The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and Waynesboro.

Its county seat is Staunton,[1] but most of the administrative services have offices in neighboring Verona.

It was originally a huge area, but many of its parts were carved out to form other counties and several states until the current borders were finalized in 1790.

[3] It was named for Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales and mother of the future King George III of the United Kingdom.

[4] Originally, Augusta County was a vast territory with an indefinite western boundary.

Additionally, the territory north and west of those areas, theoretically all the way to the Pacific Ocean, were as well.

[4] Reductions in its extent began in 1770, when its southern part became Botetourt County.

During the Civil War, Augusta County served as an important agricultural center as part of the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy."

The Virginia Central Railroad ran through the county, linking the Shenandoah Valley to the Confederate capital at Richmond.

One of the bloodiest engagements fought in the Shenandoah Valley took place on June 5, 1864, at the Battle of Piedmont, a Union victory that allowed the Union Army to occupy Staunton and destroy many of the facilities that supported the Confederate war effort.

[18] Body cameras were not included in the 2022 budget: initially the county board of supervisors instead created a fund for body cameras that the community could donate to, but they shortly rescinded that decision over a desire to avoid contributions to the fund by the protesting group.