Hardy County, created on October 17, 1786, from Hampshire County, was named for Samuel Hardy, a Virginia statesman. Located in the South Branch Valley, the county was settled in the mid‑1700s by German and Scots‑Irish pioneers. Moorefield, the county seat, was chartered in 1777 and saw significant Civil War activity, including multiple raids and skirmishes. Agriculture—especially livestock farming—has long been central to the county’s economy, supported by the fertile bottomlands of the South Branch of the Potomac River.