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Caroline County supervisors say founding year is 1728, not 1727; seal number to be updated
Summary
Chair Nancy Long recounted research showing Caroline County’s formation occurred in 1728 and said the county will change the founding year on its seal from 1727 to 1728.
Nancy Long, chair of the Caroline County Board of Supervisors, told the board on May 27 that historical research shows the county was formed in 1728, not 1727, and that the number on the county seal will be updated to reflect that finding.
The correction matters for historical accuracy and county branding: Long described how petitions to the House of Burgesses led local planters to seek a separate county to build roads to Port Royal, and she said delays in the legislative process likely explain the year discrepancy.
Long summarized a citizen-submitted history tracing the county’s early settlement, noting that Francis Thornton and local petitioners sought permission from the House of Burgesses in the 1720s to form a new county to improve roads for tobacco shipments. She said the petition was granted in the spring of 1728 and that the earlier year of 1727 likely came from a mistaken reading of Thornton’s travel and correspondence.
Long said the county’s official materials will be changed to show 1728 on the county seal. The transcript records the chair’s account and an expression of appreciation to the citizen who submitted the research, but it does not record a formal vote or ordinance to change the seal; Long presented the historical summary during opening board comments.
Board members did not record additional debate or a formal motion on the seal change in the parts of the transcript provided. Long framed the remark as historical context and as an appreciation to the citizen who provided the documentation.
