Augusta County, Virginia

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Virginia Counties | Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta County

Augusta County was formed from Orange County on 1 August 1738, although the county government was not organized until 1745. It was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha-Alternburg, Princess of Wales and mother of the future King George III of the United Kingdom.

Portions of the county were subsequently broken out into Botetourt County, Rockbridge County, Hampshire County, and Bath County.

Much of Augusta County was in Appalachia when it was formed in 1738; today's Augusta County is not. All four counties listed are in Appalachia - three still in Virginia and Hampshire County in West Virginia.^[1]

Its county seat is the enclaved independent city of Staunton, although most of the administrative services have offices in neighboring Verona.

Adjacent Counties

Northwest Highland County		North Pendleton County, West Virginia	Northeast Rockingham County
West Bath County		Augusta County, Virginia		East Albemarle County
Southwest Rockbridge County		South	Southeast Nelson County

County Formation

Originally, Augusta County was a vast territory with an indefinite western boundary. Most of what is now West Virginia as well as all of Kentucky were formed from it, and it also claimed the territory north and west of those areas, theoretically all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

In order to keep track of early settlers that lived in the Augusta County, Virginia area, one must take into account the areas within and adjacent to Augusta County's original boundaries that later formed other Virginia Counties (up to 1799):

• Orange (parent County of Augusta) - formed in 1734 from part of Spotsylvania
• Augusta - formed in 1738 from Orange (records kept in Orange until 1745)
• Frederick - formed in 1743 from Orange (many Augusta families lived in areas bordering Frederick and records are frequently found in both Counties)
• Hampshire - formed in 1754 from parts of Frederick and Augusta, became part of West Virginia in 1863
• Botetourt - formed in 1770 from Augusta
• Berkeley - formed in 1772 from northern third of Frederick, became part of West Virginia in 1863
• Fincastle - formed in 1772 from part of Botetourt, became Montgomery County in 1777
• Shenandoah - formed in 1772 (then called Dunmore) from part of Frederick, later re-named in 1778 to Shenandoah
• Montgomery County - replaced Fincastle County in 1777
• Rockbridge - formed in 1777 from part of Augusta and Botetourt
• Greenbrier - formed in 1778 from part of Botetourt and Montgomery, became part of West Virginia in 1863
• Rockingham - formed in 1778 from part of Augusta
• Hardy - formed in 1786 from part of Hampshire, became part of West Virginia in 1863
• Pendleton - formed in 1787/88 from parts of Augusta, Hardy and Rockingham, became part of West Virginia in 1863
• Bath - formed in 1790 from parts of Augusta, Botetourt and Greenbrier
• Monroe - formed in 1799 from part of Greenbrier, became part of West Virginia in 1863

People

As of 2012 the population was 73,815.

Sources

1. ↑ As listed by the Appalachian Regional Commission (here) as of 30 June 2022.

See also:

• Augusta County on Family Search
• 1763–1800 — Early Virginia marriages. Pt. I; by William Armstrong Crozier (1864-1913); Publication date 1907; Publisher New York: Genealogical Association. (See Augusta county starting on page 85.)
• History of Augusta County, UPENN Online Books.
• Roadside Thoughts. Gazeteer for Communities of Virginia.
• 1745 Augusta Virginia Beginning (Notes on the history and records of the county.)
• Augusta County, Virginia on Wikipedia
• County Website
• An animated map shows the formation of Virginia and West Virginia counties from 1617 to 1995.
• Extracts from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800
• Gleanings of Virginia History pub. 1903 incl. several Augusta County family genealogies.