09/13/2026
𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪, 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚?
𝗪𝗘 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗕𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗕𝗨𝗥𝗚'𝗦 𝗕𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗦
For years, different historical accounts have identified either October 18 or October 21, 1778, as Martinsburg's birthday. The October 21 date even appears on the plaque in Town Square. Even a simple Google search will reveal one of those dates.
However, neither date aligns with the recorded legislative history of the act that legally established Martinsburg.
October 18, 1778, fell on a Sunday, and the General Assembly journals do not show the legislature conducting business that day. The journals also do not record action on the Martinsburg bill on October 21.
The story actually began on May 14, 1777, when residents petitioned the Virginia House of Delegates to establish Martinsburg by law. The petition explained that the town had been laid out on land belonging to Major General Adam Stephen, where the Berkeley County courthouse and jail had been built. Residents had invested in homes and other improvements and wanted the legal privileges enjoyed by residents of Virginia's other established towns.
The Virginia General Assembly convened in Williamsburg on October 5, 1778. That is why the resulting laws are identified as the Acts of the "October 1778 Session," even though the session continued until December 19. "October 1778" refers to when the legislative session began, not when every act was completed.
The Assembly met in the Capitol at Williamsburg, then the capital of Virginia. It was in this building that lawmakers debated issues affecting the Commonwealth during the Revolutionary War and considered legislation establishing new communities such as Martinsburg. (Remember, Martinsburg was part of Virginia at the time.)
And, at the time, Virginia's government included many of the most influential leaders of the Revolutionary era, including Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Mason, James Madison, Edmund Pendleton, George Wythe, and others who helped shape both Virginia and the young United States. These were among the prominent Virginia statesmen serving during this remarkable period in American history.
Martinsburg's incorporation legislation was introduced and debated during the Virginia General Assembly's October 1778 session, but the legislative record indicates that the final recorded action on the bill did not occur until December 17, 1778.
In other words, Martinsburg was not established in October simply because the legislative session began in October. The evidence instead points to December 17 as the date most closely associated with the completion of the legislative process that created the Town of Martinsburg.
The legislation establishing Martinsburg proceeded through the House of Delegates, with action recorded on:
• October 30, 1778 • November 3, 1778 • November 5, 1778 • November 6, 1778 • November 7, 1778 • November 17, 1778
The bill also proceeded through the Virginia Senate, where action was recorded on:
• November 16, 1778 • November 17, 1778 • December 17, 1778
Most importantly, on December 17, 1778, the Senate reported the bill establishing Martinsburg as enrolled. The General Assembly adjourned two days later, on December 19.
The resulting law was published as Chapter ###II and titled:
"An act for establishing the town of Martinsburg, in the county of Berkeley, and for other purposes."
Unlike today, Virginia's governor did not sign or veto bills in 1778. Under Virginia's 1776 Constitution, the governor had no veto power. Virginians had deliberately placed legislative authority in the General Assembly rather than in a powerful executive following their experience with royal governors and the king blocking colonial laws.
The Martinsburg act therefore did not require the signature or approval of Governor Patrick Henry. Instead, the enrolled act was authenticated by the presiding officers of the House of Delegates and Senate. The surviving document bears those legislative signatures, including that of Senate President Archibald Cary, but it does not show the precise date on which the signatures were placed on the document.
Special credit belongs to Matt Umstead, former reporter for The Herald-Mail and current Director of Strategic Planning and Communications for Berkeley County. Through careful research of the House of Delegates and Senate journals, Matt tracked the Martinsburg legislation through the General Assembly and identified the December 17, 1778 Senate entry showing the bill had been enrolled. His work demonstrated that the October dates repeated in various historical accounts do not align with the recorded legislative proceedings and helped bring greater clarity to the question of Martinsburg's true founding date.
Although the exact date the presiding officers physically signed the enrolled act remains unconfirmed, the legislative record indicates that December 17, 1778, is the best-supported date for the final recorded legislative action legally establishing Martinsburg.
History does not change, but sometimes our understanding of it does. Thanks to careful research and a reexamination of the legislative record, we now have a stronger understanding of how and when Martinsburg was officially established.
So, as we prepare to celebrate Martinsburg's 250th birthday in 2028, we may want to save the birthday cake for December rather than October.
Based on the best evidence currently available, December 17, 1778, appears to be the date most closely associated with Martinsburg's legal birth as a town.
Photo: The Capitol at Colonial Williamsburg, where the Virginia General Assembly met during its October 1778 session while Martinsburg's incorporation legislation moved through the House of Delegates and Senate.
