Hampshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 23,964. Its county seat is Romney, West Virginia's oldest town (1762). Hampshire County was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 13, 1753, from parts of Frederick and Augusta counties (Virginia) and is the oldest county in the state of West Virginia. The county lies in both West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle and Potomac Highlands regions. Hampshire County is part of the Winchester, VA-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).