Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia; this province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley, bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian range; the Blue Ridge Mountains are noted for having a bluish color. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color. Within the Blue Ridge province are two major national parks – the Shenandoah National Park in the northern section, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southern section – and eight national forests including George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Cherokee National Forest, Pisgah National Forest, Nantahala National Forest and Chattahoochee National Forest.
The Blue Ridge contains the Blue Ridge Parkway, a 469-mile long scenic highway that connects the two parks and is located along the ridge crest-lines with the Appalachian Trail. Although the term "Blue Ridge" is sometimes applied to the eastern edge or front range of the Appalachian Mountains, the geological definition of the Blue Ridge province extends westward to the Ridge and Valley area, encompassing the Great Smoky Mountains, the Great Balsams, the Roans, the Blacks, the Brushy Mountains and other mountain ranges; the Blue Ridge extends as far north into Pennsylvania as South Mountain. While South Mountain dwindles to mere hills between Gettysburg and Harrisburg, the band of ancient rocks that form the core of the Blue Ridge continues northeast through the New Jersey and Hudson River highlands reaching The Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Vermont; the Blue Ridge contains the highest mountains in eastern North America south of Baffin Island. About 125 peaks exceed 5,000 feet in elevation.
The highest peak in the Blue Ridge is Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet. There are 39 peaks in North Tennessee higher than 6,000 feet. Southern Sixers is a term used by peak baggers for this group of mountains; the Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles along crests of the Southern Appalachians and links two national parks: Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains. In many places along the parkway, there are metamorphic rocks with folded bands of light-and dark-colored minerals, which sometimes look like the folds and swirls in a marble cake. Most of the rocks that form the Blue Ridge Mountains are ancient granitic charnockites, metamorphosed volcanic formations, sedimentary limestone. Recent studies completed by Richard Tollo, a professor and geologist at George Washington University, provide greater insight into the petrologic and geochronologic history of the Blue Ridge basement suites. Modern studies have found that the basement geology of the Blue Ridge is made of compositionally unique gneisses and granitoids, including orthopyroxene-bearing charockites.
Analysis of zircon minerals in the granite completed by John Aleinikoff at the U. S. Geological Survey has provided more detailed emplacement ages. Many of the features found in the Blue Ridge and documented by Tollo and others have confirmed that the rocks exhibit many similar features in other North American Grenville-age terranes; the lack of a calc-alkaline affinity and zircon ages less than 1,200 Ma suggest that the Blue Ridge is distinct from the Adirondacks, Green Mountains, the New York-New Jersey Highlands. The petrologic and geochronologic data suggest that the Blue Ridge basement is a composite orogenic crust, emplaced during several episodes from a crustal magma source. Field relationships further illustrate that rocks emplaced prior to 1,078–1,064 Ma preserve deformational features; those emplaced post-1,064 Ma have a massive texture and missed the main episode of Mesoproterozoic compression. The Blue Ridge Mountains began forming during the Silurian Period over 400 million years ago.
320 Mya, North America, Europe collided, pushing up the Blue Ridge. At the time of their emergence, the Blue Ridge were among the highest mountains in the world and reached heights comparable to the much younger Alps. Today, due to weathering and erosion over hundreds of millions of years, the highest peak in the range, Mount Mitchell in North Carolina, is only 6,684 feet high – still the highest peak east of the Rockies; the English who settled colonial Virginia in the early 17th century recorded that the native Powhatan name for the Blue Ridge was Quirank. At the foot of the Blue Ridge, various tribes including the Siouan Manahoacs, the Iroquois, the Shawnee hunted and fished. A German physician-explorer, John Lederer, first reached the crest of the Blue Ridge in 1669 and again the following year. At the Treaty of Albany negotiated by Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood, of Virginia with the Iroquois between 1718 and 1722, the Iroquois ceded lands they had conquered south of the Potomac River and east of the Blue Ridge to the Virginia Colony.
