Hampshire County

What Hampshire County does

Hampshire County is a political subdivision of the State of West Virginia, established on December 13, 1753 by the Virginia General Assembly from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties and recognized as the oldest county in West Virginia. It serves approximately 23,175 residents (2019 Census estimate) across the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions, with its county seat at Romney — the oldest chartered town in West Virginia (1762). The county is governed by an elected County Commission and delivers a full portfolio of statutory local government services, including property assessment (Assessor Lacee Haines), law enforcement (Sheriff Nathan Sions), treasury and tax collection (Treasurer Shirley Trimble), judicial services (Circuit Clerk Sonja Embrey; Circuit Court Judges H. Charles Carl III and John Treadway; Family Court Judges Deanna Rock and Glen Stotler), and the Planning Office led by Code and Compliance Official Jarrett Hott and Flood Plain Coordinator Becky Lewis.

Core operational products include 24-hour EMS coverage delivered by the Hampshire County Emergency Service Agency (HCESA, Director D. Hamrick), funded by an annual Emergency Ambulance Service Fee of $175 per habitable structure and $50 per temporary/recreational site; 911 dispatch from the Communications Center (PSAP) at 1160 Jersey Mountain Rd.; the Hampshire County Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) office; a Planning Office handling building permits, subdivision, and floodplain administration at 90 N. High St.; a GIS Portal managed by Coordinator Aaron Cox; a Recycling Center on Kerr Drive; the Historic Landmarks Commission (Chair Carol Shaw, 2025-2026); Parks and Recreation including the South Branch Valley Bluegrass Festival at Wapocoma Campground; and a Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The revenue model is tax-and-fee based rather than commercial: ad valorem property taxes, state appropriations, intergovernmental transfers, and ordinanced user fees (ambulance fee, building permits). GTM motion is direct service delivery to residents through the Courthouse Complex in Romney, specialized satellite offices, volunteer fire and rescue companies (Augusta, Capon Bridge, Capon Springs, Springfield, Levels, North River, Romney, Slanesville), and digital channels including hampshirewv.com and the @HampshireWV1754 YouTube live-stream channel. No commercial revenue is reported, consistent with its status as a government entity.

Name

Hampshire County

Legal name

Hampshire County, West Virginia

Website

https://hampshirewv.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1753

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hampshire County is the oldest county in West Virginia (est. 1753), providing statutory local government services — including EMS, 911 dispatch, planning, law enforcement, tax collection, recycling, and historic preservation — to approximately 23,175 residents in the Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Government Administration

NAICS

Other General Government Support (92119), Executive Offices (921110), Administration of Public Health Programs (923120), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

akta.pro primary industry

Mayor/City Manager & General Administration (BPAIACAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local Public Health & Human Services Administration (BPAIACAK), Public Works Departments (Streets, Bridges, Stormwater, Fleet, Maintenance) (BPAIALAD)

Keywords

• County government services
• Public administration
• Emergency medical services
• Law enforcement
• Property assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Romney

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hampshire County is a political subdivision and county government of the State of West Virginia providing local public administration, public safety, property assessment, planning, permitting, and emergency medical services to county residents and property owners. The county operates under an elected three-member County Commission and delivers services through departments including the Sheriff's Office, County Clerk, Assessor, Planning Commission, Floodplain Management, and EMS.

Product overview

Hampshire County is a county government providing essential public services to residents of West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions. The county operates a unified government services portfolio centered around core public safety services (emergency management, 911 dispatch, EMS/ambulance), planning and development services (building permits, floodplain management, GIS), administrative services (assessor, sheriff, clerk, treasurer), environmental services (recycling center), and recreational/cultural services (parks, historic landmarks, annual bluegrass festival). The Emergency Service Agency and Homeland Security provide 24/7 emergency response capabilities, while the Planning Office handles development oversight. Services are delivered through dedicated departments with specific physical locations (primarily at the Courthouse Complex in Romney) and operate under various fee ordinances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hampshire County Commission: The governing body of Hampshire County, West Virginia
• Hampshire County Planning Office
• Hampshire County Historic Landmarks Commission
• Hampshire County Emergency Service Agency
• Hampshire County Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Products and services

• Hampshire County Ambulance Service Subscription

Quantifiable outcome

• County population of 23,175 (2019 Census estimate)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Allegany County, Maryland: Adjacent Appalachian county across state lines operating comparable public safety, planning, and emergency service functions — useful as a regional benchmark.
• Frederick County, Virginia: Virginia-side counterpart within the shared Winchester VA-WV MSA, offering similar county-level services but under Virginia governance — relevant as a cross-border regional comparator.

Direct peers

• Highland County, Virginia: Very small rural Virginia county with similar demographic and service-delivery constraints, useful for stress-testing the smallest-end rural county operating model.
• Bath County, Virginia: Small rural Virginia county with comparable population scale and service portfolio; relevant as a peer for benchmarking rural-county service delivery economics.
• Mineral County, West Virginia: Adjacent Eastern Panhandle / Potomac Highlands county operating under the same West Virginia county government framework, with comparable population, EMS, planning, and emergency management functions.
• Grant County, West Virginia: Potomac Highlands peer county with similar rural service portfolio and demographic profile, providing like-for-like operational comparability.
• Morgan County, West Virginia: Small Eastern Panhandle county offering directly comparable services (commission, sheriff, planning, EMS, parks). Useful as a near-clone rural county peer.
• Hardy County, West Virginia: Neighboring Potomac Highlands county of similar rural scale and demographic profile, providing the same portfolio of county government services (commission, sheriff, planning, EMS, recycling). Directly comparable in service model and population tier.

Broad incumbents

• Berkeley County, West Virginia: Larger Eastern Panhandle county within the same regional framework; offers overlapping county services at greater scale, with more developed planning and emergency management infrastructure.
• Jefferson County, West Virginia: Eastern Panhandle county within the same West Virginia statutory framework, but operating at greater scale and population density — relevant as a regional incumbent peer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HampshireWV1754/streams
• Xx.com/HampshireCounty
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hampshire-county-emergency-management

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hampshire County