Hanover County was formed in 1720 and named for the German Electorate of Hanover, whose ruler had become King George I of Great Britain six years earlier. Before English settlement, the land along the Pamunkey River was home to the Pamunkey and Chickahominy peoples.
Two well-known figures of early America were born here: Patrick Henry in 1736 and Henry Clay in 1777. The colonial courthouse where Henry argued the Parson’s Cause in 1763 still stands at Hanover Courthouse. In 1864 the armies of Grant and Lee fought at North Anna, Totopotomoy Creek and Cold Harbor. This section covers those places and what remains to see.