This treaty made the Blue Ridge the new demarcation point between the areas and tribes subject to the Six Nati
Bedford County, Virginia
Bedford County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Bedford, an independent city from 1968 until rejoining the county in 2013. Bedford County was created in 1753 from parts of Lunenburg County, several changes in alignment were made until the present borders were established in 1786; the county was named in honor of an English statesman and fourth Duke of Bedford. Bedford County is part of Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area; as of the 2010 census, Bedford's population was 68,676. The county population has nearly doubled since 1980; the Piedmont area had long been inhabited by indigenous peoples. At the time of European encounter Siouan-speaking tribes lived in this area. Bedford County was established by European Americans on December 13, 1753 from parts of Lunenburg County. In 1756, a portion of Albemarle County lying south of the James River was added; the county is named for John Russell, the fourth Duke of Bedford, a Secretary of State of Great Britain.
In 1782, Campbell County was formed from eastern Bedford County and the county seat was moved from New London to Liberty. In 1786, the portion of Bedford County south of the Staunton River was taken with part of Henry County to form Franklin County; the town of Bedford became an independent city in 1968, remained the county seat. On September 14, 2011, the Bedford City Council voted to transition into a town, ending its independent city status; the supervisors of Bedford County voted to accept the town of Bedford as part of the county when it loses city status. The town of Bedford once more became part of Bedford County on July 1, 2013. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 769 square miles, of which 753 square miles is land and 16 square miles is water. Rockbridge County – north Amherst County – northeast Lynchburg, Virginia – east Campbell County – southeast Pittsylvania County – south Franklin County – southwest Roanoke County – west Botetourt County – northwest Blue Ridge Parkway Jefferson National Forest James River Face Wilderness Smith Mountain Lake State Park US 221 US 460 US 501 SR 24 SR 43 SR 122 As of the census of 2000, there were 60,371 people, 23,838 households, 18,164 families residing in the county.
The population density was 80 people per square mile. There were 26,841 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 92.18% White, 6.24% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, 0.74% from two or more races. 0.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 28.2% were of American, 15.6% English, 11.0% German and 9.6% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 23,838 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.40% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, 23.80% were non-families. 20.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population's age distribution was: 24.00% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 27.50% from 45 to 64, 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older.
The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.50 males. The median income for a household in the county was $43,136, the median income for a family was $49,303. Males had a median income of $35,117 versus $23,906 for females; the per capita income for the county was $21,582. About 5.20% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over. District 1: Bill Thomasson District 2: Edgar Tuck District 3: Charla Bansley District 4: John Sharp District 5: Tommy Scott * District 6: Andy Dooley District 7: Kevin S. Willis Clerk of the Circuit Court: Cathy C. Hogan Commissioner of the Revenue: Julie Creasy Commonwealth's Attorney: Wes Nance Sheriff: Michael J. "Mike" Brown Treasurer: Kim Snow Bedford County is represented by Republicans David R. Suetterlein and Stephen D. "Steve" Newman in the Virginia Senate. S. House of Representatives.
Bedford County was an agricultural economy. While agriculture is still an important factor in the county's economy, Bedford County has significant residential development to serve Lynchburg and Smith Mountain Lake. Tourism and retail are becoming more significant with some new industry near Forest and New London. Bedford voted for George Wallace, an Independent for President in 1968. Beale ciphers, the key to a supposed treasure buried somewhere in the county and which has attracted treasure hunters since the 19th century National D-Day Memorial Peaks of Otter Poplar Forest Smith Mountain Lake Bedford Museum & Genealogical Library Bedford Big Island Forest Montvale Colonel Chaffin, little person who toured the United States and was billed as the "Virginia Dwarf". Erik Estrada, an American actor, voice actor, subsequent Bedford County deputy sheriff, known for his co-starring lead role in the police drama te
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples known as first peoples, aboriginal peoples or native peoples, are ethnic groups who are the original settlers of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. Groups are described as indigenous when they maintain traditions or other aspects of an early culture, associated with a given region. Not all indigenous peoples share this characteristic, as many have adopted substantial elements of a colonizing culture, such as dress, religion or language. Indigenous peoples may be settled in a given region or exhibit a nomadic lifestyle across a large territory, but they are historically associated with a specific territory on which they depend. Indigenous societies are found in every inhabited climate continent of the world. Since indigenous peoples are faced with threats to their sovereignty, economic well-being and their access to the resources on which their cultures depend, political rights have been set forth in international law by international organizations such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank.
