Jefferson County, created in 1801 and named for the then Vice-President of the United States and newly-elected President, had been a region of settlement for more than six decades before its formal organization. As early as the 1730 emigrant from Pennsylvania, were crossing the Potomac at Packhorse Ford below Shepherdstown (three decades before the ferries were established there and at Harper's Ferry), and moving into the region. Many of the early settlers were bound for the lands further up the Valley in what is today Shenandoah and Page Counties. But the fertility and beauty of the region caused many to pause, have the land surveyed, and petition for grants from Thomas Lord Fairfax. At the time the region was still part of Orange County, and some of these early deeds are to be found in Orange County and later Frederick County archives.
The region also benefitted from the main east-west road which ran from Alexandria through the Old Court House (Tyson's Corner) to Leesburg, and through the Blue Ridge at Keys Gap. Numbers of Loudoun settlers moved westward along this route to Jefferson in the years following the Revolution.
When Jefferson was created, it was taken from the territory of Berkeley County, and it was one of the triumvirate of counties (Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan) taken from Virginia following the Civil War and annexed to the new state of West Virginia.
To order by phone, call 1-706-546-6740 M-F 8a-6p EST.
You may call the number above during business hours to check the status of an order, or
E-mail us
Please see our HELP PAGE for mail-order instructions, wholesaler policies and other contact information.
We specialize in records for Virginia 1650-1900.
Use these convenient pull-down menus to jump quickly to a county of interest:
To order by phone, call 1-706-546-6740 M-F 8a-6p EST.
You may call the number above during business hours to check the status of an order, or
E-mail us
Click here for mail-order instructions.
Copyright © 2006 New Papyrus Publishing Company