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Early History of Colonial Virginia. Kentucky was never a territory or a province. From its earliest history until it was admitted as a state in the union, it was part of Virginia. As settlements spread westward new counties were organized in the Old Dominion, the frontier county extending its boundaries indefinitely into the wilderness. Until 1624, the colony of Virginia was a business managed by the equivalent of a plant manager with a local oversight board. The company's "Board of Directors" was the members of the London Company in England. Management direction from that distance was weak, and conflict among members of the council in Jamestown was intense at times. In the early days of Jamestown, one local member of the council was executed as a Spanish spy and John Smith was threatened with execution by his Council rivals. Recently, excavations at the original fort have revealed the first clear evidence of an Englishman murdered by another in the colony. To attract settlers after the "starving time" in 1609-10 and the failure of the colony to thrive, the London Company offered potential investors a great deal of flexibility in creating new settlements. Shiploads of settlers were sent to Virginia to create largely self-sufficient "hundreds." The name reflected the anticipated number of new settlers required to establish a permanent community. These new "hundreds" were required to be at least several miles from any existing community, and "Bermuda Hundred" became a famous place name on the James River during the Civil War. In 1619, representatives from the separate communities assembled to form the first House of Burgesses, another attempt by the London Company to make the colony attractive to new investors and settlers. In 1624, King James I took official control of the colony by revoking the company charter. Virginia was ruled as a royal colony of the king (as opposed to a proprietary colony, where authority was granted to an individual such as William Penn or Lord Calvert) until the American Revolution. The early colonists continued to spread out their settlements, and their numbers grew. The General Assembly soon found it necessary to create eight shires in which to govern the colony and hold court. In 1623/24, courts were kept in Charles City, Elizabeth City, and James City. In February 1631/32, the General Assembly added five more shires. The eight original shires were: {1} Charles City {2} Henrico {3} James City {4} Elizabeth City {5} Warwick River {6} Warrosquyoake, later Isle of Wight {7} Charles River, later York {8} Accawmacke (Accomack). The creation of the shires, which later became known as counties, was to make the administration of justice more easily accessible to the colonists. There were six kinds of courts in Virginia: {1} Magistrate’s court {2} Parish court {3} Monthly court {4} General court {5} General Assembly {6} Court of Admiralty. As the settlements expanded, courts were needed closer to the people, and new counties continued to be formed. The House of Burgesses first created official local governmental units in 1634. The decision reflected the population growth of the colony, which created a need for official decisions that were local and not of concern to the entire House (or appropriate to delay until the next session of the House of Burgesses). The local units of government were called "shires" only in the original act. Ever since, they have been described as "counties." The original eight shires included Charles City, James City, Elizabeth City, Accomacke-became Northampton 1643, Henrico, Warwick, Isle of Wight and York. 1642 York County, Virginia formed from Charles River County (name change only). 1654 New Kent County, Virginia was formed from York and James City Counties. 1656 [Old] Rappahannock County was formed and became extinct in 1692 when it was divided into Essex and Richmond Counties. May 12, 1691 King and Queen County, Virginia formed from New Kent County. April 26, 1692 Essex County, VA formed from old Rappahannock County. Essex County was probably named after Essex County, England. September 12, 1701 King William County, Virginia formed from King and Queen County. December 17, 1720 Spotsylvania County, VA formed from Essex County, King William County, and King and Queen County. September 20, 1734 Orange County, VA from Spotsylvania County. December 15, 1738 the Virginia House of Burgesses created Frederick and Augusta Counties from Orange County, having their boundaries extending west and north-west to the Mississippi River.
For the period 1750-1770, twenty-six new counties were formed. The continuous westward trek of settlers demanded the government provide courts in their areas. 1769 Botetourt County was cut from Augusta and included territory and the wilderness west to the Mississippi. 1770 Botetourt County, VA from Augusta County. 1772, Fincastle County, formed from Botetourt, covered the westward expanse south of the Ohio River including portions of western Virginia and what is now West Virginia and Kentucky. Harrodsburg was first the county seat of Fincastle County, Virginia.
Most of the land that is now known as Kentucky was part of Virginia in the 1700s. In 1772 Fincastle County, Virginia was formed from Botetourt County. Fincastle County encompassed land in present-day Virginia, as well as most of Kentucky. Fincastle County no longer exists, the records are in Montgomery. Harrodsburg, the county seat of Mercer County, was founded in 1774 by a stalwart band of pioneers led by James Harrod, of Pennsylvania. It was the only "colonial" city and the first permanent English settlement west of the Allegheny mountains. Referred to as the "Birthplace of the West,". From here the pioneers filtered through - conquering the wilderness and going on to populate and settle the rest of the Western frontier. Return to Cynthiana Online Facts and Findings. Credits: |
