Formation Jefferson County was established on October 26, 1801 from
Berkeley County because the citizens of southeastern Berkeley County felt they had to travel too far to the county seat of
Martinsburg.
Charles Washington, the founder of Charles Town and brother to George Washington, petitioned for a new county to be formed. It was named for
Thomas Jefferson, author of the
Declaration of Independence and third
President of the United States. Virginia previously had a Jefferson County, which is now
part of Kentucky. Accordingly, in the State records of Virginia, there are listings for Jefferson County from 1780 to 1792 and Jefferson County from 1801 to 1863, neither of which are still in Virginia.
John Brown rebellion The county's courthouse was the site of the trial for the
abolitionist John Brown after his October 1859 raid on the federal
armory in
Harpers Ferry. Some 90 U.S. Marines serving under then Army Colonel
Robert E. Lee and Lieutenants
J.E.B. Stuart and
Israel Greene put down the rebellion. Brown was sentenced to death for murder, treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, and conspiring with slaves to rebel. On December 2, 1859, John Brown was taken from the Charles Town jail a short distance to an open field and hanged. Among those attending the Brown execution was a contingent of 1500 cadets from
Virginia Military Institute sent by the
Governor of Virginia Henry A. Wise under the supervision of Major
William Gilham and Major
Thomas J. Jackson. In the ranks of a Richmond militia company stood John Wilkes Booth.
Walt Whitman was also present.
Civil War The county was a frequent site of conflict during the
Civil War, as Union and Confederate lines moved back and forth along the Shenandoah Valley. Some towns in the county changed hands between the Union and Confederacy over a dozen times, including Charles Town, and especially Harpers Ferry. Jefferson County is the only part of modern-day
West Virginia not exempted from the effects of the
Emancipation Proclamation (as
Berkeley County and the 48 counties designated as
West Virginia had been). Slaves in the county thus were legally free as of January 1, 1863. The
Jefferson County Courthouse is the only courthouse in America to have held two treason trials: the trial of
John Brown in 1859 and a trial arising from the
Battle of Blair Mountain labor rebellion.
Joining West Virginia of
Virginia,
West Virginia, and
Maryland in the
Potomac River region of
Harper's Ferry, the lowest point in West Virginia Jefferson County had voted for secession in the vote taken on May 23, 1861. However, Jefferson County, along with Berkeley County, both counties lying on the
Potomac River in the
Shenandoah Valley, with the consent of the
Reorganized Government of Virginia voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia in 1863. Virginia tried to nullify this after the
American Civil War, but the counties remained part of West Virginia. The question of the constitutionality of the formation of the new state was brought before the
Supreme Court of the United States in the following manner:
Berkeley and Jefferson County, West Virginia, counties lying on the Potomac east of the mountains, in 1863, with the consent of the Reorganized Government of Virginia, had supposedly voted in favor of annexation to West Virginia. However, many voters were absent in the Confederate Army when the vote was taken and they refused to accept the transfer upon their return. The
Virginia General Assembly repealed the Act of Secession and in 1866 brought suit against West Virginia, asking the Supreme Court to declare the counties still part of Virginia. Congress, on March 10, 1866, passed a joint resolution recognizing the transfer. In 1871, the U.S. Supreme Court decided
Virginia v. West Virginia, upholding the "secession" of West Virginia, including Berkeley and Jefferson counties, from Virginia. In 2011, West Virginia state delegate
Larry Kump sponsored legislation to allow Morgan, Berkeley, and Jefferson counties to rejoin Virginia by popular vote.
County subdivisions In 1863, West Virginia's counties were divided into
civil townships, with the intention of encouraging local government. This proved impractical in the heavily rural state, and in 1872 the townships were converted into
magisterial districts. Jefferson County was initially divided into five townships, which became magisterial districts in 1872: Averill, Bolivar, Chapline, Grant, and Shepherd. In 1873, Averill District was renamed "Middleway", Chapline became "Potomac", and Grant District became "Charlestown". Two additional districts, Harpers Ferry and Osburn, were created during the 1870s. In the 1880s, Bolivar District was annexed by Harpers Ferry; Potomac and Shepherd were consolidated into Shepherdstown District, and Osburn was renamed "Kabletown".
Rural Free Delivery In October 1896, Jefferson County became the first county in the United States to begin
Rural Free Delivery service in the towns of
Halltown and
Uvilla.
Modern History In the 21st century Jefferson County is one of the only counties in West Virginia that has experienced large scale population and economic growth, while the rest of the state has decreased in population. This is primarily due to its proximity to
Northern Virginia and the
Washington metropolitan area resulting in many individuals living in Jefferson and working in DC or Northern Virginia, due to a lower cost of living. ==Geography==