Formed January 1, 1851 (95th county)
Craig County (4,895), New Castle (123)
The classic brown brick Greek Revival facility was erected in 1852. It is located at Market and Court streets. Virginia State Highway 615 is one block to the northwest. Schuyler W. Smith provided the building designs. The building was renovated in 1999 and enlarged in 2005. It features a tower and columns. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. Craig County was formed on January 1, 1851 as the 95th county with New Castle as the only county seat. The county was named for Congressman Robert Craig. The county seat is presumably named for Newcastle, England.
Craig County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors. Three Circuit Court Judges and Eight District Court Judges serve Craig, Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Botetourt, Highland, and Rockbridge counties and Buena Vista, Covington, Lexington, Staunton, and Waynesboro cities and Fifty-nine Magistrate Court Judges serve Craig, Alleghany, Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Bedford, Botetourt, Campbell, Franklin, Henry, Highland, Nelson, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Roanoke, and Rockbridge counties and Buena Vista, Covington, Danville, Lexington, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Roanoke, Salem, Staunton, and Waynesboro cities. The county is on the border with West Virginia in western Virginia. Roanoke, Virginia is directly southeast and Charleston, West Virginia is northwest of the county. The county center is 7.8 miles Southwest of New Castle nearer Abbott. The county is surrounded clockwise by Alleghany, Botetourt, Roanoke, Montgomery, and Giles counties and West Virginia.
The area of the county is 330 square miles. It is 61 out of 133 in the state. It ranks 130 out of 133 in population in the state. It has a density of 14.8 persons per square mile making it 131 out of 133 in the state. Craig County has 2.5% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. The county looks like a submarine. New Castle is located in the northeast quarter of the county. New Castle is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 2.5% of the county population. This county is in the Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area.
New Castle