The United Nations has issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to guide member-state national policies to the collective rights of indigenous peoples, such as culture, identity and access to employment, health and natural resources. Estimates put the total population of indigenous peoples from 220 million to 350 million. International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on 9 August each year; the adjective indigenous was used to describe animals and plant origins. During the late twentieth century, the term Indigenous people began to be used to describe a legal category in indigenous law created in international and national legislations, it is derived from the Latin word indigena, based on the root gen-'to be born' with an archaic form of the prefix in'in'. Notably, the origins of the term indigenous is not related in any way to the origins of the term Indian which until was applied to indigenous peoples of the Americas. Any given people, ethnic group or community may be described as indigenous in reference to some particular region or location that they see as their traditional indigenous land claim.
Other terms used to refer to indigenous populations are aboriginal, original, or first. The use of the term peoples in association with the indigenous is derived from the 19th century anthropological and ethnographic disciplines that Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines as "a body of persons that are united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, which have common language and beliefs, constitute a politically organized group". James Anaya, former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has defined indigenous peoples as "living descendants of pre-invasion inhabitants of lands now dominated by others, they are culturally distinct groups that find themselves engulfed by other settler societies born of forces of empire and conquest". They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal system.
The International Day of the World's Indigenous People falls on 9 August as this was the date of the first meeting in 1982 of the United Nations Working Group of Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights. Throughout history, different states designate the groups within their boundaries that are recognized as indigenous peoples according to international or national legislation by different terms. Indigenous people include people indigenous based on their descent from populations that inhabited the country when non-indigenous religions and cultures arrived—or at the establishment of present state boundaries—who retain some or all of their own social, economic and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains; the status of the indigenous groups in the subjugated relationship can be characterized in most instances as an marginalized, isolated or minimally participative one, in comparison to majority groups or the nation-state as a whole.
Their ability to influence and participate in the external policies that may exercise jurisdiction over their traditional lands and practices is frequently limited. This situation can persist in the case where the indigenous population outnumbers that of the other inhabitants of the region or state. In a ground-breaking 1997 decision involving the Ainu people of Japan, the Japanese courts recognised their claim in law, stating that "If one minority group lived in an area prior to being ruled over by a majority group and preserved its distinct ethnic culture after being ruled over by the majority group, while another came to live in an area ruled over by a majority after consenting to the majority rule, it must be recognised that it is only natural that the distinct ethnic culture of the former group requires greater consideration."In Russia, definition of "indigenous peoples" is contested referring to a number of population (less
Atlantic Seaboard fall line
The Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line, or Fall Zone, is a 900-mile escarpment where the Piedmont and Atlantic coastal plain meet in the eastern United States. Much of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line passes through areas where no evidence of faulting is present; the fall line marks the geologic boundary of hard metamorphosed terrain—the product of the Taconic orogeny—and the sandy flat outwash plain of the upper continental shelf, formed of unconsolidated Cretaceous and Cenozoic sediments. Examples of Fall Zone features include the Potomac River's Little Falls and the rapids in Richmond, where the James River falls across a series of rapids down to its own tidal estuary. Before navigation improvements such as locks, the fall line was the head of navigation on rivers due to their rapids or waterfalls, the necessary portage around them. Numerous cities formed along the fall line because of the availability of water power to operate mills which concentrated mercantile traffic and labor. U. S. Route 1 and I-95 link many of the fall line cities.
