Colony and Dominion of Virginia

The Colony of Virginia (also known frequently as the Virginia Colony and occasionally as the Dominion and Colony of Virginia) was the English colony in British America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution (as a British colony after 1707). The name Virginia was first applied by Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth I in 1584. After the English Civil War in the mid 17th century, the Virginia Colony was nicknamed "The Old Dominion" by King Charles II for its perceived loyalty to the English monarchy during the era of the Commonwealth of England.

After independence from Great Britain in 1783 (Treaty of Paris), a southeastern portion of the original Virginia Colony became the Commonwealth of Virginia, one of the original thirteen states of the United States, adopting as its official slogan, "The Old Dominion." After the United States was formed, the entire states of West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois, and portions of Ohio were all later created from the territory encompassed earlier by the Colony of Virginia.

Source: Wikipedia