USA > Virginia > Virginia county names : two hundred and seventy years of Virginia history > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7
Floyd county takes its name from John Floyd, who succeeded Mr. Giles as governor of Virginia. Floyd was a member of Con-
149
After Thirteen Virginia Governors
gress from Virginia from 1830 to 1834 He enjoyed the personal friendship of Presidents Jefferson, Madison, and Jackson, but opposed Jackson's election for a second term because of the repressive measures the President used against South Carolina. South Carolina seems to have appreciated Floyd's pronounced States' rights views, for she gave him her vote for President in 1832.
It is rather unusual for father and son to become governors of the same State, but John Buchanan Floyd, son of Governor John Floyd, was governor of Virginia from 1849 to 1852. When James Buchanan became President in 1857 he appointed young Floyd Secretary of War.
Henry Alexander Wise, of Accomac county, Virginia, who had served eleven years in ' Congress, and for three years as minister to Brazil, was nominated by the Democrats in 1855 for governor of Virginia. He began the campaign under heavy disadvantages, but his vigorous and skillful canvass, during which he traveled over three thousand miles18 and made more than fifty speeches, resulted
13It must be remembered that the facilities for travel are much better in 1908 than they were in 1855. Rail- roads were scarce then.
150
Virginia County Names
in his election by ten thousand majority. Wise county was named that year in honor of the energetic governor-elect. He held the of- fice four years, and, like young Floyd, entered the Confederate army. Neither man was specially fortunate in his military career: in their case the laurels earned in peace were greater than those won in war.
Giles, Nelson, and Page counties are re- markable for natural objects of great interest.
In Giles, about a thousand feet above the base of Salt Pond Mountain, and three thou- sand feet above sea-level, is a wonderful sheet of water known as Mountain Lake.14 The lake is three-fourths of a mile long, half a mile wide, and from fifty to sixty feet deep. The water is so transparent that the bottom can be seen in every part.
In the southwestern corner of Nelson county is probably the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River. Crab Tree Falls starts from the top of Pinnacle Peak and descends three thousand feet in going a hori- zontal distance of two thousand feet. The
14Well described in Howe's "Virginia History" and Martin's "Virginia Gazetteer." Whitehead's "Virginia Handbook" describes Mountain Lake (formerly called Salt Pond), Crab Tree Falls, and Luray Caves.
151
After Thirteen Virginia Governors
highest cataract, the "Grand Cataract," makes a fall of five hundred feet; the lowest falls is about fifty feet high. Crab Tree Creek, on which the falls is located, flows into Tye River a few miles from the cataract. The approach to the falls is very difficult, but the numerous visitors are well repaid for their trouble by the magnificent view obtained.
In Page county are the Luray Caverns, whose "wonders surpass those of any other caverns known to man." The most remark- able of these curious examples of nature's handiwork were not discovered until 1878. They are now fitted up with electric lights, that their wonderful formation may be fully appreciated by the numerous sight-seers who visit them.
COUNTIES NAMED AFTER THREE PRESIDENTS WASHINGTON, · Organized 1776
MADISON,
Organized
I792
BUCHANAN, Organized 1858
CHAPTER XII
COUNTIES NAMED AFTER THREE PRESIDENTS
Buchanan, Madison, and Washington counties bear the names of United States Presidents, though neither Madison nor Washington had attained to that office when the counties were named in their honor.
Buchanan forms a sharp point of the State that borders on Kentucky and West Virginia, and is drained by the Big Sandy River. Madison, a small county in north-central Vir- ginia, is bounded on the west by the Blue Ridge, which separates it from Page. Rapi- dan waters drain most of this mountainous county. Washington, in the southwest, is beautified by the attractive river and moun- tain scenery of the Holston River valley.
Buchanan county was organized and named in 1858, the year after James Buchanan of Pensylvania was inaugurated President. It was the last Virginia county to receive a President's name.
Madison county was named in 1792, when James Madison of Virginia was the acknowl- edged leader of the Democrats in Congress,
(155)
156
Virginia County Names
his previous public career gaining for him this leadership. He helped to secure religious freedom for Virginia, and strongly supported1 the Constitution, both when it was adopted by Congress and on its ratification by Virginia. In addition to the other high honors accorded him, Madison was afterwards twice Presi- dent. He lived to the ripe old age of eighty- five, and died in Virginia, the State that had given him birth.
