Formed December 13, 1753 (1st county)
Hampshire County (23,092), Romney (1,768)
The pleasant tan brick Neo-Classical Revival building was built in 1922. It sits on Main Street at High Street. United States Highway 50 passes in front of the location. Holmboe and Pogue are the architects. It features a dome and columns. Veteran memorials are on the grounds. A Judicial Center was built in 2007. An 1837 courthouse was also in Romney, the only county seat. The county was founded on December 13, 1753 from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties, Virginia as the 1st county. The county is named for Hampshire, England. Romney was named for Romney, England. Hampshire County is the birthplace of 2 West Virginia Governors, John J. Jacob and H. Guy Kump.
Hampshire County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a clerk, and an assessor (executive). It has 3 Commissioners (legislative.) Two Circuit Court Judges serve Hampshire, Hardy, and Pendleton counties, Two Family Court Judges and Two Magistrate Court Judges serve Hampshire, Mineral, and Morgan counties and a court clerk serves Hampshire County (judicial.) The county is located in the northeast panhandle of West Virginia. Charleston, West Virginia is southwest and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is northwest of the county. Virginia is on its east and Maryland is on its north. The county center is 11 miles East of Romney nearer Augusta. The county is surrounded clockwise by Maryland and Morgan County and Virginia and Hardy, Grant, and Mineral counties.
The area of the county is 642 square miles. It is 9 out of 55 in the state. It ranks 27 out of 55 in population in the state. It has a density of 36.0 persons per square mile making it 35 out of 55 in the state. Hampshire County has 9.5% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 50 crosses through the county from the east, Virginia, to the west, Mineral County. United States Highway 220 enters joined with United States Highway 50 from Mineral County, splits and exits south into Hardy County. The county is an overall diamond shape. Romney is located in the western quarter of the county. Romney is the county seat and the largest city. It is 7.7% of the county population. This county is in the Winchester Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Capon Bridge
Romney
