Jefferson County is located in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridg ...

in the

Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia The Eastern Panhandle is the eastern of the two panhandles in the U.S. state of West Virginia; the other is the Northern Panhandle. It is a small stretch of territory in the northeast of the state, bordering Maryland and Virginia. Some sourc ...

. It is the easternmost

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the U.S. state of

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 57,701. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Charles Town. The county was founded in 1801, and today is part of the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

History

Formation

Jefferson County was established o
October 26, 1801
from Berkeley County because the citizens of southeastern Berkeley County felt they had to travel too far to the county seat of Martinsburg.

Charles Washington Charles Washington (May 2, 1738 – September 16, 1799) was a Virginia planter and government official in several counties, who founded a town in the Shenandoah Valley which was named Charles Town in his honor shortly after his death and that o ...

, the founder of Charles Town and brother to George Washington petitioned for a new county to be formed. It was named for

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

, author of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

and third

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

. Virginia previously had a Jefferson County, which is now part of Kentucky. Accordingly, in the State records of Virginia, there are listings for Jefferson County from 1780 to 1792 and Jefferson County from 1801 to 1863, neither of which are still in Virginia.

John Brown rebellion

The county's

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

was the site of the trial for the

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

John Brown after his October 1859 raid on the federal armory in

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

. Some 90 U.S. Marines serving under then Army Colonel

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nor ...

and Lieutenants J.E.B. Stuart and Israel Greene put down the rebellion. Brown was sentenced to death for murder, treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, and conspiring with slaves to rebel. On 2 December 1859 John Brown was taken from the Charles Town jail a short distance to an open field and hanged. Among those attending the Brown execution was a contingent of 1500 cadets from

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

sent by the

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia serves as the head of government of Virginia for a four-year term. The incumbent, Glenn Youngkin, was sworn in on January 15, 2022. Oath of office On inauguration day, the Governor-elect takes th ...

Henry A. Wise under the supervision of Major William Gilham and Major Thomas J. Jackson. In the ranks of a Richmond militia company stood John Wilkes Booth.

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

was also present.

Civil War

The county was a frequent site of conflict during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

, as Union and Confederate lines moved back and forth along the Shenandoah Valley. Some towns in the county changed hands between the Union and Confederacy over a dozen times, including Charles Town, and especially Harpers Ferry. Jefferson County is the only part of modern-day

not exempted from the effects of the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Proclamation c ...

(as Berkeley County and the 48 counties designated as

had been). Slaves in the county thus were legally free as of January 1, 1863. The Jefferson County Courthouse is the only courthouse in America to have held two treason trials: the trial of John Brown in 1859 and a trial arising from the Battle of Blair Mountain labor rebellion.

Joining West Virginia

Jefferson County had voted for secession in the vote taken on May 23, 1861. However, Jefferson County, along with Berkeley County, both counties counties lying on the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

in the

, with the consent of the

Reorganized Government of Virginia The Restored (or Reorganized) Government of Virginia was the Unionist government of Virginia during the American Civil War (1861–1865) in opposition to the government which had approved Virginia's seceding from the United States and join ...

voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia in 1863 in a dubious election supervised by the occupying

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

. Virginia tried to nullify this after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...

, but the counties remained part of West Virginia. The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was brought before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. Federal tribunals in the United States, federal court cases, and over Stat ...

in the following manner: Berkeley and Jefferson County, West Virginia, counties lying on the Potomac east of the mountains, in 1863, with the consent of the Reorganized Government of Virginia, had supposedly voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia. However, many voters were absent in the Confederate Army when the vote was taken and they refused to accept the transfer upon their return. The

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

repealed the Act of Secession and in 1866 brought suit against West Virginia, asking the Supreme Court to declare the counties still part of Virginia. Congress, on March 10, 1866, passed a joint resolution recognizing the transfer. In 1871, the U.S. Supreme Court decided '' Virginia v. West Virginia'', upholding the "secession" of West Virginia, including Berkeley and Jefferson counties, from Virginia. In 2011, West Virginia state delegate Larry Kump sponsored legislation to allow Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties to rejoin Virginia by popular vote.