The universal esteem in which our first President is held is well proven by the great number of places that bear the name of Wash- ington. Virginia, though the first,2 is but one of thirty-one States to have a Washington county. Seven of the original thirteen States thus honor the illustrious Virginian, while South Dakota, Idaho, and Oregon, in a simi- lar way, also revere his name. Post offices in twenty-eight different States and Territories, the capital city of our great Republic, and a large State on the Pacific Ocean also bear the name of the one, who seems, in very truth, to be the "Father of His Country."
1Madison afterwards opposed the Constitution, and helped to secure a number of amendments that more fully guaranteed States' rights.
"The Legislature established the county in October, 1776; the first county court was held January 28, 1777.
PART VI INDIAN NAMES AND NATURAL FEATURES
NINE INDIAN NAMES
NANSEMOND, Organized 1640 ACCOMAC, . Organized 1672
NOTTOWAY,
Organized
1788
RAPPAHANNOCK, Organized 1831
APPOMATTOX, Organized
1845
POWHATAN, Organized
1777
SHENANDOAH,
Organized
1772
ALLEGHANY, Organized 1822
ROANOKE,
Organized
1838
CHAPTER XIII
NINE INDIAN COUNTY NAMES
When Captain John Smith first came to Jamestown, in 1607, about fifty Indian tribes lived between the sea and the mountains of Virginia. Most of the tribes belonged to the one or the other of two great confederacies. Thirty tribes under the chieftain Powhatan lived south of the Potomac, between the sea and the falls of the rivers. Against Pow- hatan's tribes were opposed two smaller con- federacies-the Mannahoacks and the Mana- kins. The Mannahoacks consisted of eight tribes scattered between the Rappahannock and York rivers, while the Manakins were a union of five tribes who lived above the falls between the York and the James. Besides the confederated Indians, there were the Nottoways, the Meherricks, the Tuteloes, and several other independent tribes.
Although the Indians inhabited a great part of Virginia east of the Blue Ridge, the population was so scattered that it probably
(16I)
II
162
Virginia County Names
did not exceed twenty thousand.1 Pow- hatan's great domain contained but eight thousand souls, yet the chief was able to hold his own against all his Indian foes. The Vir- ginia Indians east of the mountains where probably numerically superior to the whites until after 1650,2 though the latter had al- ready been victorious in several wars between the races. During the war following Opechankanough's great massacre of 1622, the white population was reduced from four thousand to twenty-five hundred. In 1644 Opechankanough was the leader in another great massacre, in which five hundred whites perished. This second massacre was swiftly and severely avenged, and the Indians were forced to keep the peace. They were again reduced to peace about thirty years later by Nathaniel Bacon, the leader of the noted re- bellion against the tyrannical Governor Berkeley. Bacon's victory so crushed the Indians that they were never again formid- able in eastern Virginia.
Beverly's "History of Virginia," published in London in 1722, gives a list of such towns
1Howe, p. 136.
2A writer of 1649 gives the population of that time as fifteen thousand whites and three hundred negroes,
163
Nine Indian County Names
or bodies of Indians east of the Blue Ridge as in 1700 retained their names. All of them combined could not muster five hundred fight- ing men, and they lived miserably and much in fear of the neighboring Indian tribes. Each town, by the articles of peace, 1677, paid an annual tribute of three Indian arrows and twenty beaver skins, for protection.
Beverly mentions twenty towns, distributed as follows: in Accomac there were Matom- kin, Gingotoque, Pungoteaque, Kiequotank, Matchopungo, Occahannock, Oanancock, Chiconessex, Nanduye ; in Northampton, Gan- gascoe, almost as numerous as all the preced- ing put together; in Prince George, Wyan- oke, extinct; in Charles City, Appamattox, extinct; in Surry, Nottaway; in Nansemond, Menheering and Nansamond; in King Wil- liam, Pamunkie and Chickahominie; in Es- sex, Rappahannock, extinct; in Richmond, Port Tobago, extinct; in Northumberland, Wiccomoco. The spelling of the tribal names just given in Beverly's. There was no way to determine the spelling except by the sound of the words, hence the same name is often spelled in several ways.
Pungoteque was governed by a queen; and Nanduye was "a seat of the empress," who
164
Virginia County Names
had "all the nations of the shore under tribute."
From many of these Indian names come names for counties, white towns, bays, inlets, and islands of Virginia. The Potomac River is named after an Indian tribe; Chesapeake Bay, the "Mother of Waters,"3 is an Indian name; and the James River once bore the name Powhatan, in honor of the Indian chief. Nansemond, Accomac, Nottoway, Rappa- hannock, and Appomattox counties are named after Indian tribes.
