1.
Virginia
–
Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
2.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
3.
Richard Bland
–
Richard Bland, sometimes referred to as Richard Bland II or Richard Bland of Jordans Point, was an American planter and statesman from Virginia and a cousin of Thomas Jefferson. He served for terms in the House of Burgesses, and was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774 and 1775. His father, Richard Bland I, was a member of one of the main patriarchal First Families of Virginia, Theodorick moved to Virginia to manage the family enterprises there as a result of the death of his elder brother, Edward Bland in 1653. Theodorick established Berkeley Plantation and Westover Plantation, and both survive still side by side as working plantations on the bank of the James River and he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, and was its speaker in 1660 when he married Governor Richard Bennetts daughter, Anna. Before he died in 1671 they had three sons, Theodorick, Richard, and John and his first wife was Mary Swann, but she died without living children. In 1702 he married Elizabeth Randolph and they would have five children, Mary, Elizabeth, Richard, Anna, and Theodorick whose son, Theodorick Bland, also became a congressman and first commanded General Washingtons Virginia Cavalry. The Richard of this also served in the House of Burgesses. His elder brother, Theodorick II, would become the original surveyor of the towns of Williamsburg, when Richard II was born on May 6,1710 at either Jordans Point or Bland House in Williamsburg, he was heir to the farm, and lived there his entire life. He inherited it early, as both his parents died just before his birthday in 1720. His mother Elizabeth died on January 22, and his father Richard on April 6 and his uncles, William and Richard Randolph, looked after his farm and early education and raised, as guardians, Richard and his siblings. Richard attended the College of William and Mary then, like many of his time and he was trained in the law and admitted to the bar in 1746, but never offered his legal services to the public. Richard II married Anne Poythress, the daughter of Colonel Peter and Ann Poythress, from Henrico County, the couple married at Jordans Point on March 21,1729, and made it their home. They had twelve children, Richard, Elizabeth, Ann Poythress, Peter Randolph, John, Mary, William, Theodorick, Edward, Sarah, Susan, see The Bland Papers of Col. Theodorick Bland published by Charles Campbell. Richard would marry twice after Anne died, but without any more children, Bland served as a Justice of the Peace in Prince George County, and was made a militia officer in 1739. In 1742 he was first elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, blands thoughtful work made him one of its leaders, although he was never a strong speaker. He frequently served on committees whose role was to negotiate or frame laws, sometimes described as a bookish scholar as well as farmer, Bland read law, and was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1746. He did not practice before the courts, but collected legal documents and became known for his expertise in Virginia and British history, Bland often published pamphlets, as well as letters. His pamphlet A Letter to the Clergy on the Two-penny Act was printed in 1760, as he opposed increasing pay, when the Stamp Act created controversy throughout the colonies, Bland thought through the entire issue of parliamentary laws as opposed to those that originated in the colonial assemblies
4.
County seat
–
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in the United States, Canada, Romania, China, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, county towns have a similar function. In the United States, counties are the subdivisions of a state. Depending on the state, counties may provide services to the public, impose taxes. Some types of subdivisions, such as townships, may be incorporated or unincorporated. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county, a county seat is usually, but not always, an incorporated municipality. The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia, likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, in some of the colonial states, county seats include or formerly included Court House as part of their name. Most counties have only one county seat, an example is Harrison County, Mississippi, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats. The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult, there have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of pride for the towns involved. There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states, Coffee County, for example, the official county seat is Greensboro, but an additional courthouse has been located in nearby High Point since 1938. For example, Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, in New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government. Historically, counties in this region have served mainly as dividing lines for the judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of government and thus no county seats, in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine the county seats are legally designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the shire town. Bennington County has two towns, but the Sheriff is located in Bennington. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town governments. As such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county
5.
Bland, Virginia
–
Bland is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Bland County, Virginia, United States. Bland was originally known as Bland Court House, the population as of the 2010 Census was 409. The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year round, according to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Bland has a marine west coast climate, abbreviated Cfb on climate maps
6.
