Frederick County is the northernmost county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 91,419. Its county seat is Winchester. The county was formed in 1743 by splitting Orange County. Frederick County is included in the Winchester, VA-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV-PA Combined Statistical Area.

History

The area that would become Frederick County, Virginia, was inhabited and transited by various indigenous peoples for thousands of years before European colonization.

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. In 1649 the exiled King Charles II granted several acres of colonial Virginia lands to "seven loyal supporters", including Lord Fairfax. The Fairfax lands passed to Thomas Fairfax, 5th Lord Fairfax of Cameron (1657-1710), 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. 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. 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 This preceded the Congress's declaration of independence and the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War.

War of 1812

American Civil War

Winchester was a site of volatile conditions during the Civil War of 1861–1865, with control shifting between the Confederate and Union armies on average once every three weeks during the war. Many battles were fought in Frederick County. Some of those battles included:

  • First Battle of Kernstown, March 1862
  • First Battle of Winchester, May 1862
  • Second Battle of Winchester, June 1863
  • Second Battle of Kernstown, July 1864
  • Third Battle of Winchester (Battle of Opequon), September 1864
  • Battle of Cedar Creek, October 1864

The first constitution of West Virginia provided for Frederick County to be added to the new state if approved by a local election.

Unlike neighboring Berkeley and Jefferson counties, Frederick County remained in Virginia; as it was occupied by the Confederate army, no vote was permitted to ascertain the residents' wishes.

Civilian history of the area

Four (alkaline, saline, chalybeate, and sulphured) types of mineral water springs naturally occur on the land that would later be named Rock Enon Springs. The area was once called Capper Springs, named for area settler John Capper. William Marker bought the in 1856 and built a hotel, the first building of the Rock Enon Springs Resort. It survived the American Civil War. On March 24, 1899, the Shenandoah Valley National Bank purchased the property for $3,500. During the summer of 1914 botanists found a variety of ferns on the property: polypodium vulgare, phegopteris hexagonoptera, adiantum pedatum, pteris aquilina, and cheilanthes lanosa.

The idea that soaking in the natural spring water had medical value made this and other springs popular tourist destinations through the early 20th century.

In 1944, people no longer had as much faith in the springs, and there was much more competition for tourists at other sites. Due to declining business, the Glaize family sold the property to the Shenandoah Area Council. They adapted the resort to operate as a Boy Scout site, Camp Rock Enon. In 1958 "walnut, chestnut and persimmon trees" were planted on the property.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. This is the northernmost county in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Adjacent counties

  • Clarke County – east
  • Warren County – south
  • Shenandoah County – southwest
  • Hardy County, West Virginia – southwest
  • Hampshire County, West Virginia – west
  • Morgan County, West Virginia – north
  • Berkeley County, West Virginia – northeast
  • Winchester – surrounded by Frederick County

National protected areas

  • Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park (part)
  • George Washington National Forest (part)

Demographics