Wise County/Dickenson County

Wise County Wise County was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties. It was named for Henry Alexander Wise who was governor of Virginia from 1856 to 1860. The county seat is the town of Wise. After the Civil War the town of Wise grew and the county's industry expanded because of the growth of the railroads and the increased mining of coal in the region. Noted novelist John Fox Jr. lived in the town of Big Stone Gap here for a portion of his life and wrote the best-selling novels The Trail of the Lonesome Pine and The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come. Dickenson County This mountainous county is named for William J. Dickenson, delegate to the Virginia General Assembly from Russell County in 1880 when the county was formed from Russell, Wise, and Buchanan Counties. The first permanent European settlements were established in the county during the early 19th century. Breaks Interstate Park is located near Breaks and includes a portion of Kentucky. The park was formed by a joint action of both state legislatures in 1954 and has a deep gorge shaped for centuries by the Russell Fork River. Clintwood is the county seat.