Hampshire County, created on December 13, 1754, is the oldest county in West Virginia. Formed from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties in colonial Virginia, it was named for the English county of Hampshire. Early settlement began in the mid‑1700s along the South Branch of the Potomac River, where fertile bottomlands supported farming communities. Romney, the county seat, was chartered in 1762—making it one of the state’s oldest towns—and changed hands repeatedly during the Civil War due to its strategic location on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The county’s rugged mountains, historic farms, and early transportation routes shaped its development well into the 20th century.