Randolph County, West Virginia was formed in 1787 and named in Randolph's honor. Randolph County, Illinois was also named after him Randolph, who was the governor of Virginia when the state ceded what was then sometimes called Illinois County, Virginia (a title disputed by Pennsylvania and others) to the new federal government, which created the Northwest Territory. Randolph County's motto is "where Illinois began" because it was one of the first two settled counties in the territory. It contains Kaskaskia, the first seat of Illinois County, which later became the capital of Illinois Territory's capital and ultimately the state's first capital.