The county contains Northumberland National Park and two national landscapes: the Northumberland Coast and part of the North Pennines. Much of the county's history has been defined by its position on a border.
Northumberland County, Virginia, was originally known as Chickacoan, an Indian district on the Northern Neck, lying between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. In 1648, this “Mother County of the Northern Neck” was organized and named after County Northumberland, England. The first white settler to make a permanent home in the county was Col. John Mottrom, sometime between 1635-1640.
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