United States Census Bureau
–
The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U. S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureaus primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, in addition to the decennial census, the Census Bureau continually conducts dozens of other censuses and surveys, including the American Community Survey, the U. S. Economic Census, and the Current Population Survey, furthermore, economic and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government typically contain data produced by the Census Bureau. The Bureaus various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and help states, local communities, the Census Bureau is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States. The Census Bureau now conducts a population count every 10 years in years ending with a 0. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population estimates and projections, the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations, the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, and economy. The Census Bureaus legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code, the Census Bureau also conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, crime, health, consumer expenditures, and housing. Within the bureau, these are known as surveys and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts. The Census Bureau also conducts surveys of manufacturing, retail, service. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts, the Census Act of 1840 established a central office which became known as the Census Office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses, typically at the 10-year intervals, in 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, and in 1903 it was renamed the Census Bureau under the new Department of Commerce and Labor. The department was intended to consolidate overlapping statistical agencies, but Census Bureau officials were hindered by their role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every 2 years, in 1929, a bill was passed mandating the House of Representatives be reapportioned based on the results of the 1930 Census. In 1954, various acts were codified into Title 13 of the US Code, by law, the Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U. S. President by December 31 of any year ending in a zero. States within the Union receive the results in the spring of the following year, the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau regions are widely used. for data collection, the Census Bureau definition is pervasive. Title 13 of the U. S. Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of this information, all Census employees must sign an affidavit of non-disclosure prior to employment. The Bureau cannot share responses, addresses or personal information with anyone including United States or foreign government, only after 72 years does the information collected become available to other agencies or the general public
7.
Virginia's 9th congressional district
–
Virginias ninth congressional district is a United States congressional district in the commonwealth of Virginia, covering much of the southwestern part of the state. The 9th is Virginias second-largest district in area, covering 8800.24 square miles, the current representative is Morgan Griffith. It last supported a Democrat for president in 1996, and has supported a Democrat in two statewide contests since then. Republican presidential candidate John McCain received 59% of the vote in the 9th district in 2008, the 9th District is the only district in Virginia that cast more votes for Hillary Clinton than Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary. Clinton won more than 60% of the vote here despite Congressman Rick Bouchers endorsement of Obama, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
8.
Time in the United States
–
The time zone boundaries and DST observance are regulated by the Department of Transportation. The clocks run by these services are synchronized with each other as well as with those of other international timekeeping organizations. It is the combination of the zone and daylight saving rules, along with the timekeeping services. The use of solar time became increasingly awkward as railways. American railroads maintained many different time zones during the late 1800s, each train station set its own clock making it difficult to coordinate train schedules and confusing passengers. Time calculation became a problem for people travelling by train. Every city in the United States used a different time standard so there were more than 300 local sun times to choose from, Time zones were therefore a compromise, relaxing the complex geographic dependence while still allowing local time to be approximate with mean solar time. Railroad managers tried to address the problem by establishing 100 railroad time zones, operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced at noon on November 18,1883, the conference therefore established the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian and Greenwich Mean Time as the worlds time standard. The US time-zone system grew from this, in all zones referred back to GMT on the prime meridian. It is, within about 1 second, mean time at 0°. It does not observe daylight saving time and it is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, standard time zones in the United States are currently defined at the federal level by law 15 USC §260. The federal law establishes the transition dates and times at which daylight saving time occurs. As of August 9,2007, the time zones are defined in terms of hourly offsets from UTC. Prior to this they were based upon the solar time at several meridians 15° apart west of Greenwich. Only the full-time zone names listed below are official, abbreviations are by common use conventions, the United States uses nine standard time zones. The Central standard time zone, which comprises roughly the Gulf Coast, Mississippi Valley, the Mountain standard time zone, which comprises roughly the states that include the Rocky Mountains
9.
Eastern Time Zone
–
Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
10.
Coordinated Universal Time
–
Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
11.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
12.
