In 1754, the opening year of the French and Indian War, Hampshire County was established with over twenty-six hundred square miles. It was the western frontier of the Colony of Virginia. Because Virginia's route to the upper Ohio River valley came through Hampshire County, the area became an important gateway to the developing west.
French and Indian War
During the trying years of the French and Indian War, Hampshire bore the brunt of enemy attacks. Although Virginia was a long way from Canada, the French know that Virginia was one of the wealthiest and most populous Colonies and a leader in the push for British expansion to the west. It was because of this that Col. George Washington, Commander of the Virginia Regiment, built a chain of forts in Hampshire County as the northern bulwarks of his western line of defense. Col. Washington was familiar with the area, having traversed it for five seasons as a surveyor for Lord Fairfax, the proprietor of the Northern Neck Proprietary.During the terrible days of the first half of the French and Indian War, many settlers fled to more peaceful areas; many who stayed died on their farms at the hands of ravaging warriors. Before the fall of Fort Duquesne to Gen. Forbes in 1758, much of Hampshire County was devoid of people. After the war, the pace of settlement increased. In 1762 Romney was incorporated as the county seat. In 1787 Watson (later named Capon Springs) was incorporated at the medicinal springs in the south-east part of the county.
http://www.historichampshire.org/hamphist.htm
The original boundary of Hampshire County when it was formed on May 1, 1754 out of Frederick County.
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