Hampshire County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,093. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town (1762). The county was created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1754, from parts of Frederick and Augusta Counties (Virginia) and is the state's oldest county. The county lies in both West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions.
The Cacapon River, located in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia's eastern panhandle region, is an 81.0-mile-long (130.4 km) shallow river known for its fishing, boating, wildlife, hunting, and wilderness scenery. As part of the Potomac River watershed, it is an American Heritage River.
Capon Springs is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. According to the 2000 census, the Capon Springs community has a population of 95.
Capon Lake is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle region. Capon Lake is situated between Yellow Spring and Intermont at the junction of West Virginia Route 259 and Capon Springs Road along the Cacapon River. Capon Springs Run empties into the Cacapon here across from the old Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge. Capon Lake takes its name from the Cacapon River's lake-like characteristics there. It was a popular picnic spot for tourists and travelers on the Winchester and Western Railroad.
West Virginia Route 259 is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The state highway runs 45.6 miles (73.4 km) from the Virginia state line near Mathias north to the Virginia state line at High View. At both termini, the road continues as Virginia State Route 259. WV 259 passes through Hardy and Hampshire counties and runs concurrently with WV 55 on Corridor H between Baker and Wardensville.
Hooks Mills is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. It is located on Hooks Mill Road which intersects Cacapon River Road 4.5 miles south of Capon Bridge. Hooks Mills is named for the saw and grist mill on the Cacapon River run by the Hook family from 1848 to the late 1930s.
Capon Chapel, also historically known as Capon Baptist Chapel and Capon Chapel Church, is a mid-19th century United Methodist church located near to the town of Capon Bridge, West Virginia, in the United States. Capon Chapel is one of the oldest existing log churches in Hampshire County, along with Mount Bethel Church and Old Pine Church.
Dillons Run is a 12.9-mile-long (20.8 km) tributary stream of the Cacapon River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The stream is located in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.
Edwards Run is a 7.9-mile-long (12.7 km) tributary stream of the Cacapon River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The stream is located in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Edwards Run is named for Joseph Edwards and his family, whose plantation encompassed most of the stream's course. George Washington surveyed his property in the late 1740s. It is a major source of various species of elodea.
Bubbling Spring is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Bubbling Spring is situated on Cacapon River Road along the Cacapon River, south of Capon Bridge and north of Hooks Mills. It takes its name from the Bubbling Spring on the Cacapon there. Bubbling Spring has been known as Bubbling Spring Camps, Cacapon Bubbling Spring Camps, and Crystal Spring.
The Winchester and Western Railroad is a shortline railroad operating from Gore, Virginia to Hagerstown, Maryland. It also operates several lines in southern New Jersey, connecting to Conrail Shared Assets Operations at Millville and Vineland.
Cooper Mountain runs southwest northeast through Hampshire County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, rising to its greatest elevation of 2,028 feet (618 m) above sea-level at Bens Knob. The mountain's other knob, Butchers Knob, has an elevation of 1,783 feet (543 m). Cooper Mountain is flanked to its west by North River Mountain and to its east by Parks Valley and Dillons Run. The Northwestern Turnpike crosses Cooper Mountain at Loom between Hanging Rock and Capon Bridge. Tourists and travelers on U.S. Route 50 pull off at the Cooper Mountain overlook for the views over Parks Valley, Capon Bridge, and the ridges of Virginia.
Baker Mountain is a mountain ridge in southeastern Hampshire County, West Virginia. The mountain runs southwest northeast between Yellow Spring and the Hardy County line. Baker Mountain is flanked to its east by the Cacapon River with West Virginia Route 259 running parallel between the two. Its forests were once used as a major source of timber for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's rail ties. For this reason, the Winchester and Western Railroad was constructed through the Capon Valley in the 1920s to haul the timber harvested in the region to Winchester, Virginia for railroad tie production. The communities of Capon Lake and Intermont lie at the foot of Baker Mountain on the Cacapon.
Capon Springs Run is a 4.8-mile-long (7.7 km) tributary stream of the Cacapon River in Hampshire County of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Capon Springs Run is a shallow, stony, non-navigable stream fed by the famous "Capon Springs" at its source on the flanks of Great North Mountain east of the hamlet of Capon Springs. The stream flows west through Capon Springs Resort, parallel to Capon Springs Road along Middle Ridge and meets with Himmelwright Run. To the south, Capon Springs Run is bound by the George Washington National Forest. At its confluence with Dry Run at Capon Springs Station, the stream is met by the old Winchester and Western Railroad grade where a trestle and passenger station once existed. Capon Springs Run enters the Cacapon at the old Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge in Capon Lake.
Mill Branch is a 9.1-mile-long (14.6 km) tributary stream of the Cacapon River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The stream is located in eastern Hampshire County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle.
U.S. Route 50 in West Virginia runs from the border with Ohio to Virginia, passing briefly through Garrett County, Maryland, and following the Northwestern Turnpike. Prior to the U.S. Highway System it was West Virginia Route 1 and in the 1930s, the road was not finished in Maryland. Today the section of US 50 from Clarksburg to Parkersburg on the Ohio River is part of Corridor D of the Appalachian Development Highway System.
A capon is a cockerel whose reproductive organs were removed at an early age.
Capon Springs, also known as Frye's Springs and Watson Town, is a national historic district in Capon Springs, West Virginia that includes a number of resort buildings ranging in age from the mid-nineteenth century to the early 20th century. The area grew around a mineral spring discovered by Henry Frye in the 1760s, so that by 1787 the town of Watson had been established. By 1850, the 168-room Mountain House Hotel had been built, enduring until it burned in 1911. Also in 1850, the state of Virginia built Greek Revival bath pavilions and the President's House. A period of decline followed the Mountain House fire, but rebuilding began in the 1930s under the ownership of Louis Austin. The resort is still in Austin family ownership.
The Capon Lake Whipple Truss Bridge, formerly known as South Branch Bridge or Romney Bridge, is a historic Whipple truss bridge in Capon Lake, West Virginia. It is located off Carpers Pike and crosses the Cacapon River. The bridge formerly carried Capon Springs Road over the river, connecting Capon Springs and Capon Lake.