County (United States)
–
In the United States, an administrative or political sub-division of a state is a county, which is a region having specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term county is used in 48 U. S. states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes, most counties have subdivisions which may include municipalities and unincorporated areas. Others have no divisions, or may serve as a singular consolidated city-county. Some municipalities are in multiple counties, New York City is uniquely partitioned into multiple counties/boroughs, the U. S. federal government uses the term county equivalent to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties. Alaskas Unorganized Borough is divided into 11 census areas that are equivalent to counties. As of 2013, the United States has 3,007 counties and 137 county equivalents for a total of 3,144 counties, the number of counties per state ranges from the 3 counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas. Counties have significant governmental functions in all states except Rhode Island and Connecticut, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has removed most government functions from eight of its 14 counties. The county with the largest population, Los Angeles County, counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the workload in Jamestown. Americas oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia, in Northampton County, maryland established its first county, St. Marys, in 1637, and Massachusetts followed in 1643. When independence came, the framers of the Constitution did not provide for local governments, rather, they left the matter to the states. Subsequently, early state constitutions generally conceptualized county government as an arm of the state, in some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties smaller divisions usually called townships, though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called towns. The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, the newest county in the United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado, established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county. The newest county-equivalents are the Alaskan boroughs of Skagway established in 2007, Wrangell established in 2008, there are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U. S. Similarly, some of Alaskas boroughs have merged with their principal cities creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world, see also, #County names, regarding Louisiana. Independent cities, These are cities that legally belong to no county, Washington, D. C. outside the jurisdiction of any state, has a special status. The city of Washington comprises the entirety of the District of Columbia, when founded in 1801, the District consisted of two counties and three cities. In 1846, Alexandria County – including the then–City of Alexandria – was given back to Virginia, in 1871, the three remaining entities – the City of Washington, Georgetown City, and Washington County – were merged into a consolidated government by an act of Congress
13.
Southwest Virginia
–
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. It is a cultural region known for its craft, music. Another geographic categorization of the places it as those counties within the Tennessee River watershed. Regardless of how borders are drawn, Southwest Virginia differs from the rest of the commonwealth in that its culture is closely associated with Appalachia than the other regions of Virginia. Historically, the region has been and remains rural, but in the 20th century, with the decline in the number of coal jobs and the decline of tobacco as a cash crop, Southwest Virginia is increasingly turning to tourism as a source of economic development. Collectively, Southwest Virginias craft, music, agritourism and outdoor recreation are referred to as the creative economy. Unlike other states in the U. S. Virginia draws a distinction between cities and counties. Under state law, all incorporated as cities are independent of any county. Independent cities in Southwest Virginia include Bristol, Buena Vista, Covington, Galax, Lexington, Martinsville, Norton, Radford, Roanoke, and Salem. Southwest Virginia is recognized for its culture and, only a decade ago. In particular, the region is known for its music, craft and this $17 million facility, built through a collaborative state and regional partnership, opened in 2011 and serves as the hub of regional networks and driving trails that cater to visitors. The Crooked Road - Southwest Virginias musical heritage has been promoted since 2002 through an internationally known driving trail called The Crooked Road, the east-west driving route of more than 300 miles links together a variety of culturally significant music performance venues and destinations in the region. Round the Mountain has established 15 driving trails in different parts of the region that link artisan, Appalachian Spring - The regions newest initiative is Appalachian Spring, which is working with communities in the region to link together key recreation destinations in a similar network. The focus is on further developing nine major existing recreation destinations so that theyll be easier to visit and enjoy. Southwest Virginia was among the last parts of the state to be settled by Europeans, in a flow of migrations that consisted mainly of the English, Germans, a major route of migration to the region was the Great Wagon Road through the Great Appalachian Valley. Much of the area was protected by a series of forts constructed around the time of Lord Dunmores War. The first major industry in Southwest Virginia— which laid the foundation for the important town of Abingdon— was salt. In Saltville, salt was produced by using water to salt from the ground
14.
