USA > Virginia > Virginia county names : two hundred and seventy years of Virginia history > Part 5
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Tazewell county was formed in 1799 and named in honor of Senator Henry Tazewell, of Virginia, who died in that year. In 1775, at the age of twenty-two, Tazewell became a member of the Virginia legislature, and served until 1785. He was one of the com- mittee6 of 1776 that drew up the Declaration of Rights and adopted the State constitution, and from 1785 till 1794 he held honorable
"Not to be confounded with William J. Grayson, after whom a Kentucky county is named.
"See Vol. i. p. 409, Henry's "Life of Henry," for a list of the thirty-two men that composed this committee.
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positions in the Virginia judiciary. In the latter year he was chosen to the United States Senate, and held the office till his death.
Even more distinguished than Henry Taze- well was his son, Littleton Waller Tazewell, who was a member of the State legislature, a United States Senator, and governor of Vir- ginia for the two years ending April 30, 1836.
Wythe county, situated among the moun- tains of southwest Virginia, is separated from West Virginia by Bland county, and from North Carolina by Grayson. Like its eastern neighbors, Pulaski and Carroll, Wythe county is drained entirely by New River waters.
Grayson county is included with Floyd and Carroll between two forks of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the three are known as the Blue Ridge counties. These counties are among the most elevated in the State; and Mount Balsam in Grayson county, with an elevation of 5700 feet above sea level, is said to be the highest peak in Virginia.
Tazewell county, which adjoins West Vir- ginia, is famous for its timber, minerals, and beautiful scenery. The county is drained chiefly by Clinch River waters, which flow southwest, and by tributaries of the New
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After Seven Virginians
River, which flows northeast; "Burke's Gar- den" is a beautiful and fertile valley of about thirty thousand acres in the eastern part of the county. It is surrounded on all except its north side by lofty mountains; from that side flow the headwaters of Wolf Creek, a large tributary of the New River.
Scott and Smyth counties are named in honor of two Virginia generals, Winfield Scott and Alexander Smyth.
General Winfield Scott was born in Peters- burg, Va., June 13, 1786, and lived to see the end of the great Civil War of 1861-65. Scott took an active and honorable part in the War of 1812 against Great Britain, and won still greater fame by his victories in the Mexican War; the infirmities of old age prevented him from being anything more than an interested spectator in the war between the States.
He entered the army at the age of twenty- two. Early in 1814 he began a vigorous and systematic training of the troops, and in a few months' time he had a well-drilled army with which to attack the British in Canada. On July 5 of that year he obtained an important victory in Canada, at the Battle of Chippewa, and twenty days afterwards he fought the memorable drawn battle of Lundy's Lane.
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This engagement, sometimes called Bridge- water, began at five o'clock in the afternoon and raged until midnight. One man out of every five engaged was either killed or wounded. The scene of the encounter was made more impressive because the din of con- flict was mingled with the sullen roar of Niagara Falls. These two battles greatly encouraged the Americans, and established the fame of the brave American commander, who was soon offered the position of Secre- tary of War by President Madison, Scott, however, declining the President's offer. The naming of Scott county in 1814 was a well-deserved tribute to the gallant Vir- ginian at the hands of his native State. His signal victories in the Mexican War earned him the Whig nomination for the Presidency in 1852, but he was defeated by Franklin Pierce, the Democratic nominee. Scott held the chief command of the Ameri- can army for twenty years, but was forced to resign his position in 1861 on account of fail- ing health.
Like Grayson and Tazewell, Smyth county was named in honor of a prominent Virginia statesman whose career had been recently ended by death. General Alexander Smyth
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After Seven Virginians
was of Irish birth, but he early removed to Virginia, where he entered upon the practice of law. For many years he was a member of the State legislature, and in 1808 Jefferson appointed him a colonel of a United States regiment in the Southwest. He was after- wards made general, was sent against Canada in 1812, but failed and was removed from the army. He seems, however, to have retained public esteem, for, after serving again as a State legislator, he was elected to Congress in 1817, where he served almost continuously until his death, in 1830. Smyth county was named in the following year for the citizen, soldier, and statesman who had so long identi- fied himself with the interests of his adopted State.
Scott county contains a wonderful natural tunnel that extends for 150 yards through one of the spurs of Powell's Mountain.7 In height and width the tunnel varies greatly, 100 feet being probably the maximum height, and 150 feet the greatest width. The Vir- ginia and Southwestern Railroad runs trains through the tunnel, while outside, overhead, a
"Whitehead's "Virginia Handbook," p. 53, quoting the Bristol News, calls the tunnel 300 yards long; but see "Martin's Virginia Gazetteer," pp. 442-444.
