Maps and Formation Information for Cities of Emporia through Hopewell
Emporia,
in Greensville County, was formed in 1887 from the merger of Hicksford and
Belfield. Because of friction between the two villages, Benjamin
Tillar, a county native and member of the Virginia House of Delegates,
named the town after Emporia, Kansas, the hometown of one of his
associates in the Atlantic and Danville Railroad. Emporia comes from
the Latin word meaning place of plenty where business is transacted.
The General Assembly revolked the town charter in 1888, a year after it
had incorporated Emporia, and did not reincorporate the town until 1892.
Emporia became a city by court order in 1967. [Back]
Fairfax,
in Fairfax County, was first called Providence. It was
established at the site of the county courthouse in 1805.
After the town named Fairfax in Culpeper County was changed to
Culpeper in 1859, Fairfax County took the name Fairfax for its
county seat. Fairfax was incorporated as a town in 1874 and
became a city by court order in 1961. [Back]
Falls
Church, in Fairfax County, was named for an Anglican church
erected in the area about 1769. The church was so called
because of its proximity to the Little Falls of the Potomac
River. Falls Church was established in 1850, was
incorporated as a town in 1875, and became a city by court order
in 1948. [Back]
Franklin,
in Southampton County, came into existence during the 1830s as a
stop along the Portsmouth and Roanoke Railroad line then under
construction. The origin of the name is unclear. It
could have been named for Benjamin Franklin, patriot and
statesman; for a man named Franklin kept a store in the area; or
for the exclamation of a railroad section foreman who drove a
spike into a crosstie and said, "This shall be Franklin!"
It was a post village in 1855 and was incorporated as a town in
1876. Franklin became a city by court order in 1961.
[Back]
Fredericksburg,
in Spotsylvania County, was named for Frederick Louis, Prince of
Wales, eldest son of George II. Fredericksburg was
established in 1728, was incorporated as a town in 1782, and
became a city in 1879. [Back]
Galax,
in Grayson and Carroll counties, was first called Bonaparte.
It received its present name from the mountain evergreen that
grows profusely in the surrounding area. It was
incorporated as a town in 1906 and became a city by court order
in 1954. [Back]
Hampton
was located in Elizabeth City County, which is now extinct. It takes
its name from the Hampton Creek, earlier called Southampton River in honor
of the earl of Southampton, an important figure in the Virginia Company of
London. An Indian village stood on the site in 1607, when John Smith
visited the area. The English established a village there in 1601
and a trading post in 1630. Hampton was established by an act of
assembly in 1680 and was designated as a port in 1708. It was first
incorporated as a town in 1849, then it was incorporated again in 1852,
but the act of incorporation was repealed in 1860. The General
Assembly again incorporated the town of Hampton in 1887, and it became a
city by court order in 1908. It was greatly enlarged in 1952 by a
merger with Elizabeth City County and the town of Phoebus; the county and
town thereby became extinct. [Back]
Harrisonburg,
in Rockingham County, was named for Thomas Harrison, who gave fifty acres
for the town site. It was established in 1780, was incorporated as a
town in 1849, and became a city by court order in 1916. It was
enlarged by an annexation from Rockingham County in 1982. [Back]
Hopewell,
in Prince George County, was established as Charles City Point by Sir
Thomas Dale in 1613. Francis Eppes, who arrived in Virginia on the
ship Hopewell, patented land near Charles City Point in 1635. He
named part of his property Hopewell Farm. The town was known as City
Point until 1913 when E. I. DuPont de Nemmours and Company purchased
Hopewell Farms and established a factory and a settlement for munitions
workers there. Hopewell was never incorporated as a town but was
incorporated as a city by an act of the General Assembly in 1916. It
was enlarged by the annexation of City Point in 1923 and by further
annexations from Prince George County in 1952 and 1969. [Back]