Commonwealth (U.S. state)
–
Each was, prior to 1776, a British colony, or parts thereof, and share a strong influence of English common law in some of their laws and institutions. The term Commonwealth does not describe or provide for any specific political status or legal relationship when used by a state and those that do use it are equal to those that do not. It refers to the common weal, or welfare, of the public and is derived from a translation of the Latin term res publica. Besides the four aforementioned states, other states may also, on occasion, vermont, for instance, uses the term commonwealth three times in its constitution, interchangeably with the term state. Also, while Delaware was primarily referred to as a State in its 1776 constitution, two U. S. territories are also designated as commonwealths, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. When used in connection with areas under U. S, on June 1,1792, Kentucky County officially became a state. Kentucky is the state outside of the first 13 that uses commonwealth in its name. Massachusetts is officially named The Commonwealth of Massachusetts by its constitution, the name State of Massachusetts Bay was used in all acts and resolves up to 1780 and the first draft of the constitution. The current name can be traced to the draft of the state constitution. In Massachusetts, the term State is occasionally used in an official manner and this is evident in the name of the agency Massachusetts State Police, the Massachusetts State House and in Bridgewater State Hospital. The Seal of Pennsylvania does not use the term, but legal processes are in the name of the Commonwealth and it is a traditional official designation used in referring to the state. In 1776, Pennsylvanias first state constitution referred to it as both Commonwealth and State, a pattern of usage that was perpetuated in the constitutions of 1790,1838,1874 and 1958, one of Pennsylvanias two intermediate appellate courts is called the Commonwealth Court. A detailed history describing the origins of Pennsylvanias government, including its designation as a commonwealth from colonial times, is available from the Secretary of the Commonwealths office, the name Commonwealth of Virginia dates back to its independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Virginias first constitution directed that Commissions and Grants shall run, In the Name of the commonwealth of Virginia, the Secretary of the Commonwealth still issues commissions in this manner. Among other references, the constitution furthermore dictated that criminal indictments were to conclude against the peace, in Virginia, the term State is occasionally used in an official manner, but usually in a compound structure rather than as a stand-alone noun. This is evident in the name of the agency Virginia State Corporation Commission and in Virginia State Police, the state university in Richmond is known as Virginia Commonwealth University. In Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, state-level criminal prosecutions are brought in the name of the Commonwealth, in California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and New York, they are brought in the name of the People
15.
Appalachia
–
Appalachia is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York to northern Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the region was home to approximately 25 million people, sociological studies in the 1960s and 1970s helped to re-examine and dispel these stereotypes. While endowed with abundant natural resources, Appalachia has long struggled, by 1990, Appalachia had largely joined the economic mainstream, but still lagged behind the rest of the nation in most economic indicators. Since Appalachia lacks definite physiographical or topographical boundaries, there has been disagreement over what exactly the region encompasses. The most commonly used definition of Appalachia is the one initially defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission in 1965. When the Commission was established, counties were added based on economic need, in 1921, John C. Campbell published The Southern Highlander and His Homeland in which he modified Frosts map to include 254 counties in 9 states. A landmark survey of the region in the decade by the United States Department of Agriculture defined the region as consisting of 206 counties in 6 states. In 1984, Karl Raitz and Richard Ulack expanded the ARCs definition to include 445 counties in 13 states, although they removed all counties in Mississippi and added two in New Jersey. The name was altered by the Spanish to Apalachee and used as a name for the tribe. Pánfilo de Narváezs expedition first entered Apalachee territory on June 15,1528, now spelled Appalachian, it is the fourth oldest surviving European place-name in the U. S. After the de Soto expedition in 1540, Spanish cartographers began to apply the name of the tribe to the mountains themselves. The first cartographic appearance of Apalchen is on Diego Gutiérrez map of 1562, le Moyne was also the first European to apply Apalachen specifically to a mountain range as opposed to a village, native tribe, or a southeastern region of North America. The name was not commonly used for the mountain range until the late 19th century. A competing and often more popular name was the Allegheny Mountains, Alleghenies, in the early 19th century, Washington Irving proposed renaming the United States either Appalachia or Alleghania. In northern U. S. dialects, the mountains are pronounced /æpəˈleɪtʃənz/ or /æpəˈleɪʃənz/, the cultural region of Appalachia is pronounced /æpəˈleɪʃə/, also /æpəˈleɪtʃə/, all with a third syllable like lay. In southern U. S. dialects, the mountains are called the /æpəˈlætʃənz/, and this pronunciation is favored in the core region in central and southern parts of the Appalachian range. The occasional use of the sh sound for the ch in the last syllable in northern dialects was popularized by Appalachian Trail organizations in New England in the early 20th century, Native American hunter-gatherers first arrived in what is now Appalachia over 16,000 years ago. The earliest discovered site is the Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Washington County, several other Archaic period archaeological sites have been identified in the region, such as the St. Albans site in West Virginia and the Icehouse Bottom site in Tennessee
16.
