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Rockingham County, Virginia, USA

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Profiles

  • Hester E Rolston (1834 - 1887)
    Find A Grave Memorial 77248220Daughter of Joseph Swank and Elizabeth (Landes) Swank. Wife of John H. Rolston Mother of infant buried in Rolston plot .
  • Capt John H Rolston (1832 - 1911)
    Find A Grave Memorial 31216773Member of Company H, 10th Virginia Regt. Enlisted at the begining of the Civil War. Was shot through both lungs at High Bridge, Prince Edward County, Virginia in 1865, lef...
  • Anne Hill Lee (1773 - 1829)
    Family On June 18, 1793, Henry Lee married the wealthy Anne Hill Carter (1773–1829) at Shirley Plantation. Anne was the daughter of Charles Carter, Esq., of Shirley, and his wife Ann Butler Moore.[10...
  • James Tyree Rexrode (1887 - 1976)
    James Tyree Rexrode Birth 25 Dec 1887 Sugar Grove, Pendleton County, West Virginia, USA Death 23 Feb 1976 (aged 88) Harrisonburg City, Virginia, USA Burial Sugar Grove Cemetery Sugar Grove, Pendleton C...
  • Charles Luther Rogers (1859 - 1920)
    Charles Luther Rogers Birth 8 Oct 1859 Rockingham County, Virginia, USA Death 1 Dec 1920 (aged 61) Harrisonburg City, Virginia, USA Burial Woodbine Cemetery Harrisonburg, Harrisonburg City, Virginia,

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 820 acres, 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.

Cemeteries

Cemeteries of Virginia

Links

Official Web Site

Wikipedia

This project is a table of contents for all projects relating to this County of Virginia. Please feel free to add profiles of anyone who was born, lived or died in this county.