In 1808, Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin noted the significance of the fall line as an obstacle to improved national communication and commerce between the Atlantic seaboard and the western river systems: The most prominent, though not the most insuperable obstacle in the navigation of the Atlantic rivers, consists in their lower falls, which are ascribed to a presumed continuous granite ridge, rising about one hundred and thirty feet above tide water. That ridge from New York to James River inclusively arrests the ascent of the tide. Other falls of less magnitude are found at the gaps of the Blue Ridge, through which the rivers have forced their passage... Some cities that lie along the Piedmont–Coastal Plain fall line include the following: Trenton, New Jersey, on the Delaware River. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the Schuylkill River. Wilmington, Delaware, on the Brandywine River Perryville and Havre de Grace, Maryland, on the Susquehanna River/head of Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore, Maryland, on Herring Run, Jones Falls, Gwynns Falls.
Elkridge, Maryland, on the Patapsco River. Laurel, Maryland, on the Patuxent River. Washington, D. C. on the Potomac River. Occoquan, Virginia, on the Occoquan River. Fredericksburg, Virginia on the Rappahannock River. Richmond, Virginia, on the James River. Petersburg, Virginia, on the Appomattox River. Weldon, North Carolina, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, on the Roanoke River Greenville, North Carolina, on the Tar River. Raleigh, North Carolina, on the Neuse River. Fayetteville, North Carolina, on the Cape Fear River. Lumberton, North Carolina, on the Lumber River. Cheraw, South Carolina, on the Pee Dee River. Camden, South Carolina, on the Wateree River. Columbia, South Carolina, on the Congaree River. Augusta, Georgia, on the Savannah River. Milledgeville, Georgia, on the Oconee River. Macon, Georgia, on the Ocmulgee River. Columbus, Georgia, on the Chattahoochee River. Tallassee, Alabama, on the Tallapoosa River Wetumpka, Alabama, on the Coosa River Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the Black Warrior River
Sherwood Anderson
Sherwood Anderson was an American novelist and short story writer, known for subjective and self-revealing works. Self-educated, he rose to become a successful copywriter and business owner in Cleveland and Elyria, Ohio. In 1912, Anderson had a nervous breakdown that led him to abandon his business and family to become a writer. At the time, he moved to Chicago and was married three additional times, his most enduring work is the short-story sequence Winesburg, which launched his career. Throughout the 1920s, Anderson published several short story collections, memoirs, books of essays, a book of poetry. Though his books sold reasonably well, Dark Laughter, a novel inspired by Anderson's time in New Orleans during the 1920s, was his only bestseller. Sherwood Berton Anderson was born on September 13, 1876, in Camden, Ohio, a farming town with a population of around 650, he was the third of seven children born to Emma Jane and former Union soldier and harness-maker Irwin McLain Anderson. Considered reasonably well-off financially—Anderson's father was seen as an up-and-comer by his Camden contemporaries, the family left town just before Sherwood's first birthday.
Reasons for the departure are uncertain. The Andersons headed north to Caledonia by way of a brief stay in a village of a few hundred called Independence. Four or five years were spent in years which formed Anderson's earliest memories; this period inspired his semi-autobiographical novel Tar: A Midwest Childhood. In Caledonia Anderson's father began drinking excessively, which led to financial difficulties causing the family to leave the town. With each move, Irwin Anderson's prospects dimmed; that job was short-lived, for the rest of Sherwood Anderson's childhood, his father supported the family as an occasional sign-painter and paperhanger, while his mother took in washing to make ends meet. As a result of these misfortunes, young Sherwood became adept at finding various odd jobs to help his family, earning the nickname "Jobby."Though he was a decent student, Anderson's attendance at school declined as he began picking up work, he left school for good at age 14 after about nine months of high school.
