Frederick County, Virginia

Frederick County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth" — of Virginia. It was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. For ten years it was the home of George Washington. As of 2000, the population was 59,209. Its county seat is Winchester ⁶.

History

Frederick County was established in 1743 from Orange County. The county is named for Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales and eldest son of King George II of Great Britain.

American Revolution

Commander-in-Chief of the Colonial forces, General George Washington's headquarters was located in Winchester. Washington's represented Frederick County in his first elective offices, having been elected to the House of Burgesses in 1758 and 1761. Daniel Morgan was another famous General during the Revolutionary War, from the county (present day Clarke County).

Civil War

Winchester changed hands between the Confederate and Union Armies on average once every three weeks during the war. Many battles were fought in Frederick County. Some of those battles include:

First Battle of Kernstown, March 1862
First Battle of Winchester, May 1862
Second Battle of Winchester, June 1863
Second Battle of Kernstown, July 1864
Third Battle of Winchester, September 1864
Battle of Cedar Creek, October 1864

Sites on the National Register of Historic Places

Site	Year Built	Address	Community	Listed
Cedar Creek & Belle Grove National Historical Park		I-81 between Middletown & Strasburg	Middletown	2003
Cedar Creek Battlefield & Belle Grove	1797, 1864	I-81 between Middletown & Strasburg	Middletown	1969
Old Forge Farm (Marlboro Iron Works)	1700s	7326 Middle Road (VA 628)	Middletown	2004
Frederick County Courthouse	1840	20 North Loudoun Street	Winchester	2001
Frederick County Poor Farm (Poorhouse)	1820	Poorhouse Road (VA 654)	Round Hill	1993
Homespun	1790	949 Cedar Creek Grade (VA 622)	Winchester	2002
Hopewell Friends Meetinghouse	1759	604 Hopewell Road (VA 672)	Clear Brook	1980
Middletown Historic District			Middletown	2003
Monte Vista (Cedar Grove Farm)	1843	8100 US 11	Middletown	1987
Newtown-Stephensburg Historic District			Stephens City	1992
Old Stone Church	1838	Shockeysville (VA 671) & Apple Pie Ridge (VA 739) Roads	Green Spring	2001
Opequon Historic District		Cedar Creek Grade (VA 622) & Miller Road (VA 620)	Winchester	2002
Opequon Presbyterian Church	1877	217 Opequon Church Lane (VA 706)	Winchester	2001
Rose Hill Farm	1820	1985 Jones Road (VA 621)	Winchester	1997
Springdale (John Hite House)	1753	US 11	Bartonsville	1982
Springdale Mill Complex	1788	US 11	Bartonsville	1982
St. Thomas Chapel (Episcopal Church)	1834	VA 1102 & VA 1105	Middletown	1973
Sunrise (Muse House)	1850	975 Hollow Road (VA 707)	Gore	1995
Willa Cather Birthplace (Rachel E. Boak House)	1850	Northwestern Turnpike (US 50)	Gore	1978
Willow Shade (Willa Cather House)	1851	Northwestern Turnpike (US 50)	Winchester	1990

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,076 km² (416 mi²). 1,074 km² (415 mi²) of it is land and 3 km² (1 mi²) of it (0.24%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census year	Population

1790	19,681
1800	24,744
1810	22,574
1820	24,706
1830	26,046
1840	14,242
1850	15,975
1860	16,546
1870	16,596
1880	17,553
1890	17,880
1900	13,239
1910	12,787
1920	12,461
1930	13,167
1940	14,008
1950	17,537
1960	21,941
1970	28,893
1980	34,150
1990	45,723
2000	59,209
2004	66,611

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 59,209 people, 22,097 households, and 16,727 families residing in the county. The population density was 55/km² (143/mi²). There were 23,319 housing units at an average density of 22/km² (56/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.99% White, 2.62% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.66% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.56% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 22,097 households out of which 36.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.50% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.30% were non-families. 19.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.40% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 31.90% from 25 to 44, 24.10% from 45 to 64, and 10.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,941, and the median income for a family was $52,281. Males had a median income of $35,705 versus $25,046 for females. The per capita income for the county was $21,080. About 4.00% of families and 6.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.30% of those under age 18 and 6.90% of those age 65 or over.