Virginia: Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries
Virginia Atlas of Historical County
Boundaries
John H. Long, Editor; Peggy Tuck
Sinko, Historical Compiler; Gordon DenBoer, Historical Compiler; Laura Rico-Beck,
GIS Specialist and Digital Compiler; Peter Siczewicz, ArcIMS Interactive Map Designer; Emily Kelley,
Research Associate; Robert Will, Cartographic Assistant.
Copyright The Newberry Library 2003
[Note: Chronologies and maps for West Virginia counties (denoted "W.Va."), for years after 1863, are in the Consolidated Chronology for West Virginia.]
King James I chartered two Virginia Companies, headquartered in different cities, to establish colonies along the coast of North America. The Virginia Company of London was assigned coast between 34 degrees and 41 degrees north latitude, including present Virginia, and the Virginia Company of Plymouth was assigned coast between 38 degrees and 45 degrees north latitude. Colonies of the two companies were to be at least 100 miles apart, even where grants overlapped. First permanent settlement in Virginia was established at Jamestown in 1607. (Paullin, pl. 42; Swindler, 10:1723; Van Zandt, 92)
King James I granted a new charter to the Virginia Company of London, expanding its jurisdiction along the coast to 200 miles north and south of Point Comfort (c. 37 degrees north latitude), including islands within 100 miles, and extending westward and northwestward to the Pacific Ocean. (Paullin, pl. 42; Swindler, 10:2436; Van Zandt, 92)
King James I granted a new charter to the Virginia Company of London, expanding its jurisdiction to encompass all land between 30 degrees and 41 degrees north latitude, plus offshore islands within 300 leagues, including Bermuda, and by implication still extending to the Pacific Ocean. (Swindler, 10:3745; Van Zandt, 9293)
The Court of the King's Bench revoked the charter of the Virginia Company of London, and Virginia became a royal colony under direct authority of the King and Privy Council. Virginia still claimed boundaries fixed by its 1609 charter. (Morton, Colonial Virginia, 1:106)
King Charles I created Maryland from earlier range of Virginia territory, granting it as a proprietary colony to Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore. Territory was bounded on the south by the south bank of the Potomac River, a line from the river's mouth across Chesapeake Bay to Watkins Point, and thence a line due east across the Delmarva peninsula to the ocean, and on the west by the meridian of the head of the Potomac. (Swindler, 4:359; Van Zandt, 81, 85)
1634
Eight shires (original counties) created: ACCOMACK (original, now NORTHAMPTON), CHARLES CITY, CHARLES RIVER (now YORK), ELIZABETH CITY (extinct), HENRICO, JAMES CITY, WARROSQUYOAKE (now ISLE OF WIGHT), and WARWICK RIVER (later WARWICK, extinct). (Hening, 1:224; Tyler, 197198)
1636
NEW NORFOLK (extinct) created from ELIZABETH CITY (extinct). (Robinson, 62, 8586)
1637
LOWER NORFOLK (extinct) and UPPER NORFOLK (later NANSEMOND, extinct) created from NEW NORFOLK; NEW NORFOLK eliminated. (Robinson, 59, 70, 85)
WARROSQUYOAKE renamed ISLE OF WIGHT. (Robinson, 82)
Virginia formally acknowledged Maryland's existence and implicitly recognized its 1632 boundaries. In 1658 Virginia renounced any claim to Maryland and reiterated that position in its constitution of 1776. (Bozman, 2:72, 586; Van Zandt, 85)
1640
Boundaries of ISLE OF WIGHT, LOWER NORFOLK (extinct), and UPPER NORFOLK (later NANSEMOND, extinct) redefined [no change]. (Hening, 1:228, 247; Robinson, 197198)
1642
UPPER NORFOLK renamed NANSEMOND (extinct). (Hening, 1:321; Robinson, 85, 198)
1643
