Editing Orange County, Virginia (section)

==History==
The area was inhabited for thousands of years by various cultures of [[Native Americans in the United States|indigenous peoples]]. At the time of European encounter, the Ontponea, a sub-group of the [[Siouan languages|Siouan]]-speaking [[Manahoac]], lived in this [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] area.<ref name=swanton>{{cite book |last=Swanton|first=John R.|title=The Indian Tribes of North America |publisher=Smithsonian Institution|year=1952|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vtHI5pkJOGMC |isbn=0-8063-1730-2 |pages=61–62 |oclc=52230544}}</ref>

The first European settlement in what was to become Orange County was [[Germanna]], formed when Governor [[Alexander Spotswood]] settled 12 immigrant families from [[Westphalia]], Germany, there in 1714; a total of 42 people. Orange County, as a legal entity, was created in August 1734 when the [[House of Burgesses of Virginia|Virginia House of Burgesses]] adopted ''An Act for Dividing [[Spotsylvania County, Virginia|Spotsylvania County]]''. Unlike other counties whose boundaries had ended at the [[Blue Ridge Mountains]], Orange was bounded on the west "by the utmost limits of Virginia" which, at that time, stretched to the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. The Colony of Virginia claimed the land, but very little of it had yet been occupied by any English. For this reason, some contend that Orange County was at one time the largest county that ever existed.<ref>Gwathmey, John. 1937. ''Twelve Virginia Counties'', p. 277.</ref> This situation lasted only four years; in 1738 most of the western tract was split off into [[Augusta County, Virginia|Augusta County]]. The expansiveness of the county boundaries was to encourage settlement further westward as well as to contend against the French claim to the Ohio Valley region.<ref name=OCHD>"Orange Commercial Historic District", National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. June 1998. Form prepared by Debra McClane of Gray & Pape, Inc. Retrieved November 15, 2013. {{cite web |url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Orange/275-5001_Orange_Commercial_Historic_District_1999_Final_Nomination.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 8, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925114930/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Orange/275-5001_Orange_Commercial_Historic_District_1999_Final_Nomination.pdf |archive-date=September 25, 2013 }}</ref>

No battles of the American Revolution were fought in Orange County. However, two companies of 50 men each were recruited from Orange County to the [[Culpeper Minutemen]]. One was led by Col. Lawrence Taliaferro. In December 1775, this company fought in the [[Battle of Great Bridge]]<ref>Scribner, Robert L.; Brent Tarter (1977). ''Revolutionary Virginia: The Road to Independence'', Vol. 3. Charlottesville: Virginia Independence Bicentennial Commission and University of Virginia Press. p. 466.</ref> Orange County's Committee of Safety was also active in providing money, salt, horses, guns, beef, and other supplies to Continental forces.<ref>Scott pp. 70-76</ref>

Orange County prospered with the development of several railroad routes through Orange and [[Gordonsville, Virginia|Gordonsville]] in the 1840s and 1850s. They succeeded the [[plank road]] between [[Fredericksburg, Virginia|Fredericksburg]] and Orange, which connected with two important roads: the Richmond Road between the state capital and the [[Shenandoah Valley]] (which passed through [[Louisa, Virginia|Louisa]]) and a stagecoach route to [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] and points south. The [[Orange and Alexandria Railroad]] and [[Virginia Central Railroad]] helped foster a diversified agricultural economy in Orange County, bringing produce and timber to markets in Richmond, Washington D.C., and Norfolk as well as more industrial products. The final adjustment of the county's boundaries occurred in 1838 when [[Greene County, Virginia|Greene County]] was created from the western portion of Orange. The Town of Orange was legally established in 1834 (officially becoming a town in 1872) and had already served as the county seat for nearly a century; Gordonsville officially achieved town status in 1870.<ref name=OCHD />

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], the towns of Orange and Gordonsville continued as important railroad hubs and hospital centers for the Confederacy. Confederate military companies recruited from the county included three companies of the 13th Virginia Infantry, the Gordonsville Grays, two artillery companies, one cavalry company (the Orange Rangers), and many soldiers in the 7th Virginia Infantry, Wise Artillery and 6th Virginia Cavalry. General [[Robert E. Lee]] often rode through the county and wintered the [[Army of Northern Virginia]] in Orange County during 1863–64, the [[Rapidan River]] becoming a defensive line.<ref>W. W. Scott, ''History of Orange County, Virginia'' (Baltimore, Regional Publishing Company, 1974 reprint of 1907 Richmond publication) pp. 154-156</ref> Cavalry raids against the railroad supply lines occurred, including several at [[Rapidan, Virginia|Rapidan]] on the border with [[Culpeper County, Virginia|Culpeper County]]. Troops often crossed the Rapidan River at Germanna Ford near [[Locust Grove, Orange County, Virginia|Locust Grove]]. After Fredericksburg fell to Union forces, [[John Singleton Mosby|Mosby's]] Rangers were formed and conducted some operations (as well as recovered from wounds) in Orange County; Mosby himself was once captured while waiting for a train in [[Beaverdam, Virginia|Beaverdam]] in [[Hanover County, Virginia|Hanover County]] for travel through Orange County. The 1863 [[Battle of Mine Run]] and the 1864 [[Battle of the Wilderness]] both occurred in eastern Orange County, as Union troops drove toward the Confederacy's capital. The latter became a significant turning point in the war.

Following Virginia's readmission to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] in 1870, the railroads were rebuilt (many being consolidated into the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (1868–1878)|Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad]] after 1868). The county was also divided into Barbour, Madison, Taylor, and Gordon townships, named after important pre-war citizens.<ref>Scott p. 164</ref> The agricultural economy resumed despite the loss of slave labor (6,111 slaves had lived in the county in 1860, valued at $1.5 million),<ref>Scott p. 166</ref> with more livestock and dairy farming both because such required less physical labor and because the railroads could deliver those agricultural products to larger markets relatively quickly and cheaply. Virginia Governor [[James L. Kemper]] (1874-1878) moved from [[Madison County, Virginia|Madison County]] to near Orange as his term ended. Agriculture and manufacturing continued to expand into the twentieth century, with a peak of 1279 farms and 20 manufacturing companies located within the county as of 1929. A manufacturing survey taken during the [[Great Depression]] noted that Orange County's economy remained relatively healthy due to its accessibility.<ref name=OCHD /> The county's population fluctuated following the Civil War up through the 1930s. From that point forward, the population continued to grow steadily, representing an almost 300% increase through the 2010 Census.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

In 1991, the Virginia Landmarks Register designated approximately {{convert|31200|acre|km2}} in the county's western portion as the [[Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District]]. The largest such district in the Commonwealth includes James Madison's Montpelier, James Barbour's Thomas Jefferson-designed Barboursville mansion (now in ruins), several plantations, portions of the [[Monticello AVA|Monticello Viticultural Area]], as well as numerous individual sites listed on the National Register.<ref>"Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District." National Register of Historic Places registration form. December 1989. Form prepared by Jeff O'Dell and John S. Salmon, Virginia Dept. of Historic Resources. Retrieved November 15, 2013. {{cite web |url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Orange/068-0304_Madison-Barbour_Rural_Historic_District_1989_Final_Nomination.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=March 19, 2014|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927022735/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Orange/068-0304_Madison-Barbour_Rural_Historic_District_1989_Final_Nomination.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2012 }}</ref> The [[Gordonsville Historic District]] was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the [[Rapidan Historic District]] in 1987, and the [[Orange Commercial Historic District]] added to the NRHP in 1999.