Giles

Formed January 1, 1806 (77^th county)

Giles County (17,286), Pearisburg (2,786)

The Federalist style red brick building was constructed in 1836.  The facility is on Main Street at Wenonah Street.  Main Street is United States Highway 460 in the town.  Thomas Mercer provided the designs.  The building was enlarged in 1900 and renovated in 2005.  It features a tower.  Veteran memorials and a rot iron fence are on the grounds.  A Courts Building was added to augment the courthouse.  Giles County was organized on January 1, 1806 from parts of Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell counties as the 77^th county with Pearisburg as the only county seat.  The county was named for Congressman William Branch Giles.  The county seat is named for ferry owner George Pearis. 

The area of the county is 360 square miles.  It is 55 out of 133 in the state.  It ranks 88 out of 133 in population in the state.  It has a density of 48.02 persons per square mile making it 98 out of 133 in the state.  Giles County has 39.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 219 enters the county from the north, West Virginia, and terminates.  United States Highway 460 comes from West Virginia, north, and goes to Montgomery County, southeast.  The county resembles a one plug fire hydrant on its side.  Pearisburg is located near the center of the county.  Pearisburg is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 16.1% of the county population. 

Giles County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Supervisors.  Six Circuit Court Judges and Nine District Court Judges serve Giles, Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Wythe counties and Galax and Radford cities and Fifty-three Magistrate Court Judges serve Giles, Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe counties and Bristol, Galax, Norton, and Radford cities.  The county is on the southwest border with West Virginia.  Roanoke, Virginia is east and Charleston, West Virginia is northwest of the county.  The county center is 2.5 miles East of Pearisburg nearer Ripplemead.  The county is surrounded clockwise by West Virginia and Craig, Montgomery, Pulaski, and Bland counties.  The county seat is pronounced PAIR-IS-BURG.  This county is in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area.