Floyd County was named for John Floyd, governor of Virginia from 1830 to 1834. It was formed from Montgomery County in 1831, with a portion of Franklin County added later, and its county seat is Floyd, formerly Jacksonville. Admiral Robbey Evans, hero of the Spanish-American War, was born here in 1846. Congressman William Ballard Preston and Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, C.S.A., served the county as commonwealth's attorneys. Henry Dillon, a noted area builder, used architect Asher Benjamin's pattern book, The Practical House Carpenter, to construct the old Floyd Presbyterian Church in 1850. Montgomery County was named for Brig. Gen. Richard Montgomery, who was killed in the American assault on Quebec on 31 Dec, 1775. It was formed from Fincastle County in 1776, and parts of Botetourt and Pulaski Counties were added later, and its county seat is Christiansburg. William Preston, a Revolutionary officer, Indian fighter, and member of the House of Burgesses, completed Smithfield, one of the county's outstanding historic houses, in 1774. His son James Patton Preston and a grandson, John Buchanan Floyd, born at Smithfield, both served as governors of Virginia.