, located on the grounds of the
Richmond National Battlefield Park in Hanover County Located in the western Tidewater region of
Virginia, Hanover County was created on November 26, 1719, from the area of
New Kent County called St. Peter's Parish. It was named for the
Electorate of Hanover in
Germany, because King
George I of Great Britain was
Elector of Hanover at the time. The county was developed by
planters moving west from the Virginia
tidewater, where soils had been exhausted by tobacco
monoculture. Hanover County was the birthplace and home of noted American statesman
Patrick Henry. He reportedly married Sarah Shelton in the parlor of her family's house,
Rural Plains, also known as Shelton House. At the Hanover Courthouse, Henry argued the case of the
Parson's Cause in 1763, attacking the
British Crown's attempt to set the salaries of clergy in the colony regardless of conditions in the local economy. The historic Hanover Courthouse is pictured in the county seal. Hanover County was also the birthplace of
Henry Clay, who became known as a politician in
Kentucky, author of the
Missouri Compromise of 1820, and
Secretary of State. The
Chickahominy River forms the border of the county in the
Mechanicsville area. During the
American Civil War and the 1862
Peninsula Campaign, the
Union Army approached the river and could hear the bells of Richmond's churches. But they learned that the river was a major obstacle. Union General
George B. McClellan failed in his attempt to get all his troops across it, intending to overwhelm the outnumbered
Confederate forces defending Richmond. His failure to take Richmond has been said to have prolonged the war by almost three years. Hanover County was the site of Civil War battles due to its location between Richmond and northern Virginia, including the
Seven Days Battles of the Peninsula Campaign and
Battle of Cold Harbor in 1864. The incorporated town of
Ashland is located within Hanover County. Ashland is the second and current home of
Randolph-Macon College. In 1953,
Barksdale Theatre was founded at the historic
Hanover Tavern. It was the nation's first
dinner theater and central Virginia's first professional
theatre organization. The Barksdale company continues to produce live theatre at the Tavern, as well as at several locations in Richmond. It is recognized today as Central Virginia's leading professional theatre.
Kings Dominion amusement park opened in 1975 in
Doswell and added to the county's economy. In January 2007,
America's Promise named Hanover County as one of the top 100 communities for youth. ==Geography==