New Hampden is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Highland County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. New Hampden is located in the Blue Grass Valley on VA State Route 640 approximately north of

Monterey, Virginia Monterey is a town in Highland County, Virginia, United States. The population was 147 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Highland County. History The selection of Monterey as the county seat of Highland County in 1847 was associated ...

. The community is situated on the banks of the

South Branch Potomac River The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of ,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolu ...

west of the northern end of Monterey Mountain and southwest of the community of

Blue Grass, Virginia Blue Grass is an unincorporated community on VA 642 at its junction with VA 640 in Highland County, Virginia, United States. Blue Grass lies along the South Branch Potomac River and is located approximately north of Monterey, Virginia. It was p ...

and the Devils Backbone rock outcrop. The community appeared around 1858 and is characterized as having a "regular appearance" in contrast to more haphazardly developed villages.

Oren Oren ( he, אורן) is a masculine given name, meaning 'pine' or 'ash' in Hebrew. In the Book of Chronicles, Oren is one of the sons of Jerahmeel, the first-born of Hezron, along with Ram, Bunah, Ozem and Ahijah. Oren, as a given name or surna ...

, 1911, p. 161. West of New Hampden is the site of a

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

quarry used by Native Americans to procure sources of flint for the production of arrowheads. Some accounts state that the area was of such importance that it was considered to be neutral ground by the native tribes.

, 1911, p. 33. Located in New Hampden is a historic

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

that began operations around 1816-1817 and ceased in 1944. The structure, originally known as the Rexrode Mill, still stands to the present day. ''With accompanyin
photographs
'

References

Bibliography

* Unincorporated communities in Highland County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{HighlandCountyVA-geo-stub