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Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta Co., VA

Augusta Co., VA


History

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County, although, because few people lived there, the county government was not organized until 1745. It was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales and mother of the future King George III of the United Kingdom.

Originally, Augusta County was a vast territory with an indefinite western boundary. Most of what is now West Virginia as well as the whole of Kentucky were formed from it, and it also claimed the territory north and west of those areas, theoretically all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

The first settlers of Augusta County arrived in the 1720's primarily from Pennsylvania, Maryland and eastern Virginia. Some were German-born or the Pennsylvania-born children of German-speaking Protestant immigrants from the Palatinate and other areas bordering the Rhine River. The greatest numbers of early settlers were from the province of Ulster in the north of Ireland, or were the Pennsylvania and Maryland-born children of these Ulster Scots or Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. Many early settlers took up land on the 112,000-acre tract that the colonial government granted to William Beverley, later referred to as "Beverley Manor".

In 1739, Benjamin Borden a New Jersey Quaker, received a grant beginning at the southern boundary of Beverley Manor. Borden was promised 1,000 acres for every settler he located, amounting in all to 92,100 acres. The "Borden Tract" later became Rockbridge County. In addition to the Scot's Irish, English and African-Americans were also among the early settlers in the area.

Source: We Relate - Early Settlers of Augusta County, Virginia

Modern Day Adjacent Counties

Augusta is bordered by Rockingham, Albemarle, Nelson, Rockbridge, Bath and Highland counties in Virginia. Additionally, it is adjacent to Pendleton County, West Virginia and the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro, Virginia.

Gleanings From


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Contributors to this page: Beverly , Richard and system .
Page last modified on Wednesday 10 of February, 2016 10:32:11 CST by Beverly.