Rockingham County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the U.S. state of

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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 83,757. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is the

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

of Harrisonburg. Along with Harrisonburg, Rockingham County forms the Harrisonburg, VA, Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also home of the Rockingham County Baseball League.

History

Settlement of the county began in 1727, when Adam Miller (Mueller) staked out a claim on the south fork of the

Shenandoah River The Shenandoah River is the principal tributary of the Potomac River, long with two River fork, forks approximately long each,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August ...

, near the line that now divides Rockingham County from Page County. On a trip through eastern

, the German-born Miller had heard reports about a lush valley to the west which had been discovered by Governor Alexander Spotswood's legendary Knights of the Golden Horseshoe Expedition, and then moved his family down from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In 1741, Miller purchased , including a large lithia spring, near Elkton, Virginia, and lived on this property for the remainder of his life. Much-increased settlement of this portion of the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

by Europeans began in the 1740s and 1750s. Standing between the Tidewater and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

regions to the east in Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley and the area beyond (known in old Virginia as the "Transmountaine") were the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...

. Rather than cross such a formidable physical barrier, most early settlers came southerly up the valley across the Potomac River from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Many followed the Great Wagon Trail, also known as the Valley Pike ( U.S. Route 11 in modern times). Rockingham County was established in 1778 from Augusta County. Harrisonburg was named as the

and incorporated as a town in 1780. Harrisonburg was incorporated as a city in 1916 and separated from Rockingham County (all cities in Virginia are independent of any county), but it remains the county seat. The county is named for Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, a British statesman (1730–1782). He was Prime Minister of Great Britain twice, and a keen supporter of constitutional rights for the colonists. During his first term, he brought about the repeal of the Stamp Act of 1765, reducing the tax burden on the colonies. Appointed again in 1782, upon taking office, he backed the claim for the independence of the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

, initiating an end to British involvement in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. However, he died after only 14 weeks in office. By 1778, it was unusual to honor British officials in Virginia, fighting for its independence. The same year, immediately to the north of Rockingham County, Dunmore County, named for Virginia's last Royal Governor, John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, an unpopular figure, was renamed. The new name,

Shenandoah County Shenandoah County (formerly Dunmore County) is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 44,186. Its county seat is Woodstock, V ...

, used a Native American name. However, long their political supporter in the British Parliament, the Marquess of Rockingham was a popular figure with the citizens of the new United States. Also named in his honor were Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, North Carolina, and the City of Rockingham in Richmond County, North Carolina. Rockingham County is the birthplace of Thomas Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's father. In 1979 when the Adolf Coors Brewing Company came to Rockingham County it caused an uproar; some citizens thought it would corrupt the morals of the area while others wanted the new jobs. In 2018, a series of strikes and protests were held in

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

plant.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. It is the third-largest county in Virginia by land area. Large portions of the county fall within the Shenandoah National Park to the east and George Washington National Forest to the west, and therefore are subject to development restrictions. The county stretches west to east from the peaks of easternmost Allegheny Mountains to the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains, encompassing the entire width of the Shenandoah Valley. Rockingham is bisected by another geographic formation, Massanutten Mountain, which stretches from just east of Harrisonburg, VA to a few miles southwest of Front Royal, VA in Warren County, VA.

Massanutten Mountain Massanutten Mountain is a synclinal ridge in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, located in the U.S. state of Virginia. The original Native American name for the ridge is unknown. Geography The mountain bisects the Shenandoah Valley just e ...

splits the central Shenandoah Valley, as the German River and the North Fork Shenandoah River flow on its western side and the South Fork flows on the eastern.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

* George Washington National Forest (part) *

Shenandoah National Park Shenandoah National Park (often ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States that encompasses part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. The park is long and narrow, with the Shenandoah River and its ...

(part)

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

Census 2000

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, 67,725 people, 25,355 households, and 18,889 families resided in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 27,328 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.58%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.36%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.90% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. About 3.28% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. Of 25,355 households, 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.50% were not families. About 21.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.02. In the county, the population was distributed as 24.60% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.00 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 94.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $40,748, and for a family was $46,262. Males had a median income of $30,618 versus $21,896 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $18,795. About 5.30% of families and 8.20% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 9.70% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Colleges and universities

* Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, Virginia * Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia *

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Transportation

Railroads

Rockingham County is principally served by Norfolk Southern Railway, a (major) Class 1 railroad and additionally, by the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, a

short-line railroad A shortline railroad is a small or mid-sized railroad company that operates over a relatively short distance relative to larger, national railroad networks. The term is used primarily in the United States and Canada. In the former, railroads are ...

Highways

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

runs north–south and meets east–west Interstate 64 near Staunton to the south in adjacent Augusta County. There are three major Primary State Highways in the county. (A primary road provides service which is relatively continuous and of relatively high traffic volume, long average trip length, high operating speed and high mobility importance). Interstate highways and primary highways in Virginia are maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). These primary state highways are: * U.S. Route 11 a north–south roadway which Interstate 81 parallels, U.S. Route 11 follows an old Native American trail, later known as the Valley Turnpike. * U.S. Route 33 is an east–west road which extends from a mountain ridge border with

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

across the Shenandoah Valley through Harrisonburg and Elkton. East of there, it climbs the western slope of the

to reach Swift Run Gap, a wind gap located at an elevation of . The bucolic

Skyline Drive Skyline Drive is a National Parkway that runs the entire length of the National Park Service's Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, generally along the ridge of the mountains. The drive's northern terminus is at ...

, which is part of

, has an entry point at Swift Run Gap and the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

also passes through nearby. The mountain ridge forms the border between Rockingham County and Greene County. (U.S. 33 continues east to Richmond). * U.S. Route 340 in a north–south roadway which runs along the western slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Valley. Secondary roads: As provided by the Byrd Road Act of 1932, secondary roads in Rockingham County are also maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT).

Communities

(Population according to the 2020 United States census)

Independent city

Since becoming an

in 1916, Harrisonburg is no longer politically located in Rockingham County, despite its status as the

Law enforcement

The Rockingham County Sheriff's Office (RCSO) is the primary law enforcement agency in Rockingham County, and also serves Harrisonburg. The agency is currently headed by Sheriff Bryan F. Hutcheson. On May 26, 2005, the RCSO was accredited by the Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission (VLEPSC). On September 9, 2021, the VLEPSC Executive Board granted re-accreditation status to the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office. Since the establishment of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office, two deputies have died while on duty.

Politics

References

External links

Rockingham County

Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Virginia counties 1778 establishments in Virginia Populated places established in 1778 Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham