Iberian Publishing Company's On-Line Catalog: Spotsylvania County Virginia
Spotsylvania County was established on 1 May 1721 from the upper portions of King & Queen, King William, and Essex counties. The county's name honored Alexander Spotswood, lieutenant governor of Virginia from 1710 to 1722. Spotsylvania county reached its present boundary configuration after Orange County was cut from its western territory in 1734.
Since the lands encompassed by Spotsylvania fell within the bounds of the Indian Reserve, settlers who first moved into the region in the mid-seventeenth century had to barter with the natives for rights to occupy lands there.
The records for the county are intact, although a number of records are held by the Fredericksburg circuit court (early sessions of the courts of the Spotsylvania judicial district were held at the Fredericksburg courthouse).