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wagon road crosses it. Stock Creek, a tribu- tary of the Clinch River, flows through the tunnel. Scott county lies between the counties of Lee and Washington, on the Tennessee line and is watered by the Clinch and Holston rivers.
Smyth is situated north of Washington and Grayson, and is divided by Holston River waters and the mountain into three distinct sections, which differ greatly in natural feat- ures and products.
Alexandria county doubtless derives its name from its chief city. The city itself was originally known as Belhaven, but the name was changed to Alexandria in honor of the Alexander family, of whom the oldest was John Alexander, a citizen of the place. John's son, William Thornton Alexander, was a prominent business man of a hundred years ago. The city was incorporated in 1779. The present county was for many years a part of the District of Columbia, but was re-ceded to Virginia in 1847. Alexandria is the smallest of Virginia counties, having a land surface of only thirty-two square miles. It is surrounded on all except its north side by Fairfax county, where the Potomac River forms its boundary.
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After Seven Virginians
Dickenson county is named in honor of Wil- liam J. Dickenson, a delegate from Russell to the Virginia Assembly at the time of Dick- enson's formation in 1880. After the Assem- bly had voted that the name of the new county should be Dickenson, the Senate substituted Stonewall for Dickenson-a tribute to Gen- eral "Stonewall" Jackson. Virginia had already named a county Jackson,8 after Presi- dent Andrew Jackson, hence the name "Stone- wall" would be more unmistakably a tribute to Thomas J. Jackson than the name Jackson itself. The Assembly, however, rejected the Senate's amendment, and the name Dickenson was adopted.
The Dickenson family has always been at the front in public affairs in that narrow strip of Virginia lying south of West Virginia and east of Kentucky. William J. Dickenson's grandfather, Henry Dickenson, located in that section in 1770, and in 1785 helped to organize Russell county, serving as Russell's first county clerk. William's father, Major James Dickenson, was several times sheriff of Russell and for two terms served in the Vir- ginia Assembly. William J. Dickenson him- · self, after studying law and while County At-
8Now a part of West Virginia.
9
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Virginia County Names
torney for Russell, was elected to the Assem- bly, serving two terms before the Civil War and six terms after it, retiring from the As- sembly in 1882. Though a strong Union man and bitterly opposed to secession, Dicken- son during the war remained quietly on his farm, taking care of his aged parents. At the age of eighty he died at Castlewood, Rus- sell county, April 5, 1907, at the home of his nephew, Hon. R. Walter Dickenson, now State Senator from Russell, Dickenson, Taze- well, and Buchanan counties. He never mar- ried. His youngest brother, Thomas T. Dickenson, is still living at Castlewood.
Dickenson county, which is drained by the Russell Fork of the Big Sandy River, is separated from Kentucky by the Cumberland Mountains. Dickenson is the youngest county in the State by nineteen years, Bland being next youngest. Like other youths, however, Dickenson has great possibilities, for the letter-head of the county clerk informs us that Dickenson county is the richest unde- veloped county in coal and mineral and hard- wood in the South.
PART V
VIRGINIA GOVERNORS AND UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS
COUNTIES NAMED AFTER THIRTEEN VIRGINIA GOVERNORS
CULPEPER, . Organized 1748
SPOTSYLVANIA, Organized 1720
GOOCHLAND,
Organized
1727
DINWIDDIE,
· Organized 1752
FAUQUIER,
Organized
1759
BOTETOURT,
Organized 1769
HENRY,
. Organized 1776
PATRICK,
Organized
1790
NELSON,
Organized 1807
LEE,
Organized 1792
PAGE,
. Organized
1831
GILES,
Organized
1806
FLOYD,
Organized
1831
WISE,
Organized 1855
CHAPTER XI
COUNTIES NAMED AFTER THIRTEEN VIRGINIA GOVERNORS1
In fourteen of her counties Virginia re- produces the names of her governors. Bote- tourt, Culpeper, Dinwiddie, Fauquier, Gooch- land, and Spotsylvania recall colonial times; while Floyd, Giles, Patrick and Henry, Lee, Nelson, Page, and Wise date after the Declaration of Independence.
