex County, England and Sussex is the County seat.

Tazewell Description
Tazewell County was formed from Russell and Wythe Counties in 1799 and named in honor of Senator Henry Tazewell who made the motion to create the county. Tazewell lies in the Southwest Appalachian area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Tazewell is the County seat.

Warren Description
Warren County was formed from parts of Frederick and Shenandoah Counties on March 9, 1836 by the Virginia General Assembly and was named after Dr. Joseph Warren, one of the earliest Founding Fathers of America. It is located in the Northern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and included in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. Front Royal is the County seat.

Washington Description
Washington County was formed when the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in December, 1776 which abolished Fincastle County and created three new counties - one of which was Washington. The county was named in honor of General George Washington who was commander in chief of the American Revolutionary forces at the time and lies in the Southwest Appalachian area of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Abingdon is the County seat.

Westmoreland Description
Westmoreland County is located on the Northern Neck Peninsula of the Eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was taken from the older colony of Northumberland by an Act of the "Grand Assembly", July 1653. From Westmoreland County came leaders such as George Washington, James Monroe, Richard Henry Lee and Robert E. Lee. Montross is the County seat.

Wise Description
Wise County is located in the Southwest Appalachian area of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was created on February 16, 1856 by an Act of the Virginia Legislature. The County was named after Henry A. Wise, Virginia Governor at the time, and Wise is the County seat.

Wythe Description
Wythe County is located in the Southwest portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed from Montgomery County in 1790. Wythe County was named for George Wythe, a noted lawyer of Eastern Virginia, who was among the first Virginians to sign the Declaration of Independence and he designed the Virginia Seal. Wytheville is the County seat.

York Description
York County is located in the Eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia and was formed in 1634 as one of the eight original counties of the Virginia Colony. Named after the York River on which it lies, Yorktown is the County seat.