 Pendleton County was divided from parts of August, Hardy, and Rockingham Counties (Virginia) by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1787.The earliest court sessions in the new county were held at the home of Captain Zeruiah Stratton near the present-day village of Ruddle until Francis Evick offered a part of his land to become a county seat around 1789.Additional lots were divided off of Evick's land to form the new town.