ACCOMACK (original) renamed NORTHAMPTON; CHARLES RIVER renamed YORK; WARWICK RIVER renamed WARWICK (extinct). (Hening, 1:249)
1647
Boundary between ISLE OF WIGHT and NANSEMOND (extinct) clarified [no change]. (Robinson, 198)
1648
NORTHUMBERLAND created from YORK. (Hening, 1:294n., 352, 362; Robinson, 63, 86)
1649
NORTHUMBERLAND boundaries clarified [no change]. (Hening, 1:362)
1651
GLOUCESTER created from YORK. (Hening, 1:371n.; Robinson, 51, 79)
LANCASTER created from NORTHUMBERLAND and YORK. (Hening, 1:374; Robinson, 57, 8283)
1652
SURRY created from JAMES CITY. (Hening, 1:373n.; Robinson, 68, 87)
1653
WESTMORELAND created from NORTHUMBERLAND. (Hening, 1:381; Robinson, 71)
1654
NEW KENT created from YORK. (Hening, 1:387n., 388; Robinson, 62)
1656
ISLE OF WIGHT gained from NANSEMOND (extinct). (Hening, 1:423)
RAPPAHANNOCK (original, extinct) created from LANCASTER. (Hening, 1:427; Robinson, 66, 86)
King Charles II created Carolina from earlier range of Virginia territory and granted it as a proprietary colony to eight of his supporters. Boundary on the north with Virginia was the north end of Lucke Island and the parallel of 36 degrees north latitude. (Swindler, 7:357358)
1663
ACCOMACK created from NORTHAMPTON. (Robinson, 42, 73)
1664
STAFFORD created from WESTMORELAND. (Robinson, 68, 87; Warner, 21)
King Charles II granted a new charter to the proprietors of Carolina, expanding its jurisdiction to north and south. New boundary on the north was a line from the north end of the Currituck River westward to "Wyonoak" Creek and thence due west along the parallel of 36 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude. The new northern line implicitly redefined the southern limit of Virginia as the parallel of 36 degrees, 30 minutes north latitude, and, although this definition has not changed to the present, attempts at demarcation have produced an unusually irregular boundary. (Swindler, 7:375)
Commissioners from Maryland and Virginia agreed on the demarcation of their boundary across the southern end of the Delmarva peninsula [no later change]. (Archives of Md., 5:4445)
1674
MIDDLESEX created from LANCASTER. (Robinson, 60, 84)
KING AND QUEEN created from NEW KENT. (Hening, 3:9495; Robinson, 57)
NORFOLK (extinct) and PRINCESS ANNE (extinct) created from LOWER NORFOLK; LOWER NORFOLK eliminated. (Hening, 3:9596; Robinson, 63, 65)
ESSEX and RICHMOND created from RAPPAHANNOCK (original); RAPPAHANNOCK (original) eliminated. (Hening, 3:104105; Robinson, 49, 66)
Southern boundaries of ISLE OF WIGHT, SURRY, and CHARLES CITY clarified [no change]. (Winfree, 23)
KING WILLIAM created from KING AND QUEEN. (Hening, 3:211212)
Boundaries of ISLE OF WIGHT, SURRY, CHARLES CITY, and NANSEMOND (extinct) clarified [no change]. (Winfree, 89)
PRINCE GEORGE created from CHARLES CITY. (Winfree, 1112)
BRUNSWICK created from PRINCE GEORGE; BRUNSWICK not fully organized, attached to PRINCE GEORGE. (Hening, 4:7779; Robinson, 46, 7577; Winfree, 179185)
CHARLES CITY gained from JAMES CITY. (Winfree, 193194)
KING GEORGE created from RICHMOND . (Winfree, 197198)
HANOVER created from NEW KENT. (Winfree, 198199)
SPOTSYLVANIA created from ESSEX, KING AND QUEEN, and KING WILLIAM. (Hening, 4:7779; Robinson, 77; Winfree, 179185)
BRUNSWICK gained from ISLE OF WIGHT and SURRY. (Va. Exec. Jour., 4:56)
The North CarolinaVirginia boundary (defined 1665) was demarcated from the Atlantic coast westward to the Dan River. No later change in this portion of boundary. (Van Zandt, 97)
CAROLINE created from ESSEX, KING AND QUEEN, and KING WILLIAM. (Winfree, 319320)
GOOCHLAND created from HENRICO. (Winfree, 321322)
Boundary between BRUNSWICK and GOOCHLAND clarified [no
change]. (Va. Exec. Jour., 4:216)