Wythe County, Virginia
–
Wythe County is a county located in the U. S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 29,235, Wythe County was formed from Montgomery County in 1790. It was named after George Wythe, the first Virginian signer of the Declaration of Independence, during the Civil War the Battle of Cove Mountain was fought in the county. Wythe Countys Austinville community, which was founded by Stephen and his brother Moses Austin, father of the famous Stephen F. Austin. In the 1790s the Austins took over the mines that produced lead and zinc, the town was named for the Austin surname, lead was mined and shipped throughout the fledgling country, lead shot was also produced. Located near Fosters Falls, Jackson Ferry Shot Tower still stands as a testament to the citizens of Wythe County, lead was hoisted to the top of the tower using block and tackle and oxen. The lead was melted in a retort and then poured through a sieve at the top of the tower, the droplets of molten lead would become round during the 150-foot descent. The shot would collect in a kettle of water and slave laborers would enter through a 110-foot access tunnel located near the bank of the New River to retrieve the shot from the kettle. The lead mines closed in 1982 due to new United States Environmental Protection Agency standards, the mines have since filled with water, the main shaft extended in excess of 1100 feet straight down. Another notable area within the county is the community of Fort Chiswell - named for a French. The fort and its surrounding buildings served as the county seat until the town of Wytheville was established approximately 10 miles to the west. The fort fell into disrepair and its ruins were covered over when the intersection of I-77, a pyramid marker now stands in the approximate location of the former fort. The community was named for Colonel John Chiswell who helped establish the lead prior to the Austins purchase. Wythe Countys location, at the confluence of I-81 and I-77 which is, incidentally, recently Gatorade and Pepsi manufacturing facilities have located here, primarily due to the ease of access and central location along the Eastern seabord. There are a variety of travel-related businesses including several hundred rooms, several truck stops. Tourism takes a variety of different forms in Wythe County, there are numerous opportunities for those that enjoy outdoor activities including a variety of trails, campgrounds, and parks in the area. Its first winery opened in 2006 and a second opened in 2007, a dinner theatre is located in the county seat, Wytheville. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 465 square miles
17.
Tazewell County, Virginia
–
Tazewell County is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U. S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,078, Tazewell County is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA Micropolitan Statistical Area. Before the arrival of pioneers, Tazewell County was a ground for Native Americans. Although rare in the eastern United States, there are petroglyphs near the summit of Paintlick Mountain, in the spring of 1771, Thomas and John Witten established the first permanent settlement in Tazewell County at Crab Orchard. Tazewell County was created on December 20,1799, the land for the county was taken from portions of Wythe and Russell counties. It was named after Henry Tazewell, a United States Senator from Virginia, state legislator, Jeffersonville was established the following year as the county seat. On February 29,1892, Jeffersonville was renamed Tazewell, paramounts 1994 film Lassie was filmed here. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 520 square miles. Since it contains portions of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and the Cumberland Plateau, of the most unusual areas is Burkes Garden, a bowl-shaped valley formed by the erosion of a doubly plunging anticline. Tazewell County includes the headwaters of four watersheds, which are the Upper Clinch, Middle New, North Fork Holston, the population density was 86 people per square mile. There were 20,390 housing units at a density of 39 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96. 16% White,2. 29% Black or African American,0. 17% Native American,0. 61% Asian,0. 16% from other races,0. 51% of the population Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25. 20% of all households were made up of individuals and 11. 90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.85. In the county, the population was out with 21. 40% under the age of 18,8. 40% from 18 to 24,27. 20% from 25 to 44,27. 50% from 45 to 64. The median age was 41 years, for every 100 females there were 92.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.70 males, the median income for a household in the county was $27,304, and the median income for a family was $33,732. Males had an income of $28,780 versus $19,648 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,282, about 11. 70% of families and 15. 30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20. 30% of those under age 18 and 13. 90% of those age 65 or over
18.
