Editing Louisa County, Virginia (section)

== History ==
[[File:St John's Chapel Louisa County Virginia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|St. John's Chapel, near Boswells Tavern, Louisa County, [[Historic American Buildings Survey]]]]

Prior to colonial settlement, the area comprising Louisa County was occupied by several indigenous peoples including the [[Tutelo]], the [[Monacan (tribe)|Monacan]], and the [[Manahoac]] peoples, who eventually fled to join the [[Cayuga people|Cayuga]] [[Iroquois]] (Haudenosaunee) people in New York state under pressure from English settlers.

Louisa County was established in 1742 from [[Hanover County, Virginia|Hanover County]]. The county is named for Princess [[Louise of Great Britain]], youngest daughter of King [[George II of Great Britain|George II]], and wife of King [[Frederick V of Denmark]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n190 191]}}</ref>

[[Patrick Henry]] lived for some time in Louisa County on Roundabout Creek in 1764. Henry was being mentored at that time by the Louisa County magnate Thomas Johnson the representative of Louisa County in the [[House of Burgesses]]. In 1765, [[Patrick Henry]] won his first election to represent Louisa County in the [[House of Burgesses]]. At the end of the eighteenth century and in the early nineteenth century, numerous free [[mixed-race]] families migrated together from here to Kentucky, where neighbors began to identify them as [[Melungeon]]. {{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}

The [[Virginia Central Railroad]] was completed through Louisa County in 1838–1840. During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], it was an important supply line for the Confederate armies. As a result, several significant cavalry actions took place in the county, particularly one fought at [[Battle of Trevilian Station|Trevilians]] in 1864.

===20th century to present===
[[File:20110504-RD-LSC-0451 - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg|thumb|[[Cooper Vineyards]] in [[Louisa, Virginia|Louisa]] is the first winery on the East Coast and the second in the country to be awarded the fourth and highest, Platinum certification by [[Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design]] (LEED)]]

The [[Twin Oaks Community]] is one of the country's oldest secular [[Intentional community|communes]], established by its first eight members in 1967. This was part of a national movement among numerous young people to "get back to the land" and live in more simple ways based in community. Louisa is also home to the [[Acorn Community]], a rural, cooperative, income sharing community on about 80 acres, founded in 1993 by one of the founding members of Twin Oaks, Kat Kincade. Another newly forming community as of 2011 is the [[Living Energy Farm]], a 'neo-[[Amish]]' farm, where no fossil fuels will be used but new technologies such as solar will be embraced.

[[Lake Anna]], a {{convert|13000|acre|km2|adj=on}} [[artificial lake]], and the associated [[North Anna Nuclear Generating Station]] were built by [[Dominion Virginia Power|Virginia Power]] in the 1970s. In recent years the predominantly rural county has grown because of [[retiree]]s' settling near Lake Anna, and because of its convenient location for [[commuters]]. It is an hour's drive or less from [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], [[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]] and [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]].<ref name=Obama>{{cite news
   |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/06/AR2008060604509.html
   |title=The 'Obama Before Obama'
   |last=Merida
   |first=Kevin
   |newspaper=The Washington Post
   |page=A01
   |date=June 7, 2008
}}</ref>

For a discussion and additional information on Louisa County history, see: ''Louisa County Historical Notes''.<ref>[http://louisatown.org/co-hist.htm Pattie Cooke, "Louisa County Historical Notes"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511212328/http://louisatown.org/co-hist.htm |date=May 11, 2008 }}, Excerpt from ''Louisa & Louisa County'', Dover, New Hampshire: Arcadia Publishing, 1997</ref>

===2011 earthquake===
{{main|2011 Virginia earthquake}}
The [[United States Geological Survey|U.S. Geological Survey]] reported that a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit Virginia on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, at 1:51 PM EST. The quake occurred at an approximate depth of 3.7 miles and was centered in Louisa County (location at 37.944°N, 77.942°W), 5 miles SSW of [[Mineral, Virginia|Mineral]] and 38 miles NW of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].<ref>[https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/se082311a.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110824230844/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/se082311a.html|date=August 24, 2011}}</ref> According to Associated Press, "Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Charleston, S.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated."<ref>{{cite news| url = http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EAST_COAST_QUAKE?SITE=INEVA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181009211327/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_EAST_COAST_QUAKE?SITE=INEVA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT| url-status = dead| archive-date = October 9, 2018| title = Quake rocks Washington area, felt on East Coast| work = Associated Press (AP)| date = August 23, 2011| access-date = August 23, 2011}}</ref> It was also felt in parts of Canada.<ref>{{cite news | url =https://vancouversun.com/news/thewest/quake+hits+East+Coast+felt+Toronto/5295200/story.html | title =Strong earthquake hits Canada, U.S. East Coast | work =The Vancouver Sun | date =August 23, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Damage totals in Louisa County totaled over $70 million:<ref>{{cite web| title=Louisa Updates Earthquake Damage Estimates| url=http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Louisa_Updates_Earthquake_Damage_Estimates_128792333.html| access-date=August 31, 2011| publisher=Gray Television, Inc| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008002657/http://www.newsplex.com/home/headlines/Louisa_Updates_Earthquake_Damage_Estimates_128792333.html| archive-date=October 8, 2011| url-status=dead}}</ref>
* $57.5 million in damage to public school structures
* $11.5 million in damage to residential structures
* $400,000 in damage to religious structures
* $400,000 in damage to commercial structures
* $500,000 in damage to government structures