The Potomac River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States that flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is 405 miles (652 km) long, with a drainage area of 14,700 square miles (38,000 km2), and is the fourth-largest river along the East Coast of the United States. More than 6 million people live within its watershed.
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.
Romney is a town in and the county seat of Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 1,722 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Winchester, Virginia metropolitan area. The town was established in 1762 along with Shepherdstown; together, they are the two oldest towns in West Virginia.
Keyser is a city in and the county seat of Mineral County, West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,853 at the 2020 census.
U.S. Route 340 is a spur route of US 40, and runs from Greenville, Virginia, to Frederick, Maryland. In Virginia, it runs north–south, parallel and east of US 11, from US 11 north of Greenville via Waynesboro, Grottoes, Elkton, Luray, Front Royal, and Berryville to the West Virginia state line. A short separate piece crosses northern Loudoun County on its way from West Virginia to Maryland.
The South Branch Potomac River has its headwaters in northwestern Highland County, Virginia, near Hightown along the eastern edge of the Allegheny Front. After a river distance of 139 miles (224 km), the mouth lies east of Green Spring, Hampshire County, West Virginia, where it meets the North Branch Potomac River to form the Potomac.
Okonoko is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Okonoko is located in northern Hampshire County, along the Potomac River and the CSX Cumberland Subdivision of the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The town of Romney, Virginia, traded hands between the Union Army and Confederate States Army no fewer than 10 times during the American Civil War, assuming the occupying force spent at least one night in the town. The story of the small town is emblematic of the many military campaigns that swept through western Virginia and, later, the new state of West Virginia.
The South Branch Valley Railroad is a 52.4-mile-long (84.3 km) railroad in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The branch line, which parallels the South Branch Potomac River, runs north from Petersburg to Green Spring, where it connects to the national rail network at a junction with the CSX Cumberland Subdivision.
Indian Mound Cemetery is a cemetery located along the Northwestern Turnpike on a promontory of the "Yellow Banks" overlooking the South Branch Potomac River and Mill Creek Mountain in Romney, West Virginia, United States. The cemetery is centered on a Hopewellian mound, known as the Romney Indian Mound. Indian Mound Cemetery is also the site of Fort Pearsall, the Confederate Memorial, Parsons Bell Tower, and reinterments from Romney's Old Presbyterian Cemetery. The cemetery is currently owned and maintained by the Indian Mound Cemetery Association, Inc.
Mill Creek is a 14.0-mile-long (22.5 km) tributary stream of the South Branch Potomac River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. The stream is located in Hampshire County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Mill Creek flows into the South Branch west of Romney Bridge near Vanderlip along the Northwestern Turnpike.
Big Run is a 4.4-mile-long (7.1 km) tributary stream of the South Branch Potomac River, belonging to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay watersheds. Big Run flows through the city of Romney and the campus of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Hampshire County, West Virginia. The stream is known by local residents as Town Run and Town Creek.
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.
Sycamore Dale is a 19th-century Greek Revival plantation house overlooking the South Branch Potomac River southwest of Romney, West Virginia. Sycamore Dale is one of several historic estates along South Branch River Road. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1980.
Wappocomo is a late 18th-century Georgian mansion and farm overlooking the South Branch Potomac River north of Romney, Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. It is located along Cumberland Road and the South Branch Valley Railroad.
Moorefield and North Branch Turnpike was a turnpike in the U.S. state of Virginia built to facilitate travel and commerce between the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Green Spring on the North Branch Potomac River and Moorefield. Today, Green Spring Road, Harriott-Wappocomo Road, and West Virginia Route 28 encompass most of the Moorefield and North Branch Turnpike's original route.
Isaac Parsons was an American slave owner, politician, and militia officer in the U.S. state of Virginia. Parsons served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing Hampshire County from 1789 until his death in 1796. Following an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1789, Parsons was appointed to serve as a trustee for the town of Romney. In 1790, Parsons began serving as a justice for Hampshire County. He served as a captain in command of a company in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War and continued to serve as a captain in the Hampshire County militia following the war. Parsons operated a public ferry across the South Branch Potomac River, and later died from drowning in the river in 1796. Parsons was the grandfather of Isaac Parsons (1814–1862), who also represented Hampshire County in the Virginia House of Delegates and served as an officer in the Confederate States Army.
Valley View is a mid-19th-century Greek Revival residence and farm overlooking the South Branch Potomac River northwest of Romney, West Virginia. The house is atop a promontory where Depot Valley joins the South Branch Potomac River valley.
Valley was a populated place and post office on the South Branch line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It was centered near the intersection of West Sioux Lane and Depot Valley Road, now located within the present-day corporate boundaries of Romney. Valley developed in 1884 following the completion of the South Branch line when the rail line's original southern terminus and corresponding Romney Depot were built there. The United States Post Office Department established a post office at Valley on May 19, 1928, remaining in operation until its disestablishment on June 15, 1937. Following the closure of Valley's post office, its mail was routed through the post office in Romney.
