Its bounds noted in great detail are as follows: "beginning at Osborn's gap in Cumberland mountain on the state line; thence a straight line to the top of George's Fork mountain at a point where the road crosses said mountain; thence with the top of the mountain to the head of Lick branch, a tributary of Crane's nest creek; thence a straight line to the mouth of Birchfield creek; thence up Crane's Nest creek to the mouth of Lion's fork; thence up said creek to the forks of said branch; thence up the Fork spur to the top of Crane's Nest bridge; thence a straight line to Sandy Ridge meeting-house in the county of Wise on the top of Sandy Ridge; thence with the top of Sandy ridge to the James Porter farm at the head of Nancy's ridge; thence a straight line to Trammel gap on Sandy ridge, thence with the top of Sandy ridge with a line of Russell county to the James P. Kiser farm, thence a straight line to Henry Kiser's farm on the top of Sandy ridge at the Russell county line; thence with the Russell county line to James Rasnaker's farm, including said farm in the new county; thence down the Cany ridge to the mouth of Cany creek; thence down Indian creek to its mouth; including J. H. Duly's farm; thence down Russell's fork of Sandy river to the mouth of Panpan creek, including Andrew Owen's dwelling house; thence a straight line to the mouth of Greenbrier creek, a tributary of Prater creek; thence a straight line to the Big meadow gap; thence down a branch to Gressy creek; thence down said creek to the mouth of Russell's fork of Sandy river; thence down said river to the state line of Virginia and Kentucky; thence with the state line to the beginning." The formation of Dickenson County in 1880 completed all the local organizations authorized by the Virginia Assembly from 1634 up to the present, though in many counties minor changes in bounds have been enacted from time to time. We have seen the little feeble settlements along the James River extend like a rising tide now east, now south, now north and finally with great impetus to the west. Each settlement as it was established proceeded to put into effect the concepts of law and order as practiced at Jamestown, and handed down from father to son. The principle of representative constitutional government as evidenced in the first General Assembly of 1619 may be called the sacred fire each settlement took with it and carefully tended. It was the one thing all shared whether they lived by the James River or high on the Blue Ridge. A settlement, a county, a state, each one must have law, order, ready justice, representative government. That is the theme underlying the development of Virginia which we have traced step by step. It is the theme underlying the development of our nation. Every American is a debtor to Jamestown for his heritage of representative constitutional government. BIBLIOGRAPHY _Acts of the General Assembly of Virginia_, 1808-1880.