Nansemond is in southeast Virginia on the North Carolina border. It is drained by the Nansemond and Blackwater rivers and by Lake Drummond. This county, the ninth oldest in the State, was in existence as early as 1640, for an act was then passed defining its boundaries. It was first called Upper Norfolk, but six years later it took the name
"Nansimun." Captain John Smith spelled the name "Nansamund"; Beverly says "Nansamond"; and now it is Nansemond.
Beverly says of the Indian tribe after whom the county and Nansemond River were named: "Nansamond; about thirty bow- men; they have increased much of late."
3See Howe, p. 22.
165
Nine Indian County Names
Accomac county comprises nearly two- thirds of that part of Virginia which lies be- tween the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The name "Accawmacke" was given to all the "Eastern Shore" of Virginia when it became one of the original shires in 1634.4 Nine years later the name was changed to Northampton, but the term "Accomac" was was revived in 1672 in the name of the county that was then formed from a part of North- ampton. The Accomacs were a tribe of Indians that once inhabited the Eastern Shore.
Accomac and Northampton counties abound in Indian names. Chincoteague inlet, Matomkin island and inlet, Onancock and Pangoteague towns pertaining to Accomac; while the Great Machipongo Inlet is off the Northampton coast. Pocomoke sound and river and Assateague bay and island are probably Indian names also.
Nottoway is a small county in southeastern Virginia, and is drained by Nottoway and Appomattox waters. Burkeville, at the junc- tion of the two railroads that traverse the county, is becoming well known for its min- eral waters.
4P. 65.
166
Virginia County Names
The tribe of Indians after whom Notto- way county and river were named is now ex- tince. Beverly, about 1700, says that the "Nottoways" had about a hundred bowmen, and that they were increasing. Jefferson, in writing "Virginia Notes," about 1780, says that only a few squaws then remained of the Nottoways.
Rappahannock county is situated in north- ern Virginia between Fauquier and Madison counties, and takes its name from the river whose headwaters it contains. The river, however, is named from an Indian tribe that once lived along its banks in Essex county. The tribe became extinct before 1700. Rich- mond and Essex5 counties were known as Rappahannock county before 1692, but the old county was absorbed that year by the two new ones that were formed out of its terri- tory. The new Rappahannock county was not formed until 1831, or one hundred and thirty-nine years after the old county ceased to exist.
Appomattox county, on the south bank of the James, is almost equally distant from the eastern and western extremities of the State. It doubtless takes its name from the river that
5P. 68.
167
Nine Indian County Names
rises within its borders. The river has the name of an Indian tribe that once lived in Charles City county, but, like the Rappa- hannocks, the tribe had already become ex- tinct when Beverly wrote his Virginia history.
Powhatan county is named after the noted Indian chief. It lies along the south bank of the James River, which separates it from Goochland. Powhatan county was formerly inhabited by the Manakins, a powerful and warlike Indian tribe; but none remained there in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The seat of their town on James River is still called Manakin Town Ferry.
Powhatan was the most notable of the Indian chiefs whom the early Virginia settlers encountered. Physically, he was remarkably strong and vigorous. Moreover, he was shrewd and courageous; not disheartened by defeat, nor unduly elated by victory. He lived as became a king, and commanded the respect of his subjects. A bodyguard of forty warriors attended him, and a sentry kept watch over his palace by night. One of his homes was on the James, where the city of Richmond now stands. He died in Virginia, April, 1618, at the age of nearly seventy. His daughter, Pocahontas, after whom a
·
168
Virginia County Names
West Virginia county was named, had died in England the previous year.
Shenandoah county, in northern Virginia, is separated from West Virginia by the Shen- andoah Mountains. It is watered by the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, and has the Massanutten Mountains on its east- ern border.
Shenandoah county was organized in 1772, and was named Dunmore in honor of the last colonial governor of Virginia. But Lord Dunmore proved so hateful to the Vir- ginians that they were unwilling that the county should retain his name. In 1777, therefore, the name was changed, and the county was called Shenandoah, after the stream that traverses it. The Indians called the river "Shenandoah," thus signifying that it was the "Beautiful daughter of the stars."6
Alleghany county takes the name of the great chain of mountains that forms its west- ern border. The name Alleghany was given to the mountains by the English settlers of the north, who had received it from the Indians. "Appleton's American Cyclopedia" says that Alleghany means "Endless."7 Mar-
6"History of Augusta County," by J. Lewis Peyton, p. I. TP. 31.