Giles County, Virginia
–
Giles County is a county located in the U. S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,286, Giles County is included in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Giles County is the location of Mountain Lake, one of two natural fresh water lakes in Virginia. The Lake drains into Little Stony Creek, which passes over The Cascades, Giles County was established in 1806 from Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell counties. The county is named for William Branch Giles who was born in Amelia County in 1762, Giles became a lawyer and from there was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served from 1790 to 1815. He also served in the Virginia General Assembly from 1816 to 1822, in 1827, he was elected Governor. In all, he served his nation and state around a total of forty years. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 360 square miles. The population density was 48 people per square mile, there were 8,319 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 96. 74% White,1. 51% Black or African American,0. 12% Native American,0. 32% Asian,0. 36% from other races,1. 21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 27. 86% of all households were made up of individuals and 12. 56% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was out with 22. 70% under the age of 18,4. 89% from 20 to 24,23. 85% from 25 to 44,29. 43% from 45 to 64. The median age was 43 years, for every 100 females there were 96.14 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.55 males, the median income for a household in the county was $45,231, and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had an income of $41,521 versus $36,886 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,766, about 6. 60% of families and 12. 7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17. 70% of those under age 18 and 10. 50% of those age 65 or over. Giles County has five incorporated towns, only nine other counties have more towns than Giles. Of the 191 towns in Virginia, Glen Lyn is the fifth smallest in population, thirty-nine percent of Giles residents live in one of the five towns
19.
House of Burgesses
–
The Virginia House of Burgesses /ˈbɜːrdʒəsɪz/ was the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America. From 1619 to 1776, the branch of the legislature of Virginia was the House of Burgesses. Jamestown remained the capital of the Virginia colony until 1699, when the government was moved to Williamsburg, in 1776 the colony became the independent Commonwealth of Virginia and the House of Burgesses became the House of Delegates. Originally a synonym of burgher or bourgeois, the word came to mean a borough representative in local or parliamentary government. The Colony of Virginia was founded by an English stock company, early governors provided the stern leadership and harsh judgments required for the colony to survive its early difficulties. To encourage settlers to come to Virginia, in 1618–1619, the Virginia Companys leaders drew up a great charter, emigrants who paid their own way to Virginia would receive fifty acres of land. They would not be mere tenants, civil authority would control the military. A council of burgesses, representatives chosen by the inhabitants of the colony for their government, the House of Assembly was created at the same time in Bermuda and held its first session in 1620. A handful of Polish craftsmen, brought to the colony to supply skill in the manufacture of pitch, tar, potash and they downed tools in protest, but returned to work after being declared free and enfranchised, apparently by agreement with the Virginia Company. On July 30,1619, the first European-style legislative assembly in the Americas convened for a meeting at the church on Jamestown Island. Together, the House of Burgesses and the Council would be the Virginia General Assembly, the Houses first session of July 30,1619, accomplished little, being cut short by an outbreak of malaria. By 1624, the government in London had heard enough about the problems of the colony. Virginia became a colony and the governor and council would be chosen by the king. Nonetheless, the form of government of the colony was retained. In 1634, the General Assembly divided the colony into eight shires for purposes of government, administration, by 1643, the expanding colony had 15 counties. All of the county offices, including a board of commissioners, judges, sheriff, constable, only the members of the House of Burgesses were elected by a vote of the people. Women had no right to vote, while all free men originally were given the right to vote, by 1670 only property owners were allowed to vote. In 1652, the forces of Oliver Cromwell forced the colony to submit to their takeover of the English government
20.
