Hancock is an unincorporated

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 in Morgan County

Morgan County, West Virginia

Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of 2010, it's population was 17,541. Its county seat is Berkeley Springs. The county is one of three in Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

's Eastern Panhandle. It is located off of Hancock Road (U.S. Route 522

U.S. Route 522

U.S. Route 522 is a spur route of U.S. Route 22 in the eastern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 60 in Powhatan, Virginia. The northern terminus is at U.S. Route 11 and U.S. Route 15 in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. US 522 passes through the states of Virginia, West...

) on River Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 1) along the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 north of Berkeley Springs

Bath (Berkeley Springs), West Virginia

Bath is a town in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Morgan County. The town is incorporated as Bath, but it is often referred to by the name of its post office, Berkeley Springs. The population of the town was 663 according to the 2000 United States...

. Originally known as Brosius, its post office's name was changed to Hancock in 1948 to reflect its location on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 mainline across the river from Hancock

Hancock, Maryland

Hancock is a town in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,725 at the 2000 census. The Western Maryland community is notable for being located at the narrowest part of the state...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

Hancock is also accessible by way of Fairview Drive (West Virginia Secondary Route 2) from Berkeley Springs and also Pious Ridge Road (West Virginia Secondary Route 4) from Ridersville

Ridersville, West Virginia

Ridersville is an unincorporated community between Berkeley Springs and Stohrs Crossroads along Martinsburg Road in Morgan County, West Virginia. It is located on Pious Ridge where Pious Ridge Road and Peter Yost Road intersect with WV 9...

 on Martinsburg Road (West Virginia Route 9).