Talk:Lost counties, cities, and towns of Virginia

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Contents 1 about article 2 Excessive extraneous info? 3 Tone of the article around the use of the term "lost" and a suggestion 4 Duplication 5 Unlisted town

[edit] about article

Beginning author's note: Unlike much of my WP work, most of this was put together off-line during a long period of time, and very little was pulled from other WP articles. When we had the February 21-22, 2005 server problem, I had time to reflect on how much I enjoy the WP work, and instead of worrying, I resolved to work on something to have to contribute content-wise when the system came back up. I am not in a position to help with the financial end, but I appreciate those who do.

This article will focus on the some of the "lost" counties, cities and towns (both incorporated and not) once located in Virginia. At least at the local level, most (if not all) are not truly "lost", as was North Carolina's Lost Colony from Roanoke Island. In Virginia, it is known with a high degree of certainty (and some secrecy in a few instances) what became of them. However, while the Tar Heel State has only 1 lost colony, ever-competitive Virginia can lay claim to hundreds of lost localities. In facts, at least 5 former county names have been "lost" more than once!

Of course, some of these "lost" communities which are now in other states currently exist under their prior names, and surely the citizens of each do not consider them to be "lost" at all. However, from Virginia's perspective, they were lost to Virginia, even though they may live on in another. The principal author of this article (who is a transplanted Virginian born in what was once Illinois County) would hope that non-Virginians of these areas would think kindly of Virginia as sort of an old fashioned version of today's organ donors, even though the mother colony and state (named for the feisty Virgin Queen Elizabeth I of England) did not always donate gracefully.

Within Virginia, most records seem to prefer the word "extinct" as opposed to "lost." In a strict interpretation, the dictionary defines "extinct" For this article, the words should be considered interchangeable. Personally, I feel extinct sounds mostly sad, while lost is more intriguing.

Researching some of the lost counties, cities and towns of Virginia will lead one to stories of success, failure, great wisdom, honor, tragedy, and even national security. Some of the stories will make many Virginian feel proud, while others will be cause for a moment of thoughtful reflection, maybe even a prayer for lost misdeeds and lost souls.

I realize that this entire topic is a bit lighthearted in its approach as opposed to many Wikipedia articles. I would appreciate the help of other WP editors, especially as I feel this article has FAC potential. Suggestions, constructive criticism, and editing by others, particularly more content, and factual corrections would be welcomed by me. I feel it is timely as Virginia is ramping up for Jamestown 2007.

User: Vaoverland Mark D. Fisher, Richmond, Virginia February 22, 2005 (George Washington's Birthday)

[edit] Excessive extraneous info?

It seems that much of the Jamestown material is unrelated to the toic of the article and is better put in the Jamestown, Virginia article. Any thoughts? AjaxSmack 07:52, 10 May 2006 (UTC).

• I agree with you. Have at it! Mmoyer 15:31, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

I also notice that the counties section appears to be taken out of another article and has absolutely nothing to do with the article. Especially the second paragraph, which goes on to describe the counties of other states. I am hesitant to change it as it appears that is has been there since the beginning and possibly may serve some purpose. Thylacine222 13:21, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tone of the article around the use of the term "lost" and a suggestion

Hello. I may be wading into something that has been long resolved, or that no one sees any problem with, but I have a few short comments.

The article is very informative and well laid out, but the use of the term "lost" to mean "no longer an existing county, city, or town within the givernmental framework of Virginia" is rather atypical for Wikipedia. The tone of it reads more like a local history written from the point of view of Virginians. While this is not exactly biased, it does seen against the spirit of NPOV.

Also, the inclusion of issues as disparate as South Boston, Virginia, Indiana Territory, the former shires of Virginia, Berkeley County, West Virginia, and the Lost Colony all fit nicely into the literary conceit of "loss," but seem (for lack of a gentler,or more specific, term) unencyclopedic.

I would be happy to go through and make some edits to change the harmonious use of "lost" to more specific descriptions and categories (which would simply follow the current structure of the article), but I want to give others a chance to give me feedback before I dive into an aricle that has clearly taken a lot of work, and seems like a labor of love.

Thanks, BCorr|Брайен 21:14, 7 August 2006 (UTC)

I'd like to see some examples of "more specific descriptions and categories" before any big changes get made. Remember, Virginia has many more "lost" entities than many other states by virtue of the fact that it was part of the original thirteen colonies, a divided state during the civil war, and that it was split to form West Virginia. Out west they'd be called ghost towns, but here, well, it seems almost a uniquely Virginia thing. Mmoyer 02:09, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Duplication

This article has some duplication, like the shires, for example. --AW 19:37, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unlisted town

Has anyone ever heard of Claudville, Virginia? I can't seem to find it on any of the Wikipedia lists, and I'm wondering if it has an alternate name? --Elonka 00:26, 21 August 2007 (UTC)

Never mind, looks like it was an unlisted unincorporated community. I went ahead and created a stub. --Elonka 02:11, 22 August 2007 (UTC)