Harriston, VA

Harriston is an Augusta County census-designated place in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, a compact community with the county's larger story doing most of the talking. Augusta County stretches between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains, and Staunton serves as the county seat. Harriston was first counted as a CDP in 2010, so its official census identity is relatively new even though the surrounding valley has centuries of settlement behind it. This is one of those places where the county map matters as much as the place-name sign.