VA-Z12 Orange County

Marker text: ORANGE COUNTY

Formed from Spotsylvania County in 1734, Orange County, a pastoral Piedmont county, was probably named in honor of William IV, the Dutch prince of Orange, who married Anne, the Princess Royal, daughter of George II of England, earlier that year. President James Madison lived here at Montpelier and President Zachary Taylor was born here. Some fifty square miles of the county comprise the Madison-Barbour Rural Historic District, an area rich in historic resources including the ruins of Barboursville, the home of Gov. James Barbour that was designed by 1817 by his friend Thomas Jefferson.

Department of Historic Resources, 2002