Scott County was named for Winfield Scott, a native of Virginia, in recognition of his victories during the War of 1812; he was later commanding general of the American army during the war with Mexico, 1846-1848. It was formed from Lee, Russell, and Washington Counties by a statute adopted on 24 November 1814. The county court first met on 14 February 1815. The county seat is Gate City.

In 1780 the Virginia General Assembly replaced the Anglican vestries and churchwardens of the colonial period with elected bodies called Overseers of the Poor. The Overseers provided food, clothing, shelter, and medical treatment for the persons who were too poor to support themselves or too ill to provide for their basic needs. They also bound out children whose parents could not support them or who failed to educate or instruct them, as well as orphans to become apprentices. The boys learned a trade and the girls learned domestic skills.