Raphine, Virginia

Raphine is an Unincorporated Community in Rockbridge County in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia .

The name "Raphine" came from an old Greek word "raphis", meaning "to sew." It was chosen in honor of James Edward Allen Gibbs (1829-1902), a local farmer who patented the first chain-stitch single-thread Sewing Machine on June 2 , 1857 . In partnership with James Wilcox, Gibbs became a principal in Wilcox & Gibbs Sewing Machine Company. Wilcox & Gibbs commercial sewing machines are still made and used in the 21st century.

Nearby, the McCormick family farm, Walnut Grove, was the home of Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884). He became famous as the inventor of the mechanical Reaper in 1831 . He moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1847 , and was the founder, with his brother Leander, of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company which became part of International Harvester Corporation in 1902. The McCormick farm became a test farm for the school known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University (better known as "Virginia Tech").

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