Wythe County Poorhouse Farm

Fincastle County, Virginia, was created by act of the Virginia General Assembly April 8, 1772 from Botetourt County. As the colonial government considered Virginia's western extent to be the Mississippi River, that became Fincastle's western limit. Its eastern boundary was essentially the New River (Wood's River at the time, including what is today the Kanawha River), thus dividing Botetourt County from north to south. The new county encompassed all of present-day Kentucky, plus southwestern West Virginia and a slice of Virginia's western "tail". Although no county seat was designated by the act creating the county, the colonial governor ordered it to be placed at the "Lead Mines" of present-day Wythe County; the community of Austinville later developed there. The governor of Virginia Colony, John Murray, Earl of Dunmore and Viscount of Fincastle, had succeeded Lord Botetourt, the namesake of Fincastle's "parent" county, upon the latter's death in 1770. Botetourt County was established that same year, and two years later, the newly laid out town of Fincastle was chosen as its county seat. Fincastle County's name, like the town's, may have been selected to honor George, Lord Fincastle, the eldest son of Lord Dunmore. The county was the site of Lord Dunmore's War against the Ohio country Shawnee concluded by Virginia's victory at the Battle of Point Pleasant in Oct. 1774. This resulted in the de facto resetting of the boundary between Indian and colonial lands decreed in the Royal Proclamation of 1763: south of Ohio lands were now colonial lands, though conflicts reignited later, in the Cherokee-American wars. Initially, land claims in the county were pursuant to warrants for service in the French and Indian War; later preemption claims were allowed. Many of the earliest settlements in Kentucky, including its first town, Harrod's Town, Boonesborough, Logan's Station, and Lexington were founded when it was known as part of Fincastle County. Attempts at organized settlement, ultimately unsuccessful, included the Indiana Grant (including part of southwestern PA), Vandalia Colony and Transylvania Colony. That the county was named for a loyalist was reason for the American rebels to change its name in 1776. Lord Dunmore in absentia led the military opposition to the rebels in Virginia. He had already issued Dunmore's Proclamation, offering freedom to any of the rebels' slaves who fled their Virginia masters and joined the British forces, which was much resented by the rebel planters and slaveholders. In December 1776, the Virginia General Assembly abolished Fincastle County and organized three new counties from it: Montgomery, Washington, and Kentucky. In 1792, the successor counties established from Kentucky County were collectively admitted to the Union as the 15th state, the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The name Fincastle, originally a Glen in Scotland, lives on in, among other places, towns of the same name in Virginia and Kentucky.

Crockett's Cove Presbyterian Church, also known as Cove Brick Church, is a historic Presbyterian church located near Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia. The church was built in 1858, and is a small rectangular, Greek Revival style brick church building. The church served as a hospital following the Battle of Cove Mountain. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Wytheville Community College (WCC) is a public community college in Wytheville, Virginia. It is part of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and opened in 1963 as a two-year branch of Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. WCC joined the VCCS when it was formed in 1967. The college serves the citizens of Bland, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth (Marion and eastward), and Wythe counties, and the City of Galax. WCC offers nearly thirty academic programs, which include university parallel programs (transfer), occupational-technical programs, and health professions programs. The college awards the associate degree, diplomas, and certificates.

The Battle of Cove Mountain occurred in Wythe County, Virginia, on May 10, 1864, during the American Civil War. A Union cavalry division commanded by Brigadier General William W. Averell was prevented from attacking a lead mine located near Wytheville. Confederate forces commanded by Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, with a detachment of a brigade of cavalry from the command of Brigadier General William E. "Grumble" Jones, stopped Averell at Cove Gap, adjacent to Crockett's Cove and Cove Mountain. Averell and a larger force commanded by Brigadier General George Crook were part of a Union plan to damage the Confederate-controlled Virginia and Tennessee Railroad. The railroad was used by the Confederacy to transport soldiers and supplies, and served important lead and salt mines. Averell's assignment was to attack the mines, but he was stopped at the cove while attempting to reach the lead mine. After an escape through the mountains during the night, Averell's cavalry was pursued by multiple Confederate forces for five days until his cavalry reunited with Crook's force in Union, West Virginia. The National Park Service lists the result of this battle as "indecisive". Confederate accounts call the battle a victory for Morgan. Confederate troops prevented Averell from destroying a salt mine, and a lead mine, that were important to the Confederacy for preserving meat and making bullets. However, because of Confederate concern about Averell's intentions, most of the forces commanded by Jones and Morgan could not assist at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain where Crook's 6,000-man legion had a significant victory. Crook was able to complete his objective to destroy a large railroad bridge across the New River, and important Confederate railroad infrastructure was damaged.

Loretto is a historic home located at Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia.