From the time he began to cut school to the time he left town, Anderson worked as a "...newsboy, errand boy, cow-driver, stable groom, printer's devil, not to mention assistant to Irwin Anderson, Sign Painter..." in addition to assembling bicycles for the Elmore Manufacturing Company. In his teens, Anderson's talent for selling was evident, a talent he would draw on it in a successful career in advertising; as a newsboy he was said to have convinced a tired farmer in a saloon to buy two copies of the same evening paper. With the exception of work, Anderson's childhood resembled that of other boys his age. In addition to participating in local events and spending time with his friends, Anderson was a voracious reader. Though there were only a few books in the Anderson home, the youth read by borrowing from the school library, the personal libraries of a school superintendent and John Tichenor, a local artist, who responded to Anderson's interest. By Anderson's 18th year in 1895, his family was on shaky ground.
His father had started to disappear for weeks. Two years earlier, in 1893, Sherwood's elder brother, had left Clyde for Chicago. On May 10, 1895, his mother succumbed to tuberculosis. Sherwood, now on his own, boarded at the Harvey & Yetter's livery stable where he worked as a groom—an experience that would translate into several of his best-known stories. Two months before his mother's death, in March 1895, Anderson had signed up with the Ohio National Guard for a five-year hitch while he was going steady with Bertha Baynes, an attractive girl and the inspiration for Helen White in Winesburg, he was working a secure job at the bicycle factory, but his mother's death precipitated. He settled in Chicago around late 1896 or spring/summer 1897, having worked a few small-town factory jobs along the way. Anderson moved to a boardinghouse in Chicago owned by a former mayor of Clyde, his brother Karl was studying at the Art Institute. Anderson moved in with him and found a job at a cold-storage plant.
In late 1897, Karl moved away, Anderson relocated to a two-room flat with his sister and two younger brothers newly come from Clyde. Money was tight—Anderson earned "two dollars for a day of ten hours"— but with occasional support from Karl, they got by. Following the example of his Clyde confederate and lifelong friend Cliff Paden and Karl, Anderson took up the idea of furthering his education by enrolling in night school at the Lewis Institute, he attended several classes including "New Business Arithmetic" earning marks that placed him second in the class. It was there that Anderson heard lectures on Robert Browning, Alfred Tennyson, was first introduced to the poetry of Walt Whitman. Soon, Anderson's first stint in Chicago would come to an end as the United States prepared to ent
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 Canada, Romania and the United States. County towns have a similar function in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, in Jamaica. In most of the United States, counties are the political subdivisions of a state; the city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county. The county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records and correctional facility are located in the county seat though some functions may be located or conducted in other parts of the county if it is geographically large. A county seat is 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. Ellicott City, the county seat of Howard County, is the largest unincorporated county seat in the United States, followed by Towson, the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland.
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, an incorporated municipality. In some of the colonial states, county seats include or included "Court House" as part of their name. In the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in Taiwan are the administrative centers of the counties. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which are in the forms of county-administered city, urban township or rural township. Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont have two or more county seats located on opposite sides of the county. An example is Harrison County, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats; the practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days.
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, Alabama St. Clair County, Alabama Arkansas County, Arkansas Carroll County, Arkansas Clay County, Arkansas Craighead County, Arkansas Franklin County, Arkansas Logan County, Arkansas Mississippi County, Arkansas Prairie County, Arkansas Sebastian County, Arkansas Yell County, Arkansas Columbia County, Georgia Lee County, Iowa Campbell County, Kentucky Kenton County, Kentucky Essex County, Massachusetts Middlesex County, Massachusetts Plymouth County, Massachusetts Bolivar County, Mississippi Carroll County, Mississippi Chickasaw County, Mississippi Harrison County, Mississippi Hinds County, Mississippi Jasper County, Mississippi Jones County, Mississippi Panola County, Mississippi Tallahatchie County, Mississippi Yalobusha County, Mississippi Jackson County, Missouri Hillsborough County, New Hampshire Seneca County, New York Bennington County, Vermont In New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government.
