the first european settlement in what was to become orange county was germanna, formed when governor alexander spotswood settled 12 immigrant families from westphalia, germany there in 1714. this was a total of 42 people. orange county was created in august 1734 when the virginia house of burgesses adopted “an act for dividing spotsylvania county.” unlike other counties whose boundaries had ended at the blue ridge mountains, orange was bounded on the west “by the utmost limits of virginia” which, at that time, stretched to the mississippi river and the great lakes. the colony of virginia claimed the land, but very little of it had yet been occupied by any english people. orange county may have been at one time the largest county that ever existed. in 1738 most of the western area was split off into augusta county. the large county was to encourage settlement further west to counter the french claim to the ohio river valley region.