PRINCE WILLIAM created from KING GEORGE and STAFFORD. (Hening, 4:303)
BRUNSWICK gained from ISLE OF WIGHT and SURRY; BRUNSWICK fully organized, detached from PRINCE GEORGE. (Hening, 4:355356)
ORANGE created from SPOTSYLVANIA; ORANGE extended westward to "the utmost limits of Virginia," including all of present Kentucky and West Virginia. (Hening, 4:450451)
AMELIA created from BRUNSWICK and PRINCE GEORGE. (Hening, 4:467468)
AUGUSTA and FREDERICK created from ORANGE; AUGUSTA and FREDERICK not fully organized, attached to ORANGE. (Hening, 5:7880; Robinson, 43, 50)
Boundaries among KING GEORGE, RICHMOND, and WESTMORELAND clarified [no discernible change]. (Eaton, 12)
CAROLINE gained from KING AND QUEEN. (Hening, 5:185)
FAIRFAX created from PRINCE WILLIAM. (Hening, 5:207208)
LOUISA created from HANOVER. (Hening, 5:208209)
FREDERICK fully organized, detached from ORANGE. (Robinson, 79)
ALBEMARLE created from GOOCHLAND. (Hening, 5:266269)
AUGUSTA fully organized, detached from ORANGE. (Robinson, 74)
LUNENBURG created from BRUNSWICK. (Hening, 5:383385)
Royal commissioners placed a marker, the Fairfax Stone, at the headspring of the north branch of the Potomac River to identify it as the source of the Potomac (officially so designated in 1736) and, therefore, the western limit of Maryland with Virginia. (Paullin, 78; Van Zandt, 88, 94)
The North CarolinaVirginia boundary (defined 1665) was demarcated from the end of the 1728 survey (Dan River) westward to Steep Rock Creek, near the present northwest corner of North Carolina. No later change in this portion of the boundary. (Van Zandt, 97)
CULPEPER created from ORANGE. (Winfree, 425426)
CUMBERLAND created from GOOCHLAND. (Winfree, 426427)
SOUTHAMPTON created from ISLE OF WIGHT. (Winfree, 432434)
CHESTERFIELD created from HENRICO. (Winfree, 446447)
DINWIDDIE created from PRINCE GEORGE. (Hening, 6:254256)
HALIFAX created from LUNENBURG. (Hening, 6:252254)
PRINCE EDWARD created from AMELIA. (Hening, 6:379380)
SUSSEX created from SURRY. (Hening, 6:384385)
HAMPSHIRE (W.Va.) created by Virginia from AUGUSTA and FREDERICK; FREDERICK gained from AUGUSTA. (Hening, 6:376379)
BEDFORD created from LUNENBURG. (Hening, 6:381383)
BEDFORD gained from ALBEMARLE and LUNENBURG. (Hening, 6:441442)
LOUDOUN created from FAIRFAX. (Hening, 7:148149)
FAUQUIER created from PRINCE WILLIAM. (Hening, 7:311312)
AMHERST and BUCKINGHAM created from ALBEMARLE; ALBEMARLE gained from LOUISA. (Hening, 7:419423)
The Treaty of Paris, ending the Seven Years' War between Great Britain (the victor) and France and Spain, implicitly set the Mississippi River as a new western limit for British colonies, including Virginia, whose charter bounds had technically extended to the Pacific Ocean. (Cappon, Petchenik, and Long, 1)
CAROLINE gained from KING AND QUEEN. (Hening, 7:620621)
CHARLOTTE and MECKLENBURG created from LUNENBURG. (Hening, 8:4142)
JAMES CITY exchanged with NEW KENT. (Hening, 8:208210)
PITTSYLVANIA created from HALIFAX. (Hening, 8:205208)
Boundary between JAMES CITY and YORK clarified [no change]. (Hening, 8:405406)
ISLE OF WIGHT gained from NANSEMOND (extinct). (Hening, 8:405406)
BOTETOURT created from AUGUSTA. (Hening, 8:395398)
Islands in the Fluvanna [James] River were assigned to ALBEMARLE and AMHERST [location unknown, not mapped]. (Hening, 8:395398)
JAMES CITY gained small area from YORK [not mapped]. (Hening 8:419420)
ISLE OF WIGHT gained from NANSEMOND (extinct). (Hening, 8:602603)
BERKELEY (W.Va.) and DUNMORE (now SHENANDOAH) created by Virginia from FREDERICK. (Hening, 8:597599)
FINCASTLE (extinct) created from BOTETOURT. (Hening, 8:600601)
