Lord Botetourt

We went to the History Museum of Western Virginia on Saturday, so this will be history week here at Blue Country Magic.

The museum is showing a display of Botetourt County artifacts in celebration of the county's 250th anniversary. That was actually last year, but because of Covid, all of the events were cancelled.

The first exciting thing to happen was that immediately upon entering the gift shop to purchase our tickets, my husband spied the 250th anniversary magazine that I edited and wrote. It took me 8 months to do this project.

When we entered the exhibit, this picture below caught my eye. It's the Coat of Arms for Lord Botetourt, for whom the county was named.

What really caught my attention, though, was that it says, "Botetourt Country Club" in the Coat of Arms. The Botetourt Country Club as it existed originally is no longer; however, my father now owns the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club, which is located on the site of the former Botetourt Country Club grounds. It's also not located far from where I live. Another nice personal connection, if I do say so myself.

The above photo is of Lord Botetourt. Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (c. 1717 – 15 October 1770), was a British courtier, member of parliament, and royal governor of the colony of Virginia from 1768 until his death in 1770. He died in Williamsburg on 15 October 1770, after an illness lasting several weeks. Botetourt never married and left no legitimate heirs. He was hugely popular at the time of his passing.

Botetourt County, Virginia, was named in Botetourt's honor, as was Lord Botetourt High School in the unincorporated community of Daleville in Botetourt. Additionally, the Botetourt Dorm Complex at The College of William and Mary is named for him.