Washington County, Virginia: Named Before He Was President

On December seventh, seventeen seventy-six, the Virginia General Assembly dissolved Fincastle County and carved three new ones in its place: Montgomery, Kentucky, and Washington. That last name was not honoring a president. George Washington had no title beyond general at the time, and the war was far from won. The legislators of Virginia simply believed he deserved the recognition.

The rival claim belongs to Washington County, Maryland, formed the same year. Historians debate which arrived first; both counties carry the distinction of being among the very earliest places in America to bear his name. Virginia's Washington County was enormous at birth, and later giving up land to form Russell, Scott, and Smyth counties. The county seat today is Abingdon, and the county sits at the far southwestern tip of Virginia where the Appalachian highlands begin their drop toward Tennessee.