Augusta County, Virginia

Augusta County Education, Geography, and History

Augusta County is a county located in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the second-largest county in Virginia by total area, and it surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. The county seat of Augusta is Staunton, although most of the administrative services have offices in neighboring Verona.

The county was created in 1738 from part of Orange County, Virginia, and was named after Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha. It was originally a huge area, but many parts of Augusta County were carved out to form other counties and several states, until the current border was finalized in 1790.

Based on the 2010 census, the county population was 73,750

Etymology - Origin of Augusta County Name

Augusta County was named in honor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, wife of Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales, and mother of George III. It was formed from Orange County in 1738, but county government was not established there until 1745. Its area is 968 square miles, and the county seat is Staunton.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Augusta County History

Augusta County, Virginia formed from Orange County. Legislative enactment in 1738. Organized in 1745. [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.]

Augusta County was formed in 1738 from Orange County, although county government was not organized until 1745. It was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales and mother of the future King George III of the United Kingdom.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 971 square miles (2,510 km²), of which 967 square miles (2,500 km²) is land and 3.9 square miles (10 km²) (0.4%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Virginia by land area and second-largest by total area.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Pendleton County, West Virginia - north
• Rockingham County, Virginia - northeast
• Albemarle County, Virginia - east
• Nelson County, Virginia - southeast
• Rockbridge County, Virginia - southwest
• Bath County, Virginia - west
• Highland County, Virginia - northwest

In addition, two cities are enclaved within the county:

• Staunton
• Waynesboro
  

Education

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