St. John's Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church in Wytheville, Virginia, United States. The church was built between 1854 and 1857, and is a Classical Revival style brick church building on a limestone foundation. The front facade features a pedimented portico with a full entablature supported by four monumental Doric order columns of parged brick. Atop the slate roof is an octagonal cupola with arcaded belfry. Attached to the church is a two-story, brick parish hall constructed in 1907, and a large, two-story office wing constructed in 1954.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Haller–Gibboney Rock House is a historic home located at Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia. It was built in 1822–1823, and is a two-story, five bay late Federal style limestone dwelling. It has a side gable roof and a two-story frame ell terminating in a demi-octagonal end. The Rock House was used as a hospital during the Battle of Wytheville during Civil War. The building houses a museum sponsored by the Wythe County Historical Society.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.

Wytheville Historic District is a national historic district located at Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia. The district encompasses 245 contributing buildings in the historic core of the town of Wytheville. They are primarily residential and commercial buildings and structures dating from about the 1830s to early 1940s. Notable buildings include the Fleming K. Rich House (1830s), Edith Bolling Galt Wilson Birthplace, Ephraim McGavock House (1858), Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (1876), Wytheville AM&O station (1873), Wythe County Courthouse (1902), George Wythe Hotel (1927), Millwald Theatre (1928), Trinkle Mansion, and Wytheville Municipal Building (1929), The Haller-Gibboney Rock House and St. John's Episcopal Church are located in the district and listed separately.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

Reed Creek Mill is a historic grist mill at 1565 South Church Street in Wytheville, Virginia. The property includes a c. 1902 wood-frame mill building, a mill dam and raceway, and a c. 1950 storage building. The site has seen industrial use as a mill since 1858; its first mill was torn down late in the 19th century. The present mill building served the local agricultural community until 2004, and has since undergone restoration.The mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.The mill is privately owned and not open to the public.

Big Survey Wildlife Management Area is a 7,500-acre (30 km2) Wildlife Management Area in Wythe County, Virginia. The preserve's woodland sits on four mountain ridges and divides the watersheds of Reed and Cripple creeks in the New River Valley. Among the trees and shrubs to be found there are rhododendron, azalea, oak, hickory, and pine.Big Survey Wildlife Management Area is owned and maintained by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The area is open to the public for hunting, hiking, horseback riding, and camping. Access for persons 17 years of age or older requires a valid hunting permit, fishing permit, or WMA access permit.

The Wytheville Raid or Toland's Raid (July 18, 1863) was an attack by an undersized Union brigade on a Confederate town during the American Civil War. Union Colonel John Toland led a brigade of over 800 men against a Confederate force of about 130 soldiers and 120 civilians. The location of Wytheville, the county seat of Wythe County in southwestern Virginia, had strategic importance because of a nearby lead mine and the railroad that served it. This mine supplied lead for about one third of the Confederate Army's munitions, while the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad transported Confederate troops and supplies; plus telegraph wires along the railroad line were vital for communications. In addition to logistics of moving the lead to bullet manufacturing facilities, this rail line also connected an important salt works of an adjacent county with the wider Confederacy. Toland's entire brigade was mounted, and consisted of a mounted infantry regiment plus eight companies of cavalry. It approached the small town of Wytheville on the evening of July 18. The community had been warned that a large force of Union horsemen was heading in its direction, and hastily made preparations before the brigade's arrival. While many in the community fled south or hid in their homes, a force of about 120 civilians (including home guard) volunteered to defend their town. The Union cavalry entered the town first, charging in column down the main road that led into town. The men from the cavalry were ambushed by Confederate soldiers, Home Guard, and local citizens. Most of the local men, and women, fired their one–shot muskets from inside their homes and businesses. This type of warfare was considered unconventional at the time. One Union soldier described the road as an "avenue of death".The Union force suffered significant losses. The Union commander, Colonel Toland, was killed. The severely wounded cavalry commander, Colonel William H. Powell, was left to die and became a prisoner of the Confederates. (Powell was also second in command of the entire brigade.) Additional officers and enlisted men were killed, wounded, or missing. The Union after action report listed a total of 86 men killed, wounded, missing, or taken prisoner during the entire expedition—although Confederate leadership believed the Union casualties were much higher. (The entire expedition includes the trips to and from Wytheville.) Approximately 300 horses were lost (killed, wounded, or injured) by the brigade during the raid and retreat—including an estimated 80 killed on the streets of Wytheville. Despite significant losses, the Union brigade was eventually able to secure the town. However, the victory was costly, and the northerners retreated less than 24 hours after entering the small community. A group of soldiers and civilians, less than one third the size of the Union force they opposed, prevented a brigade from destroying vital assets of the Confederacy—a railroad line, telegraph line along the railroad, a lead mine, and possibly a salt mine. After the conflict, Union infantry leaders were critical of the Union cavalry's performance, and men from the cavalry were critical of the infantry leadership's tactics.

Wytheville ( WITH-vihl) is a town in, and the county seat of, Wythe County, Virginia, United States. It is named after George Wythe, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, and mentor to Thomas Jefferson. Wytheville's population was 8,211 at the 2010 census. Interstate Highways 77 and 81 were constructed to intersect at the town, long a crossroads for travelers. During the American Civil War, Wytheville had a strategic importance. It was attacked in 1863 (Toland's Raid) and 1865 (Stoneman's 1865 Raid). The town is the birthplace of Edith Bolling Wilson, second wife of President Woodrow Wilson.