Virginia created West Augusta District (extinct) from AUGUSTA to provide jurisdiction over the Pittsburgh region in present Pennsylvania. Boundaries were not specified at the time (described in detail in 1776 when the District was replaced by three new counties) but were obviously meant to cover area around the head of the Ohio River that Virginia claimed was within its 1609 charter limits and west of Pennsylvania's western limit. This extension of Virginia's jurisdiction conflicted with Pennsylvania, which in February 1773 had created WESTMORELAND County for the region. At this time, Pennsylvania had actual control of the territory. (Abernethy, 94)
Virginia took control of Pittsburgh and the surrounding area by force, but permitted Pennsylvania's Westmoreland court at Hannastown (30 miles east of Pittsburgh) to continue to function. Virginia retained control of the Pittsburgh region against the protests of Pennsylvania until near the end of the War of the American Revolution. (Abernethy, 94; Crumrine, Boundary Controversy, 518; Sosin, 228)
King George III approved the Quebec Act, which added to Quebec all territory west of Pennsylvania, north of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River. This effectively limited the western claim of Virginia to territory south and east of the Ohio River. (Farnham, 8:62)
Settlers in Carters Valley and the North Holston area of North Carolina (now Tennessee), believing they were located in Virginia, put themselves under the authority of FINCASTLE (extinct) and after 31 December 1776, under WASHINGTON [not mapped]. (Cappon, Petchenik, and Long, 16, 89; Folmsbee, 6061; Williams, Samuel C., 1518)
In its state constitution, Virginia gave up all claims to the territory of Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, but asserted its claim to all other American territory within the scope of its 1609 charter, including territory north and west of the Ohio River. Virginia continued to dispute Pennsylvania's claimed western limit and maintained control of the Pittsburgh region. (Swindler, 10:55)
Virginia became an independent state. (Declaration of Independence)
OHIO (W.Va.) and YOHOGANIA (extinct) created by Virginia from West Augusta District; both overlapped territory claimed by Pennsylvania. MONONGALIA (W.Va.) created by Virginia from HAMPSHIRE (W.Va.) and West Augusta District; overlapped territory claimed by Pennsylvania. HAMPSHIRE gained from West Augusta District; West Augusta District eliminated. (Cappon, Petchenik, and Long, 93; Hening, 9:262274)
HENRY created from PITTSYLVANIA. (Hening, 9:241242)
KENTUCKY (extinct), MONTGOMERY, and WASHINGTON created from FINCASTLE; FINCASTLE eliminated. KENTUCKY County encompassed all of the present state of Kentucky. (Hening, 9:257261)
STAFFORD exchanged with KING GEORGE. (Hening, 9:244245)
FLUVANNA created from ALBEMARLE. (Hening, 9:325327)
POWHATAN created from CUMBERLAND. (Hening, 9:322325)
MONTGOMERY exchanged with WASHINGTON. (Hening, 9:330331)
LUNENBURG gained from CHARLOTTE. (Hening, 9:327)
DUNMORE renamed SHENANDOAH. (Hening, 9:420424)
GREENBRIER (W.Va.) created by Virginia from BOTETOURT and MONTGOMERY. (Hening, 9:420424)
HAMPSHIRE (W.Va.) gained from AUGUSTA. (Hening, 9:420424)
ROCKBRIDGE created from AUGUSTA and BOTETOURT. (Hening, 9:420424)
ROCKINGHAM created from AUGUSTA. (Hening, 9:420424)
KING GEORGE exchanged with WESTMORELAND. (Hening, 9:432)
CUMBERLAND gained from BUCKINGHAM. (Hening, 9:559)
ILLINOIS (extinct) created by Virginia. Encompassed all territory claimed by Virginia since 1609 east of the Mississippi River and north and west of the Ohio River, including all of present Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota. (Hening, 9:552555, 10:303304; Robinson, 55)
MONONGALIA (W.Va.) gained from AUGUSTA. (Hening, 10:114)