County subdivisions

In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England, New York, and Wisconsin to ref ...

s, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into magisterial districts. Jefferson County was initially divided into five townships, which became magisterial districts in 1872: Averill, Bolivar, Chapline, Grant, and Shepherd. In 1873, Averill District was renamed "Middleway", Chapline became "Potomac", and Grant District became "Charlestown". Two additional districts, Harpers Ferry and Osburn, were created during the 1870s. In the 1880s, Bolivar District was annexed by Harpers Ferry; Potomac and Shepherd were consolidated into Shepherdstown District, and Osburn was renamed "Kabletown".

Rural Free Delivery

In October 1896, Jefferson County became the first county in the United States to begin Rural Free Delivery service in the towns of Halltown and Uvilla.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water. It is the only West Virginia county where the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virg ...

and

Shenandoah River The Shenandoah River is the principal tributary of the Potomac River, long with two forks approximately long each,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 in t ...

can be found, as referenced in West Virginia's

state song Forty-eight of the fifty U.S. states have one or more state songs, a type of regional anthem, which are selected by each state legislature as a symbol (or emblem) of that particular U.S. state. Some U.S. states have more than one official state ...

, " Take Me Home, Country Roads" by

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

. The lowest point in the state of West Virginia is located on the

(just east of

) in Jefferson County, where it flows out of West Virginia and into

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

National protected area

* Harpers Ferry National Historical Park (part)

Rivers and streams

** Opequon Creek *

Adjacent counties

Washington County, Maryland Washington County is located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 154,705. Its county seat is Hagerstown. Washington County was the first county in the United States to be named for th ...

(north) *

Loudoun County, Virginia Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun ...

(east) *

Clarke County, Virginia Clarke County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,783. Its county seat is Berryville. Clarke County is included in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistic ...

(southwest) * Berkeley County (northwest)

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 340 * West Virginia Route 9 *

West Virginia Route 45 West Virginia Route 45 (WV 45) is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The state highway runs from the Virginia state line near Glengary east to WV 230 and WV 480 in Shepherdstown. WV 45 connects the communities of Glengar ...

* West Virginia Route 51 * West Virginia Route 115 (Old West Virginia Route 9) *

West Virginia Route 230 West Virginia Route 230 is a north–south state highway located entirely within Jefferson County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 340 west of Bolivar. The northern terminus of the rout ...

Demographics

2000 census

2010 census

As of the 2010 U.S. census, there were 53,498 people, 19,931 households, and 13,971 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 22,037 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.6% white, 6.6% black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 1.8% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 4.7% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 25.9% were

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 17.3% were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, 12.1% were Irish, and 6.6% were

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. Of the 19,931 households, 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 29.9% were non-families, and 22.7% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.07. The median age was 38.9 years. The median income for a household in the county was $65,603 and the median income for a family was $77,185. Males had a median income of $54,959 versus $36,782 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,733. About 4.4% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Law enforcement

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department provides law enforcement services in the county, and handles all 911 emergency and non emergency calls. In February 2007, Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Corporal Ronald Fletcher was shot and critically wounded during a stand-off at the residence of the girlfriend of a suspect, Dorsey Cox. Cox had been at his girlfriend's house retrieving personal items in violation of a court-ordered protective order. As Corporal Fletcher approached the house, Cox fled inside and subsequently shot Corporal Fletcher four times, one of which struck the officer in the chest. The State Police's

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

team entered the house. Cox was later found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. On June 5, 2012, Sheriff Robert Shirley was indicted on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of destruction, falsification or alteration of a record in a federal investigation. He is alleged to have beaten Mark Daniel Haines, who later pleaded guilty to bank robbery, during his arrest on December 27, 2010. He is also alleged to have altered a use of force report while the incident was under investigation by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice ...

. Shirley and 14 other "

John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are ofte ...

" law enforcement officers were also the subject of a civil rights lawsuit filed by Haines. The lawsuit alleges that Shirley and the other officers used excessive force while arresting Haines. Shirley pled guilty to federal civil rights charges of and was sentenced to a year in prison.

