Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Staunton
Year Organized: 1745
Square Miles: 972

Court House:

P.O. Box 590
County Courthouse
Verona, VA 24482-0590

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Augusta County was named in honor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, wife of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III. It was formed from Orange County in 1738, but county government was not established there until 1745. Its area is 968 square miles, and the county seat is Staunton.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Augusta County, Virginia formed from Orange County. Legislative enactment in 1738. Organized in 1745. [Virginia Counties: Those Resulting from Virginia Legislation, by Morgan Poitiaux Robinson, originally published as Bulletin of the Virginia State Library, Volume 9, January, April, July 1916, reprinted 1992 by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, MD.]

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County, although 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.

Neighboring Counties:

Pendleton County, West Virginia - north
Rockingham County, Virginia - northeast
Albemarle County, Virginia - east
Nelson County, Virginia - southeast
Rockbridge County, Virginia - southwest
Bath County, Virginia - west
Highland County, Virginia - northwest

In addition, two cities are enclaved within the county:

Staunton
Waynesboro

Cities and Towns:

- Craigsville	town	Incorporated Area
- Staunton (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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