User:Mamacali/sandbox

The area that would become Frederick County, Virginia was inhabited and transited by various indigenous peoples for thousands of years before European colonization. The "Indian Road" refers to a historic pathway made by local tribes.

Colonization efforts began with the Virginia Company of London, but European settlement did not flourish until after the company lost its charter and Virginia became a royal colony in 1624. In order to stimulate migration to the colony, the headright system was used. Under this system, those who funded an emigrant’s transportation costs (not the actual colonizers) were compensated with land. During the early 17th century, King Charles II granted several acres of colonial Virginia lands to “seven loyal supporters,” including Lord Fairfax. This passed to Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who married the daughter of Thomas Colepeper, who also owned several acres of land. After their son, Lord Thomas Fairfax, inherited the combined grants, he controlled over 5,000,000 acres of land in Virginia, including much of the land that became Frederick County.

Frederick County was created from Orange County in 1738, and was officially organized in 1743. At that time, "Old Frederick County" encompassed all or part of four counties in present-day Virginia and five in present-day West Virginia:


 * Hampshire (West Virginia), created 1754
 * Dunmore, created 1772 and renamed Shenandoah in 1778
 * Berkeley (West Virginia), created 1772
 * Hardy (West Virginia), created 1786
 * Jefferson (West Virginia), created 1801
 * Morgan (West Virginia), created 1820
 * Page, created 1831
 * Clarke, created 1836
 * Warren, created 1836

The Virginia Assembly named the new county for Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales (1707–1751), the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain.