Orange County/Spotsylvania County

Orange County/Spotsylvania County is a Virginia historical marker in Orange County, dedicated 1998.

Rte. 20/3.

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Orange County Formed from Spotsylvania County in 1734, Orange County, a pastoral Piedmont county, was probably named in honor of William IV, the Dutch prince of Orange, who married Anne, the Princess Royal, daughter of George II of England, earlier that year. President James Madison lived here at Montpelier and President Zachary Taylor was born here. Some fifty square miles of the county comprise the Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District, an area rich in historic resources including the ruins of Barboursville, the home of Gov. James Barbour designed about 1814 by his friend Thomas Jefferson. Spotsylvania County Straddling the fall line, Spotsylvania County was formed from Essex, King William, and King and Queen Counties in 1720. It was named for Alexander Spotswood, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722. The battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, partly, and Spotslvania were fought in this county. The County seat is Spotsylvania Court House.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

American Geographical Society Library, UW-Milwaukee

Historical maps covering this location

1719 · A new map of the English empire in America viz Virginia, New York, Maryland, New Jersey… (American Geographical Society Library, UW-Milwaukee)
1755 · Virginie, Maryland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1889 · Virginia and West Virginia (eastern portion). (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · N.E. Virginia, Washington 2. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1944 · Chancellorsville, Virginia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering the location of Orange County/Spotsylvania County, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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