But hereâs the issue: There is disagreement over whom or what the name pays tribute to. âMagruderâ comes from the name of a Civil War Confederate general, John Bankhead Magruder. His connection to York County history? He defended the area against the Union Armyâs Peninsula Campaign. Magruder became such a revered legend in the county a community was named after him. The community of Magruder, an informal hamlet of nearly 200 families, was settled mostly by African Americans after the Civil War. It was a place where families could live a little freer in a time of Jim Crow Laws, according to past coverage by WYDaily.