With the exception of Botetourt, these colonial counties lie east of Virginia's center. Fauquier and Culpeper are in the north near the headwaters of the Rappahannock. Spot- sylvania, to the southeast of these two counties, contains the sources of the Mat, the Ta, the Po and the Ny rivers, which unite in Caroline county to form the Mattapony River. Din- widdie is in southeastern Virginia, and is drained by the Nottoway and Appomattox rivers. Goochland is on the north bank of the James between Fluvanna and Henrico.
1Fourteen counties, as two are named after Patrick Henry.
(135)
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Virginia County Names
Botetourt lies on both sides of the James, wedged in between the Alleghany and Blue Ridge Mountains.
Lord Culpeper, who served from 1680 to 1683 as the governor of Virginia, is chiefly notable for the immense tracts of land he owned. In 1673 Charles II of England granted Virginia for a period of thirty-one years to Culpeper and the Earl of Arlington. Two years afterward Culpeper bought the rights to the lands lying between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers, and was appointed governor of Virginia for life. He did not come to Virginia to assume his office until 1680. Though a shrewd and capable gov- ernor, Culpeper was convicted of bribery at the end of three years, and was thereupon deposed from office. Culpeper county was named after Governor Culpeper in 1748, a few years after his grandson, Lord Fairfax,2 had made his home on the vast estate inherited from his grandfather.
Of the six colonial governors who gave their names to Virginia counties, Alexander Spotswood,3 with his spacious and hospitable country home, is probably the most interesting
2Pp. 69-70 for Fairfax.
"Spelled with one t, and so the county should be spelled.
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After Thirteen Virginia Governors
character. While governor he made an explor- ing tour through the country from Williams- burg across the mountains to the Shenandoah River. The party had a jolly time, and were gone six weeks. On their return each tourist received a golden horseshoe as a souvenir of the trip, and thus was instituted the order of the "Knights of the Horse-Shoe." A horse- shoe was chosen as the badge of knighthood because the horses, which at home needed no shoes, had to be shod in order to be able to travel over the rocky regions of the moun- tains. In 1724 Governor Spotswood had above the falls on the Rappahannock River an iron furnace, considered by himself as the first regular iron furnace in the United States.4
Sir William Gooch had already won fame as a soldier in Europe when he was chosen governor of the Old Dominion in 1727. Two counties were established that year, and one of them was named Goochland in honor of the new governor. Gooch greatly endeared himself to the people by his wise administra- tion as governor, and the Virginians bade him
4But there was a furnace for smelting iron ore at Fall- ing Creek, in Chesterfield county, in 1619. It was de- stroyed and the people killed in the Indian massacre of March 22, 1622. There is a pig of the iron with the the furnace mark in the State Library in Richmond.
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Virginia County Names
a tearful farewell when he sailed for his English home after twenty years of service in the colony. The flourishing city of Staunton in Augusta county is named after Lady Staun- ton, the beloved wife of Governor Gooch.
Robert Dinwiddie became governor of Vir- ginia in 1752, and a county was named after him the same year. Dinwiddie's term lasted six years. Though neither a good nor a popular executive, Dinwiddie showed discern- ment by appointing young Washington to im- portant commands. The latter's trip beyond Fort Duquesne was undertaken at Dinwid- die's instigation.
The Virginians again complimented their chief executive in 1759 when they named Fauquier county in honor of Francis Fauquier, who had lately become governor. Fauquier was a broad-minded scholar of culture and ability, and his society was greatly enjoyed by the youthful but appreciative Jefferson. Though Fauquier was watchful of the in- terest of the home government in England, he had also the welfare of the colonists at heart. His term was ended by death in 1768.
Lord Norberne Berkeley, Baron of Bote- tourt, became governor of Virginia in 1768, and held the office until his death in October,
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After Thirteen Virginia Governors
I770. Though the opposition between the Virginians and the mother country caused Bo- tetourt to use strongly repressive measures to- wards Virginia, the baron was a true friend to the colony. He was much mourned at his death and the legislature honored his memory with a marble statue, which is still standing at William and Mary College. The beauti- ful county in western Virginia received his name the year before his death. Fincastle, the county seat of Botetourt, takes its name from Lord Botetourt's estate in England. Fincastle county was formed in 1772, but ceased to exist four years later, when it was divided into Washington, Montgomery, and Kentucky counties-the last named after- wards became Kentucky State.
Berkeley county, now of West Virginia, was organized as a Virginia county in 1772. The name was nearly certainly derived from the late Governor Botetourt, Lord Norberne Berkeley, though I have no authority to cite in support of this theory. On the other hand, "Appleton's American Cyclopedia" says that the county was named after "Governor Berke- ley." This must mean Sir William Berkeley, governor of Virginia for twenty years or more in the seventeenth century. William
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Virginia County Names
Berkeley is the only person that was generally known as Governor Berkeley; Norberne Berkeley is known in history as Governor Botetourt.
