I have been asked several times the counties of Kentucky that was formerly in Virginia. Prior to 1784 the commonwealth of Virginia consisted of a vast territory extending west from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and north from the North Carolina line to the Great Lakes. Starting in 1784, however, the size of the commonwealth decreased, in 1784 the United States Congress accepted Virginia's cession of its northwestern lands; parts of three Virginia counties were added to the commonwealth of Pennsylvania between 1776 and 1785, and between 1784 and 1792 residents of the area known as the district of Kentucky held ten conventions on the question of statehood. On December 18, 1789, the General Assembly of Virginia passed an act to allow Kentucky to apply for statehood, and on June 1, 1792, Kentucky's nine counties became a state. With the start of the Civil War in 1861, fifty of Virginia's western counties voted to remain in the Union, and on June 23, 1863, West Virginia became a state. Kentucky Counties formerly in Virginia: Bourbon County formed in 1785 from Kentucky County then it's present name is Paris, Fayette County created in 1780 one of the three original counties that made up the district of Kentucky. Jefferson County established in 1780 and it was one of the three original counties that made up the district of Kentucky. Kentucky County(extinct) was created in 1776 from Fincastle County. Kentucky County became extinct in Nov. 1780 when it was divided into Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln Counties. Madison created in 1785 out of part of Lincoln County. Mason County was formed from Bourbon County in 1788. Mercer County was created in 1785. Nelson County created in 1784. Woodford County was formed in 1788.