Paint Bank is an unincorporated community in northern Craig County, Virginia, United States.

It is likely that the earliest Native American visitors traveled this path of least resistance, passing through and even settling here: an Indian cemetery has been found in the vicinity.

The area was well known to the Cherokee, who used the red clay deposits on the banks of Potts Creek for pottery and war paint.

A number of land grants were made by Lord Fairfax and the Commonwealth of Virginia, especially the latter, around Paint Bank in the 1820s through the 1850s.

[7] A few miles up the road between Sweet Springs, West Virginia and Paint Bank, is the location of the home of Anne Royall (June 11, 1769 – October 1, 1854).

It was close to this area that Union General David Hunter fought his most difficult battle, a confrontation involving two of Craig County's highest mountains, on his trek from Lynchburg, Va., to Sweet Springs, West Virginia"[9] The Order of the Heroes of America, also known as the "Red Strings", extended into southwestern Virginia as well.

It is not known if this is the same man named Williams that residents of Back Valley, Virginia spoke about as a member of the Loyal League.

[10] "Paint Bank, in Craig County, was the core of what local citizen George A. Linton called the "Union Hole"-an area with mixed loyalties that sometimes swayed heavily to the north, in this traditionally southern state.

"The grist mill sits on Potts Creek, on property originally owned by Revolutionary War hero Colonel William Preston.

[18] Paint Bank was the center of a mining and timber boom in the early 1900s, when over 2,000 people lived around Potts Creek.

The name was originally applied to a land grant of over 700 acres dating from 1750 to John Carpenter, which was located near present-day Covington, Virginia.

[22] "This state fish hatchery, just south of Paint Bank, provides a unique look into the trout rearing and stocking process.

Numerous concrete tanks hold up to 1.6 million trout in all stages of development, thus providing an easy viewing experience.