169
Nine Indian County Names
tin's "Gazetteer of Virginia," however, gives the meaning "Endless" to the Indian name of Kaatin Chunk, which was what the red men called the Kittatinny or Great North Moun- tains. Both the Alleghany and Kaatin Chunk mountains might well appear "endless" to ob- servers viewing the two ranges from the val- ley between them. Very possibly, both names mean endless. The mountains might have been named by different tribes, or the words may have been synonyms in the one Indian language; and thus the one English transla- tion might be correct in either case. Alle- ghany county is watered by the Jackson and Cowpasture rivers, which unite to form the James a few miles east of the county's border.
Roanoke county lies south of Botetourt and Craig and west of the Blue Ridge Moun- tains. It doubtless takes its name from the Roanoke River, which receives most of the county's drainage. Roanoke, Roenoke, or Rawrenoke, in the Indian tongue, signified "shell money.' 18 East of the Blue Ridge the Roanoke River is known as the Staunton until it and the Dan unite in Mecklenburg county to form the larger Roanoke.
"Howe's "Virginia," p. 447.
FOUR NAMES FROM NATURAL FEATURES
ROCKBRIDGE, . Organized 1778 BATH, Organized 1790
HIGHLAND, .Organized 1847
CRAIG, Organized 1850
CHAPTER XIV
FOUR NAMES FOR NATURAL FEATURES
Rockbridge, Bath, Highland, and Craig1 counties are named from their natural feat- ures. Rockbridge is south of Augusta be- tween the Blue Ridge and Great North Moun- tains,2 and is drained by the James and North Rivers. Bath is on the West Virginia border, and is separated from Rockbridge by the Great North Mountains. The Jackson and Cowpasture rivers, which unite to form the James in Botetourt, traverse the county and receive most of its drainage. Highland, just north of Bath, makes a sharp projection into West Virginia. The Alleghany Mountains form the western border of both counties.
Highland county is intersected by numer- ous streams and mountains, and is the water- shed that separates the headwaters of the James from some of the sources of the Poto- mac. In the northwestern part of the county
1Craig hardly belongs under this head, but it is classed here for convenience. See p. 176.
5 Also called the Shenandoah Mountain.
(173)
174
Virginia County Names
the North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac rises within about ten miles of the sources of Back Creek, a tributary of Jack- son's River, and thus, indirectly, a tributary of the James also.
Craig county lies between Giles and Alle- ghany on the West Virginia line, and, with the exception of a part drained by Sinking Creek, which flows into the New River, is drained by Craig Creek waters.
Rockbridge takes its name from the cele- brated Natural Bridge over Cedar Creek in the southern part of the county. The height of the bridge from the water to its upper sur- face is 215 feet, average width 80 feet, length 93 feet, thickness 55 feet.3 The original bridge tract was granted to Thomas Jefferson in 1774 by King George III. After Jeffer- son was President, he visited the place and made a survey and map of it.4 The bridge has long been a place of interest to travelers. Besides Jefferson, Presidents Monroe, Jack- son, and Van Buren have visited there. Chief Justice Marshall called it "God's great-
3Whitehead's "Virginia Handbook," p. 51.
4Washington, when a surveyor for Lord Fairfax, visited the bridge and carved his name there. See Whitehead, P. 50.
175
Four For Natural Features
est miracle in stone." Henry Clay wrote of "the bridge not made with hands, that spans a river, carries a highway, and makes two mountains one."
Bath county takes its name from its numer- ous and remarkable springs and baths. The most celebrated springs are the Warm Sul- phur, whose waters have been famed for nearly a century, the Healing, and the Hot. The Warm Sulphur springs are located at Warm Springs, the county seat.
The tradition5 respecting the discovery of the (warm) springs is, that a party of Indians hunting, spent the night in the val- ley. One of their number discovering the spring, bathed in it, and, being much fatigued, he was induced, by the delicious sensation and warmth imparted by it, to remain all night. The next morning he was enabled to scale the mountain before his companions. As the country became settled, the fame of the waters gradually extended.
Highland county derives its name from its great elevation, which varies from 1500 to 4500 feet above the sea level. The surface is greatly broken by streams and mountains.
Craig county is named after its chief
"Howe, p. 185.
176
Virginia County Names
stream, Craig's Creek,6 which merits the name of river, for it drains about four hun- dred square miles of territory. The stream probably got its name from some hunter or early settler in that region. Craig's Creek rises in Montgomery. near Blacksburg, flows through Craig, and empties into the James in the western part of Botetourt county.
6"Appleton's American Cyclopedia."
