Botetourt County, Virginia: History and Information

Botetourt County, Virginia

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

County Seat: Fincastle
Year Organized: 1796
Square Miles: 543

Court House:

One West Main Street, Box 1
County Courthouse
Fincastle, VA 24090-0000

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Botetourt County was named for Norborne Berkeley, baron de Botetourt, the royal governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770.

Demographics:

History

Botetourt County, Virginia formed from Augusta and Rockbridge Counties. Legislative enactment in 1769. Organized in 1770. Rockbridge County gave only small portions at later dates (1821-1822, 1838, 1850-1851, 1887-1888 and possibly nearer the 1770 organization date as well). [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.]

Botetourt County was named for Norborne Berkeley, baron de Botetourt, the royal governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770. It was formed from Augusta County in 1769, and part of Rockbridge County was added in 1785. Its area is 549 square miles, and the county seat is Fincastle.

Neighboring Counties:

Roanoke County, Virginia - southwest

Craig County, Virginia - west

Alleghany County, Virginia - northwest

Rockbridge County, Virginia - northeast

Bedford County, Virginia - southeast

Cities and Towns:

- Buchanan

town

Incorporated Area

- Fincastle (County Seat)

town

Incorporated Area

- Roanoke

city

Incorporated Area

- Troutville

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

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."

Virginia State...

Virginia

Virginia Counties

Botetourt County, Virginia

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

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

County Resource Guide

Penn Foster High School