Alleghany County is an American county located on the far western edge of Commonwealth of Virginia. It is bordered by the Allegheny Mountains, from which the county derives its name, and it is the northernmost part of the Roanoke Region. The county seat is Covington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,223.
The county was created in 1822 from parts of Bath County, Botetourt County, and Monroe County (now in West Virginia) with additional portions of Bath County and Monroe County added in 1823 and 1844, respectively. At the time, the majority of the population lived around Covington, and the primary cash crop then was hemp, which was used for rope production.
History
Alleghany County was established on January 5, 1822, by an act of the Virginia General Assembly. The new county was formed from parts of Bath County, Botetourt County, and Monroe County (now in West Virginia), with most of the population centered in the new county seat in Covington. Alleghany County was named for the Allegheny Mountains, which border the western edge of the county.
The current Constitution of Virginia allows the city of Covington, among others in the state, to be an independent city. On July 1, 2001, the city of Clifton Forge reincorporated as a town within Alleghany County. As such, the town is subject to the county and simultaneously subject to the new charter for the town of Clifton Forge.
When the county was established, the principal export was hemp, used for rope production in Richmond. However, as hemp demand and prices declined, the farmers of Alleghany switched to grain, hay and livestock production. The county is entirely within the Valley and Ridge physiographic region of Virginia. Alleghany County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.
The primary tributaries of the James River, the Cowpasture River and Jackson River both flow through the county. The confluence of the two is just south of the county boundary near the town of Iron Gate.
Adjacent counties
- Bath County – north
- Rockbridge County – east
- Botetourt County – southeast
- Craig County – south
- Monroe County, West Virginia – southwest
- Greenbrier County, West Virginia – west
National protected areas
- George Washington National Forest (part)
- United States National Radio Quiet Zone (part)
Climate
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