Hanover, village, seat of Hanover county, east-central Virginia, U.S. It lies immediately east of Ashland, near the Pamunkey River, 15 miles (24 km) north of Richmond. Founded in 1720 and named for the elector of Hanover (afterward King George I of England), it is known for its association with Patrick Henry, orator of the American Revolution, who was largely responsible for the passage of the Bill of Rights. Henry was born (May 29, 1736) at Studley, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south, and in the Hanover Courthouse (1733) he gained fame as an orator by effectively pleading (December 1, 1763) the colony’s case against the Parson’s Cause. In 1775 he organized Virginia’s first military company, the Hanover County Volunteers, in the village. The Hanover Tavern (c. 1723), operated by John Shelton, Henry’s father-in-law, has been restored and is now the home of the Barksdale Theatre.
Scotchtown, to the northwest, was one of Henry’s homes (1771–78) and also the girlhood home of Dolley Madison (née Payne), wife of President James Madison. Henry Clay, the statesman and orator, was born (1777) at Clay Spring, 4.5 miles (7 km) to the south. A few miles north of Hanover is Paramount’s Kings Dominion, a 400-acre (162-hectare) amusement complex with WaterWorks, a water park.