In the same Act of Assembly, 1778, by which Rockingham was created Greenbrier County, now in West Virginia, was formed from Montgomery and Botetourt Counties to the west of "a line beginning on the top of the ridge which divides the Eastern from the Western Waters, where the line between Augusta and Botetourt crosses the same, and running thence the same course continued north fifty-five degrees west to the Ohio, thence beginning at the said ridge at the said lines of Botetourt and Augusta, running along the top of the said ridge, passing the Sweet Springs to the top of Peter's mountain, thence along the said mountain to the line of Montgomery county, thence along the same mountain to the Kanawha or New river, thence down the said river to the Ohio." Greenbrier County takes its name from its principal river. It is the anglicized version of the French word "ronce" for brier or bramble and "verte" for green. The town Ronceverte, situated on the river, keeps the French word.
At the same time Rockbridge County was formed from parts of Botetourt and Augusta. It was bounded "by a line beginning in the top of the Blue Ridge near Steele's mill and running thence north fifty-five degrees west passing the said mill and crossing the North mountain to the top and the mountain dividing the waters of the Calf Pasture from the waters of the Cow Pasture and thence along the said mountain crossing Panther's gap to the line that divides the counties of Augusta and Botetourt." The remainder of Botetourt shall be divided "by a line to begin at Audley Paul's and running thence south fifty-five degrees east crossing James river, to the top of the Blue Ridge, thence along the same crossing James river, to the beginning of the aforesaid line dividing Augusta county; then beginning again at the said Audley Paul's, and running north fifty-five degrees west till the said course shall intersect a line to be run south forty-five degrees west from the place where the above line dividing Augusta terminated."
The enabling acts setting forth the bounds for the counties when created have been quoted fully, both for the information they contain and for the comprehensive geographical knowledge they reveal. They show painstaking surveys and study to achieve accuracy under the handicap of lack of roads and bridges. In addition to technical knowledge, the surveyor needed a sturdy physique to withstand the daily hardships that were part of his routine work.