Editing Caroline County, Virginia (section)

==History==
===Founding, and colonial era===
[[File:Caroline Wilhelmina of Brandenburg-Ansbach by Charles Jervas.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Portrait of Queen Caroline, for whom the county was named]]
Caroline County was established in the British [[Colony of Virginia]] in 1727 from parts of [[Essex County, Virginia|Essex]], [[King and Queen County, Virginia|King and Queen]], and [[King William County, Virginia|King William]] counties. It was named for the new queen of Great Britain, [[Caroline of Ansbach]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wingfield|first1=Marshall|title=A History of Caroline County, Virginia : from its formation in 1727 to 1924|date=1998|publisher=Heritage Books|location=Bowie, Md.|isbn=978-0788409387|page=1}}</ref>

During the Colonial Period, Caroline County was the birthplace of thoroughbred [[horse racing]] in North America. [[Arabian horse]]s were imported from England to provide the basis for American breeding stock. The economy was based on tobacco cultivation as a commodity crop, and later mixed crops, much of which was worked by enslaved Africans and African Americans into the [[Antebellum South|antebellum]] period.

The planter elite of Virginia became active in seeking independence from Great Britain. Patriot [[Edmund Pendleton]] played a large role in the Virginia Resolution for Independence (1775). Caroline native [[John Penn (delegate)|John Penn]], who later lived in and represented North Carolina as a delegate, was a signer of the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 6, 2015 |title=Signers of the Declaration of Independence |url=https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/signers-factsheet |access-date=January 23, 2023 |website=National Archives |language=en}}</ref> albeit as a delegate from North Carolina.

===19th century===
Explorers [[William Clark (explorer)|William Clark]] and his slave [[York (explorer)|York]] were members of the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]] (1803–1805), commissioned by President [[Thomas Jefferson]] to explore the newly acquired [[Louisiana Purchase]] area west of the Mississippi River. William's older brother, General [[George Rogers Clark]], was considered a conqueror of the old Northwest Territory and a Revolutionary War hero. Both were born near what is now [[Ladysmith, Virginia|Ladysmith]].

In 1847, after being a member of the first graduating class of [[Virginia Military Institute]] (VMI), [[William Mahone|William "Little Billy" Mahone]] (1826–1895) of [[Southampton County]] began teaching at Rappahannock Academy in Caroline County. He was to become prominent as a [[railroad]] builder and developer, Confederate general, leader of Virginia's short-lived [[Readjuster Party]], and a United States Senator.

On May 10, 1863, [[Confederate States Army|Confederate]] Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson died of complications from [[pneumonia]] at the Chandler plantation in [[Guinea, Virginia|Guinea Station]] (also known as Guiney's Station), in the unincorporated Caroline County community of Woodford. The Chandler residence has been preserved and is now known as the "Jackson Shrine."<ref>{{cite web|title=Stonewall Jackson Shrine |url=http://www.nps.gov/frsp/js.htm |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=February 17, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217213328/http://www.nps.gov/frsp/js.htm |archive-date=February 17, 2015 }}</ref>

During the American Civil War, [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] General [[Ulysses S. Grant]]'s [[Overland Campaign]], [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] troops under [[General officer|General]] [[George E. Pickett]] fought Union troops near [[Milford, Virginia|Milford]]. Just as the Civil War was concluding in April 1865, [[President of the United States|President]] [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] was assassinated in [[Washington, D.C.]], as part of a conspiracy to kill the leaders of the United States. As the conspirators fled, a manhunt was launched. After 10 days, in the wee hours of April 26, federal troops tracked down [[John Wilkes Booth]], Lincoln's  [[assassination|assassin]], and fellow conspirator [[David E. Herold]] at Garrett's farm about 3 miles west of Port Royal. Booth was fatally shot during their capture by federal troops. Herold was returned to Washington, where he was executed by hanging with 3 co-conspirators on July 7, 1865.

===20th century===
While racial segregation was the law under Jim Crow, in many small communities, residents made friendships across racial lines. In 1958, [[Richard and Mildred Loving|Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter]] decided to marry. They went to Washington, D.C., but returned to their home in [[Central Point, Virginia|Central Point]] in this county. Living as a married interracial couple, they challenged state [[miscegenation]] laws. They were soon arrested and charged under the state's anti-miscegenation statute, the [[Racial Integrity Act]] of 1924. Forced to leave the state to avoid jail, they lived in Washington, D.C., for years but wanted to return home; they filed suit against the state's law. Their case reached the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] on appeal, which in 1967 found anti-miscegenation statutes to be unconstitutional in ''[[Loving v. Virginia]]'', based on violating due process and equal rights under the law.

At the southern edge of the county, The Meadow, a plantation originally established in 1810, became a premier facility in the 20th century for breeding, raising and training Thoroughbred racehorses. In 1972, [[Riva Ridge]], raised and trained at The Meadow, won the [[Kentucky Derby]] and the [[Belmont Stakes]], two of the three events of the [[United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Triple Crown]]. In 1973 [[Secretariat (horse)|Secretariat]], born at The Meadow, won the [[United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing|Triple Crown]] for the Chenery family's Meadow Stable.

===21st century===
In 2003, The State Fair of Virginia purchased Meadow Farm for development as a new site for the annual Virginia State Fair. Long held at locations in the capital of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] and Henrico County, the fair was increasingly squeezed out by expanding development around it and the growth of the event. Before development of Meadow Farm, it was held at Strawberry Hill in central [[Henrico County]], at the facility which later became the Richmond International Raceway.

Beginning in September 2009, the annual Virginia State Fair has been held at the new Meadow Event Park in Caroline County.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.themeadoweventpark.com/ |title=The Meadow Event Park |access-date=January 22, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330215312/http://www.themeadoweventpark.com/ |archive-date=March 30, 2009 }}</ref> The annual Meadow Celtic Games and Festival (formerly Richmond Celtic Games and Festival) will also be held at the new facility.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.meadowceltic.com/|title=Home|access-date=May 29, 2016}}</ref>

In 2009 the National Civic League presented Caroline County with one of ten annual All-America City Awards.<ref>[http://www.ncl.org "All-America City Award"], National Civic League</ref>