Patrick County, Virginia

Patrick County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,490. Its county seat is Stuart. It is located within both the rolling hills and valleys of the Piedmont Region of Virginia and mountainous Southwest Virginia.

History

Patrick County was formed in 1791, when Patrick Henry County was divided into Patrick County and Henry County. Patrick Henry County was named for Patrick Henry, and was formed in 1777.

Prior to the formation of Patrick County, one of the Virginia colony's first frontier forts lay within the boundaries of what was then Halifax County on the banks of the North Mayo River. The location of Fort Mayo, now marked by a Virginia state historic marker, lies within present-day Patrick County. It was one of a number of such forts built from the Potomac River south to North Carolina, and was commanded by Captain Samuel Harris in 1756, the year in which George Washington made a tour of Fort Mayo and several other forts on the Virginia frontier. Fort Mayo was the southernmost of the Virginia frontier forts and saw action during the French and Indian War.