Fincastle County, Virginia

Fincastle County was created in 1772 from, whose boundaries extended all the way to the. Fincastle County was abolished in 1776, and divided into three new counties -, , and (which later became the ). The name remains on maps with the town of, the county seat of the original Botetourt County. The town was possibly named after the English home of Governor. Lord Botetourt was a very popular governor of the, and died just before the tensions of the impending made the job much more difficult.

and of Fincastle, succeeded Lord Botetourt. Fincastle County may have been named in his honor, or for his son Lord Fincastle. If so, the decision to change the name in 1776 is very logical. At that time, Lord Dunmore was leading the military opposition to the "rebels" in Virginia, and had already issued the Emancipation Proclamation offering to free any slave who fled their Virginia masters and joined the royal British forces.