2010 United States Census
–
The 2010 United States Census, is the twenty-third and currently most recent United States national census. National Census Day, the day used for the census, was April 1,2010. As part of a drive to increase the accuracy,635,000 temporary enumerators were hired. The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, as required by the United States Constitution, the U. S. census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The 2000 U. S. Census was the previous census completed, participation in the U. S. Census is required by law in Title 13 of the United States Code. On January 25,2010, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves personally inaugurated the 2010 Census enumeration by counting World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, more than 120 million census forms were delivered by the U. S. Post Office beginning March 15,2010, the number of forms mailed out or hand-delivered by the Census Bureau was approximately 134 million on April 1,2010. The 2010 Census national mail participation rate was 74%, from April through July 2010, census takers visited households that did not return a form, an operation called non-response follow-up. In December 2010, the Census Bureau delivered population information to the president for apportionment, personally identifiable information will be available in 2082. The Census Bureau did not use a form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, the 2010 Census used only a short form asking ten basic questions, How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1,2010. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1,2010 that you did not include in Question 1, mark all that apply, Is this house, apartment, or mobile home – What is your telephone number. What is Person 1s age and Person 1s date of birth, is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else, the form included space to repeat some or all of these questions for up to twelve residents total. In contrast to the 2000 census, an Internet response option was not offered, detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey. The survey provides data about communities in the United States on a 1-year or 3-year cycle, depending on the size of the community, rather than once every 10 years. A small percentage of the population on a basis will receive the survey each year. In June 2009, the U. S. Census Bureau announced that it would count same-sex married couples, however, the final form did not contain a separate same-sex married couple option
21.
Virginia General Assembly
–
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World, established on July 30,1619. The General Assembly is a body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house. Combined together, the General Assembly consists of 140 elected representatives from a number of constituent districts across the commonwealth. The House of Delegates is presided over by the Speaker of the House, the House and Senate each elect a clerk and sergeant-at-arms. The Senate of Virginias clerk is known as the Clerk of the Senate, the Republican Party currently holds the majority in both the House of Delegates and the Senate. The General Assembly meets in Virginias capital of Richmond, when sitting in Richmond, the General Assembly holds sessions in the Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson in 1788 and expanded in 1904. During the American Civil War, the building was used as the capitol of the Confederate States of America, the building was renovated between 2005 and 2006. Senators and Delegates have their offices in the General Assembly Building across the street north of the Capitol. The Governor of Virginia lives across the street directly east of the Capitol in the Virginia Executive Mansion, the Virginia General Assembly is described as the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. Its existence dates from the establishment of the Virginia Governors Council, at various times it may have been referred to as the Grand Assembly of Virginia. The General Assembly met in Jamestown from 1619 until 1699, when it moved to Williamsburg, Virginia and it became the General Assembly in 1776 with the ratification of the Virginia Constitution. The government was moved to Richmond in 1780 during the administration of Governor Thomas Jefferson, the annual salary for senators is $18,000. The annual salary for delegates is $17,640, under the Constitution, a senator or delegate who moves his residence from the district for which he is elected shall thereby vacate his office. Article II, section 6 on apportionment states, Members of the, Senate and of the House of Delegates of the General Assembly shall be elected from electoral districts established by the General Assembly. The Redistricting Coalition of Virginia proposes either an independent commission or a commission that is not polarized. Member organizations include the League of Women Voters of Virginia, AARP of Virginia, OneVirginia2021, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, Governor Bob McDonnells Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting for the Commonwealth of Virginia made its report on April 1,2011. It made two recommendations for state legislative house that showed maps of districts more compact and contiguous than those adopted by the General Assembly. In 2011, the Virginia College and University Redistricting Competition was organized by Professors Michael McDonald of George Mason University, about 150 students on sixteen teams from thirteen schools submitted plans for legislative and U. S
22.