Politics

Jefferson County has been a Republican-leaning county in the 21st century, although

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

carried it in the 2008 presidential election. For much of the 20th century, the county trended strongly Democratic due to historical sympathies for Confederate Virginia. In contrast to its rock-ribbed Unionist and Republican Eastern Panhandle sister Morgan County, Jefferson did not vote Republican until Dwight D. Eisenhower won by 27 votes in 1956, and afterwards voted Republican only in the 1972 and 1984 landslides, and in 1988. Despite their strong support for Republican presidential candidates in recent years, local Democrats still have success in Jefferson County. Even as recently as 2018, Senator Joe Manchin won the county in his successful reelection, despite the county being the home of his opponent, Patrick Morrisey.

Communities

Cities

* Charles Town (county seat) *

Ranson Ranson is a surname, and may refer to: * Arthur Ranson (born 1939), English comic book illustrator * Jack Ranson (1909–1992), English footballer * J. B. Ranson (1864–?), commander of White Star Line liners * J. M. Ranson (born 1938), Engli ...

Towns

* Bolivar *

* Shepherdstown

Magisterial districts

*Charles Town *Harpers Ferry *Kabletown *Middleway *Shepherdstown

Census-designated places

* Middleway * Shannondale * Shenandoah Junction

Unincorporated communities

* Bakerton * Bardane *

Blair Blair is an English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or "field", frequently a “ba ...

Bloomery A bloomery is a type of metallurgical furnace once used widely for smelting iron from its oxides. The bloomery was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron. Bloomeries produce a porous mass of iron and slag called a ''bloom' ...

* Blue Ridge Acres * Browns Corner * Duffields *

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

* Engle * Franklintown * Halltown * Jamestown * Johnsontown *

Kabletown Kabletown is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. The town lies along a spring-fed stream called Bullskin Run near the Shenandoah River on Kabletown Road (County Route A county highway (also count ...

* Kearneysville * Keyes Ferry Acres * Leetown * Mannings * Mechanicstown * Mechlenberg Heights * Meyerstown * Millville * Moler Crossroads * Mountain Mission * Reedson * Rippon * Riverside * Silver Grove * Skeetersville * Summit Point * Uvilla * Wheatland

Historic buildings and structures

* Middleway Historic District (1734) * White House Farm (1740) * Hopewell (Millville, West Virginia) (1765) * Harewood (West Virginia) (1770) * Mount Ellen (ca 1790) * New Hopewell (1774), a farm comprising agricultural fields and historical buildings, located between Johnsontown and Leetown *

Happy Retreat Happy Retreat (also known as Charles Washington House and Mordington) is a historic property in Charles Town, West Virginia, which was originally owned and developed by Charles Washington, the youngest brother of George Washington and the found ...

(1780) *

Blakeley (West Virginia) Blakeley, near Charles Town, West Virginia is also known as the Washington - Chew - Funkhouser House, and was built in 1820 by John Augustine Washington II, great-nephew of George Washington and grandson of John Augustine Washington. It is a co ...

(1820) *

Claymont Court Claymont Court, or simply Claymont, is a Georgian-style brick Plantation house in the Southern United States, mansion, the grandest of several built near Charles Town, West Virginia for members of the George Washington, Washington family. The cu ...

(1820) * Cedar Lawn (1825) * Barleywood Manor (1846) * Jacks-Manning Farm (Vinton Farm) (1848) * John Brown's Fort (1848) * Grace Episcopal Church (1851) * Kabletown Church (1861) * Brown Shugart House (1885)

Gallery

Image:Mount Ellen.jpg, Mount Ellen Image:HappyRetreat_CharlesTownWV.jpg, Happy Retreat Image:Blakeley.jpg, Blakeley Image:Claymont court.jpg, Claymont Court Image:Grace church middleway3.JPG, Grace Episcopal Church Image:Kabletown Church.JPG, Kabletown Church

Footnotes

References

External links

{{authority control 1801 establishments in Virginia Counties of Appalachia Former counties of Virginia Populated places established in 1801 Washington metropolitan area West Virginia counties West Virginia counties on the Potomac River