Romney is a city in and the county seat of Hampshire County, West Virginia, USA. The population was 1,940 at the 2000 census, while the area covered by the city's ZIP code had a population of 5,873. The population was 1,848 at the 2010 census. Originally settled in 1725 by hunters and traders, Romney was known as Pearsall's Flats and was the site of the French and Indian War stockade Fort Pearsall. Romney is the oldest town in West Virginia, chartered December 23, 1762. (This status is contested by Shepherdstown, which was chartered in the same year). Named for the Cinque Ports town of Romney, Kent, England by Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, the town still bears placenames and symbols from its colonial past such as its Marsham Street, named for Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney