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| Roane County |
| Tuesday, 15 May 2007 00:18 | |||
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Spencer, built on hilly terrain, is the center of government for Roane County. Originally the settlement was called Tanner's Cross Roads, after the first settler, Samuel Tanner, who is reported to have lived in a nearby cave about 1812. Sometime later a man by the name of Raleigh butcher left his home on Reedy Creek to go to California. Along the way he stopped at Tanner's Cross Roads and got no further. In jest, the location was dubbed New California and in 1858 incorporated under that name. The name was changed to Spencer some years later in honor of Judge Spencer Roane, for whom the county is also named. The town is the site of the Spencer State Hospital. Roane County, in western West Virginia, has livestock, fruit, and tobacco farms, in addition to timber operations. Roane County, located in the north-western part of the state, was established in 1843. The county was named in honor of Judge Spencer Roane of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Ritchie County was named after his nephew, Thomas Ritchie, who was a leading publisher and editor. Roane's wife Anne was the daughter of Patrick Henry. [I suspect the date is wrong -ch] Roane County's land area is some 486 square miles.
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