Washington County, Virginia
| Washington County, Virginia | ||
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Washington 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 | 1776 | |
| Named for | George Washington | |
| Seat | Abingdon | |
| Largest town | Abingdon | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 566 sq mi (1,466 km2) | |
| • Land | 561 sq mi (1,453 km2) | |
| • Water | 5 sq mi (13 km2), 0.9% | |
| Population (est.) | ||
| • (2015) | 54,876 | |
| • Density | 97/sq mi (37/km²) | |
| Congressional district | 9th | |
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | |
| Website | www |
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Washington County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,876. Its county seat is Abingdon.
Washington County is part of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area, commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples of varying cultures lived in the area. At the time of European encounter, the Chiska had a chief village near what is now Saltville, destroyed by the Spaniards in 1568. The Cherokee annexed the region from the Xualae around 1671, and ceded it to the Virginia Colony in 1770 at the Treaty of Lochaber.
The county was formed by Virginians in 1776 from Fincastle County. It was named for George Washington, who was then commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Washington County is among the first geographical regions to be named after the president of the United States.
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