WESTMORELAND SIZE AND CHARACTER
Of the four Northern Neck counties, only Westmoreland County touches both the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers. The different qualities of the two riversides tell much about the county’s character. Along the Rappahannock, grains, vegetables, ornamentals and timber are grown on large, fertile tracts. Along the Potomac, dozens
of subdivisions contain hundreds of homes for summer visitors and, increasingly, retirees lured to the county by its rural character and relatively low cost of living.
The rural county comprises 151,000 acres, about half of them wooded. Colonial Beach is the county’s largest town and also its oldest subdivision, established in 1882. The county seat is Montross.
