Place:Rockingham, Virginia, United States

NameRockingham
Alt namesRockinghamsource: Getty Vocabulary Program
TypeCounty
Coordinates38.517°N 78.883°W
Located inVirginia, United States     (1778 - )
See alsoPage, Virginia, United StatesChild county (source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990)
Contained Places
Cemetery
Baker-Smith-Thompson Cemetery
Brenneman Cemetery
Byrd Cemetery
Cross Keys Cemetery
Driver-Rife Cemetery
Fairview Church of the Brethren Cemetery
Merica Family Cemetery
Old Weaver Church Cemetery
Port Republic Cemetery
Riverside Cemetery
Saint Peters Cemetery
Spears Family Cemetery
Weavers Mennonite Church Cemetery
Deserted settlement
Old Furnace
Independent city
Harrisonburg ( - 1916 )
Inhabited place
Alderson
Arkton
Athlone
Beldor
Bergton
Berrytown
Big Gap
Bloomer Spring
Blue Hole
Bridgewater
Briery Branch
Broadway
Brooks Gap
Cherry Grove
Clines Hacking
Clover Hill
Coakley Town
Cootes Store
Craney Island
Criders
Cross Keys ( 1778 - )
Dale Enterprise
Daphna
Dayton
East Point
Edom
Egypt
Elkton
Fulks Run
Genoa
Goods Mill
Green Mount
Greenwood
Grottoes
Harrisonvllle
Hightown
Hinton
Honeyville
Hopkins Gap
Hopkins Spring
Indian Creek
Inglewood
Island Ford
Keezletown
Lacey Spring
Lee
Lilly
Linville Creek ( 1778 - )
Linville
Lynnwood
Massanetta Springs
Massanutten
Mauzy
Mayland
McGaheysville ( 1778 - )
Mechanicsville
Montevideo
Montezuma
Mossy Creek ( 1778 - )
Mount Clinton
Mount Crawford
Muddy Creek ( 1778 - )
Naked Creek ( 1778 - )
Newtown
North Mountain
Oakwood
Ottobine
Palos
Park View
Paulington
Peach Grove
Peaked Mountain ( 1778 - )
Peales Crossroads
Penn Laird
Pineville
Plains Mill
Pleasant Valley
Port
Rawley Springs
Rocky Bar
Rosendale
Rushville
Simmons Gap
Singers Glen
Solsburg
Sparkling Springs
Spring Creek
Stemphleytown
Stultz Mill
Swift Run
Tenth Legion
Timber Ridge
Timberville
Tunis
Turleytown
Yankeetown
Zenda
Zirkle
Inhabited region
Shenandoah Valley ( 1778 - 1831 )
Populated place
Brock's Gap ( 1778 - )
Settlement
Hawksbill Settlement ( 1778 - 1831 )
Unknown
Blosser Cemetery
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog


the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,757. Its county seat is the independent city of Harrisonburg.

Along with Harrisonburg, Rockingham County forms the Harrisonburg, VA, Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also home of the Rockingham County Baseball League.

Contents

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Settlement of the county began in 1727, when Adam Miller (Mueller) staked out a claim on the south fork of the Shenandoah River, near the line that now divides Rockingham County from Page County. On a trip through eastern Virginia, the German-born Miller had heard reports about a lush valley to the west which had been discovered by Governor Alexander Spotswood's legendary Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition, and then moved his family down from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In 1741, Miller purchased , including a large lithia spring, near Elkton, Virginia, and lived on this property for the remainder of his life.

Much-increased settlement of this portion of the Colony of Virginia by Europeans began in the 1740s and 1750s. Standing between the Tidewater and Piedmont regions to the east in Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley and the area beyond (known in old Virginia as the "Transmountaine") were the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rather than cross such a formidable physical barrier, most early settlers came southerly up the valley across the Potomac River from Maryland and Pennsylvania. Many followed the Great Wagon Trail, also known as the Valley Pike (U.S. Route 11 in modern times).

Rockingham County was established in 1778 from Augusta County. Harrisonburg was named as the county seat and incorporated as a town in 1780. Harrisonburg was incorporated as a city in 1916 and separated from Rockingham County (all cities in Virginia are independent of any county), but it remains the county seat.

The county is named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, a British statesman (1730–1782). He was Prime Minister of Great Britain twice, and a keen supporter of constitutional rights for the colonists. During his first term, he brought about the repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765, reducing the tax burden on the colonies. Appointed again in 1782, upon taking office, he backed the claim for the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, initiating an end to British involvement in the American Revolutionary War. However, he died after only 14 weeks in office. By 1778, it was unusual to honor British officials in Virginia, fighting for its independence. The same year, immediately to the north of Rockingham County, Dunmore County, named for Virginia's last Royal Governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, an unpopular figure, was renamed. The new name, Shenandoah County, used a Native American name. However, long their political supporter in the British Parliament, the Marquess of Rockingham was a popular figure with the citizens of the new United States. Also named in his honor were Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, North Carolina, and the City of Rockingham in Richmond County, North Carolina.

Rockingham County is the birthplace of Thomas Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's father. In 1979 when the Adolf Coors Brewing Company came to Rockingham County it caused an uproar; some citizens thought it would corrupt the morals of the area while others wanted the new jobs.

In 2018, a series of strikes and protests were held in Dayton's Cargill plant.

Timeline

Date Event Source
1778 County formed Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1778 Court records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1778 Land records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1778 Marriage records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1778 Probate records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1790 First census Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
1862 Birth records recorded Source:Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
1990 No significant boundary changes after this year Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990

Population History

source: Source:Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790-1990
Census Year Population
1790 7,449
1800 10,374
1810 12,753
1820 14,784
1830 20,683
1840 17,344
1850 20,294
1860 23,408
1870 23,668
1880 29,567
1890 31,299
1900 33,527
1910 34,903
1920 30,047
1930 29,709
1940 31,289
1950 35,079
1960 40,485
1970 47,890
1980 57,038
1990 57,482

Note: Harrisonburg city, formed from Rockingham County (1916). Annexation after 1980 from Rockingham (1980 population 4,984).

Research Guides

Book: History of Rockingham County, Virginia by John W. Wayland. The whole book can be read at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~varockin/wayland/book_toc.htm. Contains list of early marriages, settlers etc.

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Rockingham County, Virginia. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.