The Backcountry Towns of Colonial VirginiaFor decades historians and historical geographers have neglected the study of town life in the colonial South, simply portraying towns as the result of increasing population density. The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia, the first comprehensive study of town development in the interior of the colonial South, marshals evidence that planned urban settlements were the essential agents in accelerating westward expansion. Through the analysis of twenty-five attempts to create towns in the Virginia backcountry, the work demonstrates there was a distinctly southern urbanmovement in the colonial period. It explores the factors that lead to the success or failure of a community and examines how each backcountry region operated as an economic unit uniquely suited to its development. Towns opened up land, attracting people to move into new areas or participate in new business opportunities. They furthered settlement, influenced immigration, created family and socialnetworks, and fostered the development of trade and systems of credit. The actions of a few individuals and groups of people resulted in the rapid occupation, settlement, and development of the Virginia backcountry through the consciouscreation of economic and social forces. The most complete study of southern towns since John Reps’s Tidewater Towns, The Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia offers a new understanding of property ownership, burgeoning trade, and immigration factors–the very elements of urban centers–in backcountry Virginia. |
Contents
Backcountry Regions | 7 |
Backcountry Towns of Colonial Virginia | 17 |
Germanna 1714 | 31 |
Waterford | 39 |
Leesburg 1759 | 46 |
King Williams Town Manakin Town c 1700 | 58 |
Eden 1736 | 65 |
DalstonburgMarysvilleCharlotte Court House 1840 | 71 |
Winchester 1758 | 90 |
Staunton 1750 | 97 |
StephensburgStephens City | 104 |
Fincastle 1778 | 112 |
Romney 1790 | 125 |
Bath Berkeley Springs West Virginia c 1777 | 134 |
| 155 | |
| 175 | |
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acres Alexander Spotswood Assembly Augusta County backcountry towns Backcountry Virginia became Bedford County Berkeley County Beverley Botetourt County Brent Town building Byrd's century Charlotte County Charlottesville chartered Chatham church colonial period Colonial Virginia colonists county court County Courthouse county seat created Dalstonburg Deed Book established Fincastle Frederick County French and Indian frontier Germanna Graffenried Hening Hite Hofstra Huguenots James Jefferson John King William's Town laid land Leesburg London Lord Fairfax lots Loudoun Manakin Town Martinsburg Mecklenburg merchants mill Mitchell Mountains North Carolina Northern Neck Order Book outlots Peytonsburg Philip Vickers Fithian Piedmont Pittsylvania County population region residents Richmond River road Robert Romney settle settlement settlers Shenandoah Valley Southside Spotswood Statutes Staunton Stephen Stephensburg Strasburg streets Surveyors Thomas Tidewater town development town's tract trade Travels Univ Upper Shenandoah urban village Virginia backcountry Virginia Gazette Warm Springs Waterford Westham William Byrd William Byrd II Winchester Woodstock