Orange County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 25,881. Its county seat is Orange.
The area was previously inhabited by the Siouan Manahoac tribe, the first white settlement in what was to become Orange County was Germanna. It was there in 1714 that Governor Alexander Spotswood settled 12 families from Westphalia, Germany—42 people in all. The legal entity of Orange County was establish...
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Orange County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 25,881. Its county seat is Orange.
The area was previously inhabited by the Siouan Manahoac tribe, the first white settlement in what was to become Orange County was Germanna. It was there in 1714 that Governor Alexander Spotswood settled 12 families from Westphalia, Germany—42 people in all. The legal entity of Orange County was established in 1734 from a portion of Spotsylvania County. However, unlike other counties which had terminated at the Blue Ridge, Orange at its creation was conceived of as extending all the way to the Mississippi River and Great Lakes - land claimed by Virginia, but very little of which 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. This condition lasted only four years, when most of this tract was split off into Augusta County in 1738.
Orange County is named...
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