PART VII THE JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION AND VIRGINIA COUNTY NAMES-CONCLUSION
12
CHAPTER XV THE JAMESTOWN EXPOSITION AND VIRGINIA COUNTY NAMES
It is no part of my task to give an account of the Jamestown Exposition of 1907; but some of the interesting facts and exhibits con- nected with the Exposition have a direct bear- ing on persons or places referred to in this work. Of these facts and exhibits, therefore, some mention is not inappropriate.
Of course Norfolk county itself, rich in historic associations, takes pride in the fact that the Exposition was held within her bor- ders; nor does James City county, within which are the ruins of old Jamestown, feel jealous that the better location of her sister county made Norfolk and not James City the seat of the Tercentennial Celebration of the first permanent settlement of the English in America.
Princess Anne county contains Cape Henry, at which are two lighthouses and a wireless telegraphy station. At the foot of the old lighthouse, which dates from 1690,
(179)
180
Virginia County Names
a stone tablet now replaces the old wooden cross raised by the first settlers to mark the spot of their first landing on American soil, April 26, 1907-seventeen days before the settlement of Jamestown. The old lighthouse is not now in use, being replaced by the some- what taller one of recent date that stands about 200 yards distant and looks down upon her older sister from a height of 160 feet.
The Exposition grounds, about four hun- dred acres in extent, were located at Sewall's Point, which borders on Hampton Roads at the mouth of the James, Elizabeth, and Nansemond rivers, and is six miles north of Norfolk. About two miles west of the grounds occurred the Merrimac-Monitor fight in Hampton Roads.
The architecture of the Tercentennial was entirely colonial, and the names of many of the places about the grounds commemorated colonial davs. At the north of the grounds were the Government Twin-piers-200 feet wide and 800 feet in length,-which, hung with electric lights on every part, presented a · most beautiful spectacle at night. These piers and the landing between them were named Susan Constant Pier (on the west) . Discovery Landing, and Godspeed Pier (on
181
The Jamestown Exposition
the east), thus commemorating the names of the three English vessels that brought the hrst settlers to Jamestown. The harbor within the piers was Smith Harbor.
Prominent among the streets of the Expo- sition grounds were Powhatan, Pocahontas, and Gilbert,1 running east and west, while Bacon Street ran north and south. Just south of the government piers was Raleigh Square, and on the eastern part of the grounds were "circles"-really only semi-circles-named after the Colonial governors, Bennet and Spotswood. "Lee's Parade," a thirty-acre field north of the main entrance to the ground, was used for military maneuvers, and in its name honored the Southern military chieftain.
In the southeastern part of the grounds near Spotswood Circle was the Exposition Hospital, Pocahontas Hospital, in front of Pocahontas Spring, noted in history as the spring used by the Indian princess. Just east of Spotswood Circle, between where the Tex- tile Building and the Silver and Copper Build- ing stood, is the Powhatan Oak, a monster
1Named after Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who was drowned in 1583 in an unsuccessful attempt to establish an English settlement in North America.
182
Virginia County Names
live oak that was a large tree when the first settlers landed there three hundred years ago.
Full of interest to lovers of history were the contents of some of the State buildings, and especially interesting was the interior of the History Building, where, as the guide- book told us, "there is shown the greatest col- lection of rare relics and heirlooms of colonial history ever brought together in this coun- try."
Within the Missouri Building there were on the walls two portraits, oil paintings, that were especially interesting to me: on the left, as you enter the building, was the portrait of "Meriwether Lewis, First Governor Mis- souri Territory, 1807-1809"; on the right was a portrait inscribed, "General William Clark, Governor Missouri Territory, 1809- 182I."
The Maryland Building was on the out- side a reproduction of the house on the Har- wood estate, built in 1802 for his son by Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Within the building was shown a large and handsome harpsichord formerly owned by Carroll, and in a frame with pictures of nine other Mary- land men was Carroll's picture also. Large portraits of Charles I and of his queen
1
183
The Jamestown Exposition
adorned the walls of the building, and the Pocahontas Memorial Association exhibited two separate portraits of Pocohontas, a picture of her marriage to Rolfe, and a fac- simile of Rolfe's request to the Governor of Virginia that he be allowed to marry her.
The Pennsylvania Building was a duplicate of Independence Hall, Philadelphia, and it was most fitting that the portraits of the sign- ers of the Declaration of Independence should hang on the walls of one of the rooms. These portraits, only forty-seven in number, because the portraits of some of the signers were lack- ing, were taken from Philadelphia. There were excellent portraits of all the signers after whom Virginia named counties-Franklin, Carroll, Wythe, and Thomas Nelson, Jr., for counties within Virginia; and Carter Brax- ton, Hancock, Jefferson, and Benjamin Har- rison for counties within the present State of West Virginia.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.