Virginia and Pennsylvania agreed that the course of Pennsylvania's western line would be a meridian running north from a point on an extension of the Mason-Dixon line 5 degrees of longitude west of the Delaware River. This line was demarcated in 1784 and 1785 and has not changed since. (Crumrine, Boundary Controversy, 521523; Van Zandt, 83)
North Carolina took control of the Carters Valley and North Holston settlements in Tennessee, ending efforts by settlers to place themselves under WASHINGTON. Precise location of the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina remained in dispute. (N.C. State Recs., 24:ch.29/pp. 300301)
Commissioners from North Carolina and Virginia attempted to demarcate their boundary (defined 1665) westward from the end of the 1749 survey (Steep Rock Creek) to the Tennessee River. Difficulty in locating the starting point produced the offset at the present northeast corner of Tennessee. Early disagreement over accuracy led to running two lines to Cumberland Gap, and neither won acceptance. The Virginia team alone marked the boundary from the Cumberland River to the Tennessee River along a line made irregular by imperfect instruments and a willingness to accommodate property owners along the way. (Sames, 14; Van Zandt, 97)
MONONGALIA (W.Va.) gained from AUGUSTA. (Hening, 10:351)
WESTMORELAND (Pa.) gained from MONONGALIA (W.Va.), OHIO (W.Va.), and YOHOGANIA (extinct) when Pennsylvania regained effective jurisdiction of the Pittsburgh region from Virginia. (Crumrine, Boundary Controversy, 521523; Van Zandt, 83)
JEFFERSON (Ky.), FAYETTE (Ky.), and LINCOLN (Ky.) created by Virginia from KENTUCKY; KENTUCKY County eliminated. (Hening, 10:315317)
GREENSVILLE created from BRUNSWICK. (Hening, 10:363364)
CAMPBELL created from BEDFORD. (Hening, 10:447449)
Kentucky District, a special judicial district, was created by Virginia to serve Virginians living west of the Allegheny Mountains. Its extent was described only in terms of the counties it encompassed: FAYETTE (Ky.), JEFFERSON (Ky.), and LINCOLN (Ky.). This District became the state of Kentucky in 1792. (Hening, 11:85)
Commissioners from Great Britain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (ratifications exchanged 12 May 1784), ending the War of the American Revolution, recognizing American independence, and generally defining U.S. boundaries as including the St. Croix RiverAtlantic watershed45th parallelSt. Lawrence RiverGreat LakesLake of the Woods line on the north and the Mississippi River on the west. This reopened the possibility of claims by Connecticut and Virginia to territory north and west of the Ohio River where Virginia had created ILLINOIS County in 1778. (Parry, 48:481, 487, 491492; Van Zandt, 12)
Virginia ceded to the United States its 1609 charter claims to territory "northwestward of the river Ohio," thereby setting the north bank of the Ohio River as the northern and northwestern limit for present Kentucky and West Virginia. ILLINOIS County eliminated. (Hening, 11:571575)
HARRISON (W.Va.) created by Virginia from MONONGALIA (W.Va.). (Hening, 11:366368)
NELSON (Ky.) created by Virginia from JEFFERSON (Ky.). (Hening, 11:469470)
Commissioners from Maryland and Virginia, concerned with trade and navigation between their states in Chesapeake Bay, defined their mutual boundary across the Bay as running from Smith's Point at the mouth of the Potomac River to "Watkins's Point, near the mouth of Pocomoke River" on the Eastern Shore. This first attempt to specify details of the overwater boundary proved unsatisfactory and was replaced by an informal arrangement in 1868. (Hening, 12:50; Paullin, 85)
