History

For thousands of years, indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area. At the time of European encounter, the Chiska had a chief village at what is now Saltville. The county was formed by European Americans in 1776 from Fincastle County. It was named for George Washington, who was then commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Washington County is among the first geographical regions to be named after the president of the United States. As with many other frontier counties, the boundaries and territory changed over the years. In 1786 the northwestern part of Washington County became Russell County. In 1814 the western part of what remained of Washington County was combined with parts of Lee and Russell counties to form Scott County. In 1832 the northeastern part of Washington was combined with part of Wythe County to form Smyth County. Finally, with the incorporation of the town of Goodson as the independent city of Bristol in 1890, Washington County assumed its present size.

Location

Washington County is located in Southwest Virginia. Interstate 81 runs through the county's central valley and intersects with Interstate 77 approximately 55 miles northeast of the Town of Abingdon, Washington County's seat of government.

*In 1987, Abingdon annexed 5.5 sq. miles of Washington County. Based on the new town boundaries, Abingdon's 1980 population was 7,027.