Several considerations seem to throw doubt on the cyclopedia's statement. The latter part of Berkeley's administration was marked by great cruelty to the followers of Nathaniel Bacon, and Berkeley was recalled to England at the request of the Virginians. While the governor had been very popular before Bacon's rebellion, was it likely that Virginia should wait ninety-five years after Berkeley's death and then give a county name for a governor that had been hateful to many in the colony for his acts of tyranny ?
In the Virginians' attitude towards Lord Botetourt it seems more probable that Berke- ley county should have been named after the baron's ordinary name, Norberne Berkeley. Fincastle county was named after his English estate the same year Berkeley county was or- ganized, and Botetourt county had been named after the baron himself only three years before thus proving the affection of Virginians for him. But, even if Berkeley county is named after Sir William Berkeley, the naming was probably done to reflect honor
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After Thirteen Virginia Governors
on Lord Norberne Berkeley, for Norberne was a direct descendant of John, elder brother of William.
Culpeper, Orange, and Fauquier organized a famous regiment of "Minute Men"" at the beginning of the Revolution. The Culpeper corps carried an aggressive-looking flag, which had depicted on it a rattlesnake with twelve rattles-the head for Virginia, a rattle for each of the other colonies. On the flag were the words: "THE CULPEPER MINUTE MEN. LIBERTY OR DEATH. DON'T TREAD ON ME." The Culpeper men wore green hunt- ing shirts and were otherwise attired so as to present a savage and formidable appearance.
Fauquier contains some of the best farm- ing lands in the State. Botetourt is rich in minerals and well adapted to stock raising. Dinwiddie contains Petersburg, the third city of the State in size.
The eight counties that Virginia has named after her governors since she cast off alle- giance to England are west of the State's center, and all of them are more or less moun- tainous. Patrick and Henry are on the North Carolina border, and are watered by Carolina
"Howe's "Virginia," pp. 237-8.
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Virginia County Names
streams. Lee, the most western county of the State, separates Kentucky from Tennessee, and is drained by Russell's River, whose waters reach the Tennessee. Wise is north of Lee, and also borders on Kentucky; it is drained by Kentucky streams and by Clinch River waters. Giles, bordering on West Virginia, is bisected by the New River. Floyd is watered chiefly by the Little River, a tributary of the New, and lies northwest of Patrick county. Nelson, with its west-central position, is beautified on the northwest by the Blue Ridge Mountains, on the southwest by the historic James. Page, in the Shenandoah Valley, is noted for the wonderful Luray Caverns.
Of Virginia's governors none deserve a higher rank than Patrick Henry. His long life almost coincides with that of Washing- ton-he was born four years after, and died six months before, the President. Both were Virginia born, and both spent their last days in their native State.
It would be hard to overestimate the value of Henry's services to his State and his coun- try. Before the Revolution his eloquence did much to secure the repeal of the odious Stamp Act, and when the war was on hand
143
After Thirteen Virginia Governors
he kindled a fiery zeal for independence in the hearts of his countrymen. Henry was instrumental in getting the Virginia delegates to propose independence in the national Con- gress of 1776,6 and he helped to secure the guarantee of religious freedom in the State7 and the national8 constitutions.
After perfecting for Virginia the first writ- ten State constitution in America, the Wil- liamsburg State convention ended its work of June 29, 1776, by electing Patrick Henry the first governor of the new State,9 and the legislature of that year honored Henry by giving his name to the large county that had just been formed from Pittsylvania. After Henry had retired from the Virginia legis- lature of 1790, a new county was formed from a part of Henry county, and the ex- legislator was again honored in Patrick county's name. Henry was unanimously re- elected governor four times, and in 1796, six years after his retirement to private life, was again chosen chief executive of Virginia, but
6See Henry's "Henry," Vol. i. pp. 332-34.
"Ibid., Vol. i. pp. 431-32.
8Ibid., Vol. ii. pp. 338-89.
"Virginia was a colony, subject to Great Britain, before she declared her independence,
144
Virginia County Names
declined to serve on account of the infirmities of age. The Virginia governors were then elected by the State legislature for a term of one year, and were not eligible for more than three successive terms. No other governor of Virginia has served as many terms as Henry,1º nor does any other governor of the State have more than one county named in his honor. Henry was twice offered a United States senatorship, and also important of- fices under President Washington, but he de- clined them all.
Nelson county was formed in 1807, and was named after General Thomas Nelson, who was Virginia's third governor after she had become a State. While Nelson was of greater service as a legislator than as a soldier, he took honorable rank in both capacities. As a member of the Virginia legislature he helped to frame the State constitution, and afterwards signed the Declaration of Inde- pendence. In 1776 he was Henry's chief competitor for the governorship, and in June, 178I, he succeeded Jefferson in that office. At the siege of Yorktown, where he com- manded the Virginia militia, Governor Nel- son manifested a noble example of unselfish
10Unless it was Governor Botetourt; see pp. 139-141,
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After Thirteen Virginia Governors
patriotism. His house was the largest and best in Yorktown, and thinking, therefore, that General Cornwallis probably had his head- quarters there, Nelson had the building bom- barded,11 offering a reward to the cannoneer who should put the first ball through it. Nelson's term of governorship lasted not quite six months, as failing health forced him to resign, and the remaining eight years of his life were spent in retirement. He died in York, the county that had given him birth fifty-one years before. The statues of six honored sons of Virginia stand around the lifelike equestrian statue of Washington in the capitol square of Richmond. These statues commemorate the lives and services of General Andrew Lewis, so distinguished in Indian warfare; George Mason; Chief Jus- tice Marshall; Patrick Henry; President Jefferson, and Governor Thomas Nelson.
Lee county received its name in 1792, from General Henry Lee, of Westmoreland, who had just become governor of Virginia. Vir- ginia had special reason at that time to honor the name of Lee, as Richard Henry Lee had just retired to private life after thirty-six
11The Governor's house was struck by the shot, but is still standing and has people living in it.
IO
146
Virginia County Names
years of arduous public service, while Francis Lightfoot Lee and Arthur Lee, brothers of Richard Henry Lee, had also endeared them- selves to the State by careers of usefulness and honor.
General Henry Lee, second cousin to Rich- ard Henry, rendered valuable service in the Revolution by his brave and well-trained "legion" of cavalry. Lee's "Memoirs of '76" tells of Revolutionary scenes. Lee was a member of the congress that adopted the Constitution of the United States, and he urged its ratification by Virginia in 1788. He became governor of the State December I, 1791, and held the office three years.
Three Lees have been Virginia's chief ex- ecutive: Thomas Lee,12 President of the Colonial Council, was governor from Septem- ber, 1749, to February, 1751; General Henry Lee, December 1, 1791, to December I, 1794; and General Fitzhugh Lee, nephew of General R. E. Lee and grandson of Governor Henry Lee, was governor for the four years ending December 31, 1889.
At the death of Washington Congress ap- pointed Henry Lee to prepare a eulogy on the great American. Lee's speech contained
12See p. 92 for Thomas Lee,
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After Thirteen Virginia Governors
the now famous words, "First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- men."
Page county was named in 1831 in honor of Governor John Page, whose term of office expired twenty-six years before the county was organized.
John Page, of Gloucester county, Virginia, attended William and Mary College with Thomas Jefferson, and the two students formed there a lasting friendship for each other. During the Revolution Page proved of great service to the State as lieutenant-gov- ernor and as a member of the committee of public safety. He was in Congress during Washington's entire Presidency, and was governor of Virginia for the three years end- ing in 1805. When Page retired from the governorship, his old friend, President Jef- ferson, appointed him to a public office, which he held until his death in 1808.
Those who have read the delightful stories of Thomas Nelson Page will, perhaps, take a greater interest in Governor John Page when they learn that he was the great-grand- father of the author of "Marse Chan" and "Meh Lady."
William Branch Giles had been for two
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Virginia County Names
years the leader of the Democratic party in the United States Senate when Giles county was named after him in 1806. In 1791 he was elected to Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Colonel Theodoric Bland, and served continuously in that body for eight years. He resigned from Congress in 1798 and became a member of the Virginia legis- lature, where he helped Madison to pass the celebrated "Resolutions of '98." These Resolutions strongly emphasized the rights of the individual States, and indicated the dangerous tendencies that lurk in a govern- ment that has too great power over the parts composing that government. Giles was chosen United States senator in 1804, and at once became the leader of the Democratic party in the Senate. After holding the lead- ership seven years, he lost it because of his opposition to war with Great Britain. He retired from the Senate to private life in 1815, but entered politics again in 1826 as · a member of the Virginia legislature. The next year he was made governor of Virginia, and served until 1830.
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