BOTETOURT gained from ROCKBRIDGE. (Hening, 12:74)
Boundary between FLUVANNA and GOOCHLAND redefined [no change]. (Hening, 12:71)
OHIO (W.Va.) gained all of YOHOGANIA; YOHOGANIA eliminated. (Hening, 12:114)
FRANKLIN created from BEDFORD and HENRY. (Hening, 12:7071)
HARDY (W.Va.) created by Virginia from HAMPSHIRE (W.Va.). (Hening, 12:8688)
SOUTHAMPTON gained from NANSEMOND (extinct). (Hening, 12:69)
BOURBON (Ky.) created by Virginia from FAYETTE (Ky.). (Hening, 12:8991)
RUSSELL created from WASHINGTON. (Hening, 12:110111)
MADISON (Ky.) and MERCER (Ky.) created by Virginia from LINCOLN (Ky.). (Hening, 12:118120)
RANDOLPH (W.Va.) created by Virginia from HARRISON (W.Va.). (Hening, 12:393395)
GREENSVILLE gained from BRUNSWICK. (Hening, 12:596597)
HAMPSHIRE (W.Va.) gained from HARDY (W.Va.). (Hening, 12:597)
Francis Deakins demarcated a line running northward from the Fairfax Stone at the headspring of the Potomac River to Pennsylvania as the western limit of bounty lands he was surveying for Maryland. The Deakins Line has been observed ever since as the western limit of Maryland, first with Virginia, and later with West Virginia. (Paullin, 78; Van Zandt, 88)
PENDLETON (W.Va.) created by Virginia from AUGUSTA, HARDY (W.Va.), and ROCKINGHAM. (Hening, 12:637638)
Boundary between HANOVER and HENRICO redefined [no change]. (Hening, 12:620621)
MASON (Ky.) created by Virginia from BOURBON (Ky.). (Hening, 12:658659)
NOTTOWAY created from AMELIA. (Hening, 12:723724)
WOODFORD (Ky.) created by Virginia from FAYETTE (Ky.). (Hening, 12:663665)
KANAWHA (W.Va.) created by Virginia from GREENBRIER (W.Va.) and MONTGOMERY. (Hening, 12:670672)
WYTHE created from MONTGOMERY; MONTGOMERY gained from BOTETOURT. (Hening, 13:7678)
The United States created an unnamed federal district (now the District of Columbia) from MONTGOMERY and PRINCE GEORGES in Maryland and from FAIRFAX in Virginia to be the seat of the federal government. The district was a square with each corner at a point of the compass (north, east, south, and west) with each side ten miles long. Until 27 February 1801, when Congress created two counties to provide local government in the district, the laws and county jurisdictions of Maryland and Virginia continued in the ceded areas. (Richardson, 1:102; Van Zandt, 88, 90)
BATH created from AUGUSTA, BOTETOURT, and GREENBRIER (W.Va.). (Hening, 13:165167)
MATHEWS created from GLOUCESTER. (Hening, 13:162163)
PENDLETON (W.Va.) gained from AUGUSTA. (Hening, 13:165167)
PATRICK created from HENRY. (Hening, 13:160162)
PATRICK gained from HENRY. (Hening, 13:290)
The state of Kentucky was created from the Kentucky District of Virginia and admitted to the Union. Boundaries were described only as those of the District, which was defined by the counties that composed it: BOURBON, FAYETTE, JEFFERSON, LINCOLN, MADISON, MASON, MERCER, NELSON, and WOODFORD. (Hening, 11:85; U.S. Stat., vol. 1, ch. 4[1791]/p. 189)
GRAYSON created from WYTHE. (Hening, 13:559561)
MADISON created from CULPEPER. (Hening, 13:558559)
LEE created from RUSSELL. (Hening, 13:556557)
GRAYSON gained from WYTHE. (Shepherd, 1:315)
KANAWHA (W.Va.) gained from GREENBRIER (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 1:388389)
BOTETOURT exchanged with MONTGOMERY. (Shepherd, 1:406)
PENDLETON (W.Va.) gained from BATH. (Shepherd, 2:53)
BOTETOURT exchanged with MONTGOMERY. (Shepherd, 2:64)
BROOKE (W.Va.) created by Virginia from OHIO (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 2:5455)
FAIRFAX gained from LOUDOUN. (Shepherd, 2:107108)
MONROE (W.Va.) created by Virginia from GREENBRIER (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 2:168169)
WOOD (W.Va.) created by Virginia from HARRISON (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 2:170171)
