Berkeley County, West Virginia
| Berkeley County, West Virginia | |
|---|---|
 Location in the U.S. state of West Virginia |
|
 West Virginia's location in the U.S. |
|
| Founded | May 15, 1772 |
| Seat | Martinsburg |
| Largest city | Martinsburg |
| Area | |
| • Total | 322 sq mi (834 km2) |
| • Land | 321 sq mi (831 km2) |
| • Water | 0.4 sq mi (1 km2), 0.1% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 111,901 |
| • Density | 344/sq mi (133/km²) |
| Congressional district | 2nd |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 |
| Website | www |
Berkeley County is in the Eastern Panhandle region of West Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area.
As of the 2010 census, the county population was 104,169, making it the second-most populous of West Virginia's 55 counties, behind Kanawha. The City of Martinsburg is the county's seat.
Created on May 15, 1772 by an act of House of Burgesses from the northern third of Frederick County when it was part of Virginia, Berkeley County became West Virginia's second oldest county after the Mountain State was admitted to the Union in 1863 during the American Civil War. At the time of the county's formation, Berkeley County comprised areas that now are part of present-day Jefferson and Morgan counties in West Virginia.
Most historians believe the county was named for Norborne Berkeley, Baron de Botetourt (1718–1770), Colonial Governor of Virginia from 1768 to 1770. West Virginia's Blue Book, for example, indicates Berkeley County was named in his honor. He served as a colonel in England's North Gloucestershire militia in 1761, and represented that division of the county in parliament until he was made a peer in 1764. Having incurred heavy gambling debts, he solicited a government appointment and in July 1768, was made governor of Virginia. In 1769, he reluctantly dissolved the House of Burgesses after it adopted resolutions opposing parliament's replacement of requisitions with parliamentary taxes as a means of generating revenue and a requirement the colonists send accused criminals to England for trial.
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