Farnham is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Richmond County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

History

Farnham takes its name from

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, in Surrey, England. The North Farnham Church was built in 1737 and has featured in historic events since then. Two years into the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, bullet holes were left in the walls during a conflict between the

Virginia militia The Virginia militia is an armed force composed of all citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia capable of bearing arms. The Virginia militia was established in 1607 as part of the English militia system. Militia service in Virginia was compulso ...

and the British fleet, led by

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a captain, he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary ...

. This event was called the Skirmish at Farnham Church. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

the church was used by Union soldiers as a stable. It has been restored several times, once in 1872 and again in 1924. Farnham also includes Scotts Corner, a locality near the intersections of Virginia State Route 602 and Virginia State Route 612. Scotts Corner was named for Henry B. Scott, a landowner who was prominent in local affairs in the mid-1800s. It may also have been named for the Bruce family, Scottish immigrants and landowners who lived in Farnham in the mid-17th century. Linden Farm, also known as Dew House, is an early 18th-century farm situated on 282 acres. It has been on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

since 1977.

Notable residents

* Jim Coates, Major League Baseball pitcher *

Cyrus Griffin Cyrus Griffin (July 16, 1748 – December 14, 1810) was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the final President of the Congress of the Confederation and first United States district judge of the United States District Court for the ...

, last

President of the Continental Congress The president of the United States in Congress Assembled, known unofficially as the president of the Continental Congress and later as president of the Congress of the Confederation, was the presiding officer of the Continental Congress, the con ...

(1788) * Samuel Hammond, Revolutionary War soldier and officer, Territorial Governor, and statesman * Joseph Hanks (1725–1793), Abraham Lincoln's great-grandfather.

References

Unincorporated communities in Virginia Unincorporated communities in Richmond County, Virginia {{RichmondCountyVA-geo-stub