HARRISON (W.Va.) gained from MONONGALIA (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 2:203)
TAZEWELL created from RUSSELL and WYTHE. (Shepherd, 2:217218)
WOOD (W.Va.) gained from KANAWHA (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 2:263)
The United States Congress created two counties in the federal District of Columbia: ALEXANDRIA on the south side of the Potomac River for the area acquired from Virginia in 1791 (formerly part of FAIRFAX), and WASHINGTON on the north side of the river. FAIRFAX effectively lost jurisdiction over that part of its former territory that was ceded in 1791. (U.S. Stat., vol. 2, ch. 15[1801]/pp. 103108)
JEFFERSON (W.Va.) created by Virginia from BERKELEY (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 2:271272)
HARRISON (W.Va.) gained from RANDOLPH (W.Va.); MONROE (W.Va.) gained from BOTETOURT and MONTGOMERY. (Shepherd, 2:345346)
GREENSVILLE gained from SUSSEX. (Shepherd, 2:347348)
Tennessee and Virginia accepted the results of a joint survey (October-December 1802) of their boundary from the northeastern corner of Tennessee to Cumberland Gap along a compromise course between the rival lines run in 1779. (Sames, 46; Van Zandt, 95)
MASON (W.Va.) created by Virginia from KANAWHA (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 3:7778)
HARRISON (W.Va.) gained from OHIO (W.Va.). (Shepherd, 3:174175)
GILES created from MONROE (W.Va.), MONTGOMERY, and TAZEWELL. (Shepherd, 3:244245)
TAZEWELL gained from RUSSELL. (Shepherd, 3:310)
GILES gained from WYTHE. (Shepherd, 3:389)
NELSON created from AMHERST. (Shepherd, 3:378379)
CABELL (W.Va.) created by Virginia from KANAWHA (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18081809, ch. 45, sec. 1/pp.
4446)
GRAYSON gained from PATRICK. (Va. Acts 18091810, ch. 66, sec. 1/p. 58)
Boundary between LEE and RUSSELL clarified [no change]. (Va. Acts 18121813, ch. 86, sec. 1/pp.
110111)
SCOTT created from LEE, RUSSELL, and WASHINGTON. (Va. Acts 18141815, ch. 38, sec. 1/pp.
8587)
TYLER (W.Va.) created by Virginia from OHIO (W.Va.). (Robinson, 88; Va. Acts 18141815, ch. 40,
sec. 1/pp. 8789)
Boundary between LEE and SCOTT clarified [no change]. (Va. Acts 18141815, ch. 39, sec. 1/p. 87)
LEWIS (W.Va.) created by Virginia from HARRISON (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18161817, ch. 85, sec. 1/pp.
152153)
KANAWHA (W.Va.) exchanged with MASON (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18161817, ch. 89, sec. 1/p. 157)
PRESTON (W.Va.) created by Virginia from MONONGALIA (W.Va.).
(Va. Acts 18171818, ch. 32, sec.
1/pp. 3234)
NICHOLAS (W.Va.) created by Virginia from GREENBRIER
(W.Va.), KANAWHA (W.Va.), and RANDOLPH (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18171818, ch. 33, sec. 1/pp. 3435)
LEWIS (W.Va.) gained from RANDOLPH (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18171818, ch. 141, sec. 1/p. 184)
The Ohio River and its islands, previously unassigned to
particular counties, were declared to be part of the adjacent Virginia counties
of BROOKE (W. Va.), CABELL (W.Va.), MASON (W.Va.), OHIO (W.Va.), TYLER (W.Va.),
and WOOD (W.Va.) [not mapped]. (Va.
Acts 18191820, ch. 74, sec. 1/p. 66)
NICHOLAS (W.Va.) gained from RANDOLPH (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18191820, ch. 114, sec. 1/p.
91)
MORGAN (W.Va.) created by Virginia from BERKELEY (W.Va.) and
HAMPSHIRE (W.Va.). (Va. Acts
18191820, ch. 34, sec. 1/pp. 2728)
Boundary between HAMPSHIRE (W.Va.) and MORGAN (W.Va.)
clarified [no change]. (Va. Acts
18201821, ch. 102, sec. 1/pp. 120121)
POCAHONTAS (W.Va.) created by Virginia from BATH, PENDLETON
(W.Va.), and RANDOLPH (W.Va.). (Va.
