Floyd County, Virginia
| Floyd County, Virginia | ||
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Floyd County Courthouse
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 Location in the U.S. state of Virginia |
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 Virginia's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1831 | |
| Named for | John Floyd | |
| Seat | Floyd | |
| Largest town | Floyd | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 382 sq mi (989 km2) | |
| • Land | 381 sq mi (987 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.9 sq mi (2 km2), 0.2% | |
| Population (est.) | ||
| • (2015) | 15,279 | |
| • Density | 41/sq mi (16/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 9th | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
| Website | www |
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Floyd County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,279. Its county seat is Floyd.
Floyd County is included in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Floyd County's recorded history begins with the arrival of traders, trappers and hunters in Southwest Virginia in the 18th century. The earliest known travel way through present day Floyd County was the Trader's Path, running from east to west across the Roanoke River where Back Creek enters the river, by John Mason's, R. Poage's, the headwaters of Back Creek and southwest over Bent Mountain. The trail continued westward through the Little River area to the Lead Mines.
The first known attempts to settle the area appear to have been made during the 1740s. In 1745 the Virginia Council granted James Patton, of Augusta County, among others, 100,000 acres (400 km2) on the New River and the westward flowing waters, including the Little River area. In 1749 the Royal Company of Virginia also received a grant on the westward flowing waters, putting the two companies in competition with one another to settle the area. The first surveying of the land occurred in the late 1740s.
On January 15, 1831, the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act creating the present county of Floyd out of the county Montgomery. The new county was named for the then Governor of Virginia, John Floyd. The new county's courthouse was completed in 1834. In 1870 a portion of Franklin County was added to Floyd County. The first Commonwealth's Attorney was William Ballard Preston, a nephew of John Floyd, who would later serve as Secretary of the United States Navy. Preston was followed in later years by Jubal Early, who would later serve as a general for the Confederate Army.
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