Counties in this region have served as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of thus no county seats. In Vermont and Maine the county seats are designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the respective shire town. Bennington County has two shire towns. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town or city governments; as such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, the state government now operates the registries of deeds and sheriff's offices in those counties. In Virginia, a county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center. Two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county, their county-level services are provided by Fall River Tripp County, respectively.
In Louisiana, divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as parish seats. Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the Unorganized Borough, which covers 49 % of Alaska's area, has equivalent. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. County seat war Administrative center County town, administrative centres in Ireland and the UK Chef-lieu, administrative centres in Algeria, Luxembourg, France and Tunisia Municipality, equivalent to county in many c
Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 63,506, its county seat is Chatham. Pittsylvania County is included in VA Micropolitan Statistical Area; the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States is located in Pittsylvania County Originally "Pittsylvania" was a name suggested for an unrealized British colony to be located in what is now West Virginia. Pittsylvania County would not have been within this proposed colony, subsequently known as Vandalia; the county was formed in 1767 from Halifax County. It was named for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768 and opposed harsh colonial policies. In 1777 the western part of Pittsylvania County became Patrick Henry County. Maud Clement's History of Pittsylvania County notes the following: "Despite the settlers' intentions, towns failed to develop for two reasons: the low level of economic activity in the area and the competition from plantation settlements providing the kind of marketing and purchasing services offered by a town.
Plantation settlements along the rivers at ferrying points, became commercial centers. The most important for early Pittsylvania was that of Sam Pannill, a Scots-Irishman, who at the end of the eighteenth century, while still a young man, set up a plantation town at Green Hill on the north side of the Staunton River in Campbell County." Its economy was reliant on a growing slave labor force. It was a county without a commercial center. Plantation villages on the major river thoroughfares were the only centers of trade, until the emergence of Danville." The city of Danville's history up through the antebellum period overall is an expression of the relationship between the town and the planters who influenced its development. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 978 square miles, of which 969 square miles is land and 9 square miles is water, it is the largest county in second-largest by total area. The county is bounded on the north by the Roanoke River, intersected by the Banister River through the center, drained by the Dan River on the south.
The county is divided into seven districts: Banister Callands-Gretna Chatham-Blairs Dan River Staunton River Tunstall Westover Bedford County, Virginia - Northwest Campbell County, Virginia - Northeast Halifax County, Virginia - East Caswell County, North Carolina - Southeast Danville, Virginia - South Rockingham County, North Carolina - Southwest Henry County, Virginia - West/Southwest Franklin County, Virginia - West/Northwest US 29 US 58 US 311 US 360 SR 40 SR 41 SR 51 SR 57 SR 360 As of the census of 2000, there were 61,745 people, 24,684 households, 18,216 families residing in the county. The population density was 64 people per square mile. There were 28,011 housing units at an average density of 29 per square mile; the racial makeup of the county was 75.00% White, 23.66% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.37% from other races, 0.63% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 24,684 households out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were married couples living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, 26.20% were non-families.
23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out with 23.00% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 26.60% from 45 to 64, 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,153, the median income for a family was $41,175. Males had a median income of $30,105 versus $21,382 for females; the per capita income for the county was $16,991. About 8.60% of families and 11.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.80% of those under age 18 and 16.60% of those age 65 or over. Pittsylvania County is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Supervisors. Management of the County is vested in a Board-appointed County Administrator.
There are five elected Constitutional Officers: Clerk of the Circuit Court: Mark Scarce Commonwealth's Attorney: Bryan Haskins Sheriff: Mike Taylor Commissioner of Revenue: Shirley Yeatts Hammock Treasurer: Vincent Shorter Chatham Gretna Hurt Blairs Motley Mount Hermon Chatham Whittletown Woodlawn Woodlawn Heights List of Virginia counties National Register of Historic Places listings in Pittsylvania County, Virginia Uranium mining in the USA, Virginia Pittsylvania County Official Website WMDV TV44/Danville
Virginia
Franklin County, Virginia
