How Justice Grew: Virginia Counties, An Abstract of Their FormationHiden, Martha W. (Martha Woodroof)
History
How Justice Grew: Virginia Counties, An Abstract of Their Formation
Hiden, Martha W. (Martha Woodroof)
Counties -- Virginia -- History; Virginia -- History; Virginia -- History, Local
The next county was, in the main, a rearrangement of already settled
territory bearing always in mind that easy access to justice was the
purpose of every division. The new county, Botetourt, was formed from
Augusta in 1770 and lay on the south side of a dividing "line beginning
at the Blue Ridge, running north fifty-five degrees west, to the
confluence of Mary's creek, or the south river, with the north branch of
James River, thence up the same to the mouth of Carr's creek, thence up
the said creek to the mountain, thence north, fifty-five degrees west as
far as the courts of the two counties shall extend it." The phrase to
note in the above is: "as far as the courts of the two counties shall
extend it," in other words, there was no limit to the western boundary.
The name Botetourt was for Norborne Berkeley, Lord de Botetourt,
Governor of Virginia 1768-1770. He died in Williamsburg in October 1770,
lamented and beloved for his interest in the colony and the College of
William and Mary. The House of Burgesses voted a sum of money to have a
statue of him made in London to stand in the old Capitol building. The
statue still exists, one of the most treasured possessions of the
College of William and Mary, and adorns its campus.
FREDERICK SUBDIVIDED
Two years later, the county of Frederick had a division on both its
eastern and northern ends. It was enacted by the Assembly that the
territory of Frederick be divided into three distinct counties: "on the
north by a line beginning in the line that divides the counties of
Frederick and Loudoun one mile and an half northward of the corner in
Williams' gap that at present divides the parishes of Frederick and
Norborne thence westward with a line exactly parallel to the line that
now divides the said parishes of Frederick and Norborne till it
intersects the line of Hampshire county; thence with the Hampshire line
to the corner dividing the parishes of Frederick and Beckford; thence
with the lines dividing the said parishes of Frederick and Beckford east
southeast to the south eastwardly bank of Cedar creek, thence binding on
the same to its confluence with the river Shenandoah; thence across the
said river east to the easterly bank of the same; thence down the said
river and binding on the same to the mouth of Passage creek; and thence
with a right line to the line of Culpeper, at the intersection of the
road leading through Chester's gap; thence with the Culpeper, Fauquier,
and Loudoun lines to the beginning." This area, so described, was to
remain Frederick County. "All that part of the county which lies between
the first mentioned line running from the said beginning in the line of
Loudoun county and Potomac river shall be ... known by the name of
Berkeley county." The remainder of what had been Frederick now became
Dunmore County. There had been three parishes in Frederick; of these
Frederick remained in the county, while Norborne appropriately became
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