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
In 1833, Rappahannock also a Virginia county, was established. This was
taken from Culpeper County and named for the river which traverses it,
and which, likely took its name from the Indian tribe living along its
banks. The settlers first called this river Pembroke in honor of William
Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke and brother-in-law of the famous Sir
Philip Sydney. The Earl was a member of the Virginia Company of London
and invested four hundred pounds sterling in the enterprise.
The bounds of Rappahannock County were as follows: "Beginning at the
corner of Madison and Culpeper counties upon the top of the Blue Ridge
of mountains and running thence with the line of said counties to the
point where it is intersected by Hugh's river above the junction of
Hugh's and Hazel's rivers; thence with Hugh's river to the junction of
the aforesaid rivers; thence to a bend in the river near a point called
the Giant's castle; thence to Horner's mill upon the Fauquier and
Culpeper line; thence with said line to the corner of the aforesaid
counties upon the top of the Blue Ridge, thence with said mountain to
the beginning."
The next county established in this continuous effort to make due
processes of law and order accessible to all lies now in the northern
tip of West Virginia. It is called Marshall, honoring John Marshall who
died in 1835, the year of the county's creation. John Marshall's career
and achievements are too well known to be recounted here; suffice it to
say that in his lengthy tenure as its Chief Justice he gave plan,
directive and purpose to the Supreme Court of the United States.
The bounds of Marshall County were set forth as being "all that part of
the lower end of the county of Ohio lying south of a line beginning on
the Ohio river at a stone to be fixed on the bank of said river, one
half mile above the mouth of Buggs' run; thence a direct line to the
northern boundary of the town of West Union and thence continuing the
same course to the Pennsylvania line."
In 1836 Braxton, also at present a West Virginia county, was created
from portions of Lewis and Nicholas counties. Its name honors Carter
Braxton, a Signer of the Declaration of Independence, the last one of
the Virginia signers to receive this distinction.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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