Rockingham County/Greene County

Greene County Formed from Orange County in 1838, this rural Piedmont county was named for Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, Revolutionary War hero. In 1722, Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood issued the Octonia land grant to eight Virginians; the Octonia Stone, five miles southeast of here, is a rare stone boundary marker that designates the westernmost edge of this 24,000-acre grant. William Stanard, heir to a portion of this grant, founded Stanardsville, the county seat, in 1794. The county's courthouse, built in the Roman Revival style popularized by Thomas Jefferson, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the 1930s, 15% of Greene County's land was acquired to form Shenandoah National Park. Reverse: Rockingham County Rockingham County was formed from Augusta County in 1777. Harrisonburg was established as the county seat in 1780. Settlers migrating south and west along the Great Wagon Road, a route first developed by Native Americans, encountered the natural bounty of the Shenandoah Valley. The earliest European immigrants were predominantly German-Swiss, Scots-Irish, and English. During the Civil War, Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson concluded his Valley campaign at Cross Keys and at Port Republic, 8–9 June 1862. Agricultural enterprises, Mennonite and Church of the Brethren refugee resettlement programs, and colleges and universities later attracted new community members.