Craig County, Virginia

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

County Seat: New Castle
Year Organized: 1851
Square Miles: 330

Court House:

P.O. Box 308
County Courthouse
New Castle, VA 24127-0308

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Craig is named for Virginia state legislator and U.S. Congressman from Virginia Robert Craig.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Craig County, Virginia formed from Botetourt, Giles, Roanoke and Monroe; and later Alleghany, and Montgomery Counties. Monroe County and Montgomery Counties gave portions in 1852-1853. Alleghany and Monroe Counties gave portions in 1855-1856. Giles County gave portions in 1857-1858 and 1879-1880. [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.]

Craig County was named for Robert Craig, a nineteenth-century Virginia congressman. The county was formed from Botetourt, Giles, Roanoke and Monroe (West Virginia) Counties in 1851. Parts of Monroe County were added in 1853 and 1856, part of Montgomery County was added in 1853, part of Alleghany County added in 1856, and part of Giles County added in 1858. Its area is 336 square miles, and the county seat is New Castle. The population is 5,091 according to the 2000 census. Lost the first deed book and most of the loose papers during the Civil War.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 331 square miles (856 km²), of which, 331 square miles (856 km²) of it is land and 0 square miles (0 km²) of it (0.00%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Alleghany County, VA to the north
Botetourt County, VA to the east
Giles County, VA to the southwest
Monroe County, WV to the northwest
Montgomery County, VA to the south
Roanoke County, VA to the south

Cities and Towns:

- New Castle (County Seat)

town

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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