Acts 18211822, ch. 27, sec. 1/pp. 2728)
ALLEGHANY created from BATH, BOTETOURT, and MONROE (W.Va.);
MONROE (W.Va.) gained small area from BOTETOURT. (Va. Acts 18211822, ch. 28, sec. 1/pp. 2830)
LEE gained from SCOTT. (Va. Acts 18221823, ch. 71, sec. 1/pp. 9091)
BATH gained from ALLEGHANY. (Va. Acts 18221823, ch. 65, sec. 1/p. 88)
Boundary between KANAWHA (W.Va.) and MASON (W.Va.) clarified
[no discernible change]. (Va. Acts
18231824, ch. 75, sec. 1/p. 81)
LOGAN (W.Va.) created by Virginia from CABELL (W.Va.),
GILES, KANAWHA (W.Va.), and TAZEWELL. (Va. Acts 18231824, ch. 11, sec. 1/pp. 2021)
NICHOLAS (W.Va.) gained from KANAWHA (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18231824, ch. 74, sec. 1/p. 80)
POCAHONTAS (W.Va.) gained from GREENBRIER (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18241825, ch. 63, sec. 1/pp.
7374)
WYTHE gained from GRAYSON. (Va. Acts 18241825, ch. 66, secs. 12/p. 75)
TAZEWELL gained from WASHINGTON and WYTHE. (Va. Acts 18251826, ch. 41, sec. 1/p. 40)
GILES gained from TAZEWELL. (Va. Acts 18251826, ch. 40, sec. 1/p. 39)
GILES gained from MONROE (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18261827, ch. 51/p. 42)
GREENBRIER (W.Va.) gained from MONROE (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18261827, ch. 50/p. 41)
PRESTON (W.Va.) gained from RANDOLPH (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18271828, ch. 82, sec. 1/pp. 5354)
GILES gained from MONROE (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18281829, ch. 121, sec. 1/pp. 119120)
LOGAN (W.Va.) gained from CABELL (W.Va.) and KANAWHA
(W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18291830, ch.
118, sec. 1/p. 117)
FLOYD created from MONTGOMERY. (Va. Acts 18301831, ch. 72, secs. 1, 12/pp. 137138)
FAYETTE (W.Va.) created by Virginia from GREENBRIER (W.Va.),
KANAWHA (W.Va.), LOGAN (W.Va.), and NICHOLAS (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18301831, ch. 70, sec. 1/pp. 134136)
JACKSON (W.Va.) created by Virginia from KANAWHA (W.Va.),
MASON (W.Va.), and WOOD (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18301831, ch. 73, sec. 1/pp. 138140)
PAGE created from ROCKINGHAM and SHENANDOAH. (Va. Acts 18301831, ch. 74, sec. 1/pp. 140142)
FAYETTE (W.Va.) exchanged with GREENBRIER (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18301831, ch. 71, sec. 1/p.
136)
SMYTH created from WASHINGTON and WYTHE. (Va. Acts 18311832, ch. 67, sec. 1/pp. 4749)
RAPPAHANNOCK created from CULPEPER. (Robinson, 66, 87; Va. Acts 18321833, ch. 73,
sec. 1/pp. 4446)
GREENBRIER (W.Va.) gained from FAYETTE (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18321833, ch. 75, sec. 1/pp.
4748)
TAZEWELL gained from LOGAN (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18331834, ch. 58, sec. 1/p. 73)
RUSSELL exchanged with TAZEWELL. (Va. Acts 18341835, ch. 58, sec. 1/p. 40)
MARSHALL (W.Va.) created by Virginia from OHIO (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18341835, ch. 57, secs. 1, 16/pp. 3840)
BRAXTON (W.Va.) created by Virginia from KANAWHA (W.Va.),
LEWIS (W.Va.), NICHOLAS (W.Va.), and RANDOLPH (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 18351836, ch. 18, sec. 1/pp. 1820)
CLARKE created from FREDERICK. (Va. Acts 18351836, ch. 19, sec. 1/pp. 2022)
WARREN created from FREDERICK and SHENANDOAH. (Va. Acts 18351836, ch. 20, sec. 1/pp. 2224)
GILES gained small area from TAZEWELL to accommodate local
landowner [not mapped]. (Va. Acts
18351836, ch. 21, sec. 1/p. 24)
MERCER (W.Va.) created by Virginia from GILES and TAZEWELL. (Va. Acts 18361837, ch. 53, sec. 1/pp.
3133)
GREENE created from ORANGE. (Va. Acts 1838, ch. 59, sec. 1/pp. 5254)
PRESTON (W.Va.) gained from RANDOLPH (W.Va.). (Va. Acts 1838, ch. 62, sec. 1/pp. 5758)