Appalachian Regional Commission
–
Congress established ARC to bring the region into socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation. ARC serves 420 counties that encompass roughly 205,000 square miles, the Appalachian Regional Commission has 14 members, the governors of the 13 Appalachian states and a federal co-chair, who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. A professional staff carries out the work of the Commission, the current Federal Co-Chair is Earl F. Gohl, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2010. The current States Co-Chair is Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, grassroots participation is provided through 73 local development districts, which are multi-county organizations with boards made up of elected officials, business people, and other local leaders. The ARC is a planning, research, advocacy and funding organization, the bulk of ARC funds, which come from a federal appropriation, support grant making across a broad range of categories. A regional research and evaluation program helps inform the agencys work, ARC targets its resources to the areas of greatest need, with at least half of its grants going to projects that benefit economically distressed areas and counties. ARCs FY2016 appropriation included $50 million in funding through the Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce, the Trump Administrations proposed budget for FY2018 completely eliminates funding for the ARC. However, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has assured constituents no funding would be cut from the ARC, as mandated by Congress, ARC helps coordinate federal, state, and local initiatives to spur economic development in Appalachia. Each year Congress appropriates funds, which ARC allocates among its member states, the Appalachian governors submit to ARC their state spending plans for the year, which include lists of projects they recommend for funding. The spending plans are reviewed and approved at a meeting of all the governors, the next step is approval of individual projects by the ARC federal co-chair. After the states submit project applications to ARC, each project is reviewed by ARC program analysts, the process is completed when the federal co-chair reviews a project and formally approves it. ARC is designed as a partnership that employs a flexible bottom up approach. ARC relies on regional planning agencies to develop effective strategies for local economic development. Grants during that period have leveraged almost $2.7 billion in private investments and this book brought the situation in Appalachia to national attention. In 1963 President Kennedy formed the Presidents Appalachian Regional Commission to assist in advancing legislation to bring federal dollars to Appalachia and this legislation, the Appalachian Redevelopment Act, was enacted by Congress in 1965, creating the ARC as a federal agency. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on March 9,1965, for instance, parts of Mississippi were included in the commission because of similar problems with unemployment and poverty. Weinbaum, Eve S, To Move a Mountain, Fighting the Global Economy in Appalachia, New York, New Press,2004
23.
Appalachian Mountains
–
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period and it once reached elevations similar to those of the Alps and the Rocky Mountains before naturally occurring erosion. The Appalachian chain is a barrier to east-west travel, as it forms a series of alternating ridgelines, definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians. A common variant definition does not include the Adirondack Mountains, which belong to the Grenville Orogeny and have a different geological history from the rest of the Appalachians. The range covers parts of the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, the system is divided into a series of ranges, with the individual mountains averaging around 3,000 ft. The highest of the group is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet, the term Appalachian refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range. Most broadly, it refers to the mountain range with its surrounding hills. The Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas and Oklahoma were originally part of the Appalachians as well, the name was soon altered by the Spanish to Apalachee and used as a name for the tribe and region spreading well inland to the north. Pánfilo de Narváezs expedition first entered Apalachee territory on June 15,1528, now spelled Appalachian, it is the fourth-oldest surviving European place-name in the US. After the de Soto expedition in 1540, Spanish cartographers began to apply the name of the tribe to the mountains themselves. The first cartographic appearance of Apalchen is on Diego Gutierrezs map of 1562, the name was not commonly used for the whole mountain range until the late 19th century. A competing and often more popular name was the Allegheny Mountains, Alleghenies, in the early 19th century, Washington Irving proposed renaming the United States either Appalachia or Alleghania. In U. S. dialects in the regions of the Appalachians. In northern parts of the range, it is pronounced /ˌæpəˈleɪtʃᵻnz/ or /ˌæpəˈleɪʃᵻnz/, the third syllable is like lay. There is often debate between the residents of the regions as to which pronunciation is the more correct one. Elsewhere, a commonly accepted pronunciation for the adjective Appalachian is /ˌæpəˈlætʃiən/, the whole system may be divided into three great sections, Northern, The northern section runs from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador to the Hudson River. The Monteregian Hills, which cross the Green Mountains in Quebec, are also unassociated with the Appalachians, Central, The central section goes from the Hudson Valley to the New River running through Virginia and West Virginia. Southern, The southern section runs from the New River onwards and it consists of the prolongation of the Blue Ridge, which is divided into the Western Blue Ridge Front and the Eastern Blue Ridge Front, the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians, and the Cumberland Plateau
Bland County, Virginia
