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Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Chatham, Virginia (8597834802) (2)
Pittsylvania County Courthouse
Seal of Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Seal
Map of Virginia highlighting Pittsylvania County
Location in the state of Virginia
Map of the U.S
Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded 1767
Named for William Pitt
Seat Chatham
Largest town Chatham
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

978 sq mi (2,533 km²)
969 sq mi (2,510 km²)
9 sq mi (23 km²), 0.9
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

60,501
Congressional district 5th
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.pittsylvaniacountyva.gov

Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,501.[1] Chatham is the county seat.

Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical Area.[2]

The largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States (7th largest in the world) is located in Pittsylvania County[3] (see Uranium mining in Virginia.)

History[]

Originally "Pittsylvania" was a name suggested for an unrealized British colony to be located primarily 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 generally low level of economic activity in the area and the competition from plantation settlements already providing the kind of marketing and purchasing services typically offered by a town. Plantation settlements along the rivers, particularly 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. (Clement 15)"

"Its economy was tobacco-dominated and reliant on a growing slave labor force. It was a county without towns or a commercial center. Plantation villages on the major river thoroughfares were the only centers of trade, until the emergence of Danville. (Clement 23)"

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.

Geography[]

Marion Post Wolcott Blairs Virginia

Loading hay, Blairs, Pittsylvania County, 1939. Marion Post Wolcott

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 978 square miles (2,530 km2), of which 969 square miles (2,510 km2) is land and 9 square miles (23 km2) (0.9%) is water.[4] It is the largest county in Virginia by land area and second-largest by total area. The county is bounded on the north by the Roanoke River (Staunton River), intersected by the Banister River through the center, and drained by the Dan River on the south.[5]

Districts[]

The county is divided into seven districts:

  • Banister
  • Callands-Gretna
  • Chatham-Blairs
  • Dan River
  • Staunton River
  • Tunstall
  • Westover

Adjacent counties and cities[]

Virginia Counties

Chatham Savings Bank Chatham Virginia

Main Street, Chatham, Pittsylvania County, circa 1922

Virginia Cities

North Carolina Counties

Major highways[]

  • US 29 US 29
  • US 58 US 58
  • US 311 US 311
  • US 360 US 360
  • Virginia 40 SR 40
  • Virginia 41 SR 41
  • Virginia 51 SR 51
  • Virginia 57 SR 57
  • Virginia 360 SR 360

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1790 11,579
1800 12,697 9.7%
1810 17,172 35.2%
1820 21,323 24.2%
1830 26,034 22.1%
1840 26,398 1.4%
1850 28,796 9.1%
1860 32,104 11.5%
1870 31,343 −2.4%
1880 52,589 67.8%
1890 59,941 14.0%
1900 46,894 −21.8%
1910 50,709 8.1%
1920 56,493 11.4%
1930 61,424 8.7%
1940 61,697 0.4%
1950 66,096 7.1%
1960 58,296 −11.8%
1970 58,789 0.8%
1980 66,147 12.5%
1990 55,655 −15.9%
2000 61,745 10.9%
2010 63,506 2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010[10] 2020[11]

2020 census[]

Pittsylvania County, Virginia - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010[10] Pop 2020[11] % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 47,250 44,277 74.40% 73.18%
Black or African American alone (NH) 13,963 12,354 21.99% 20.42%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 124 93 0.20% 0.15%
Asian alone (NH) 176 289 0.28% 0.48%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 17 17 0.03% 0.03%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 42 128 0.07% 0.21%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 602 1,631 0.95% 2.70%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1,332 1,712 2.10% 2.83%
Total 63,506 60,501 100.00% 100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2010 Census[]

According to the 2010 census[12] records, there are 60,949 people, and 26,687 households residing in the county. The population density was 65.5 people per square mile (25/km2). There were 31,656 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 76.20% White, 21.50% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. 2.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 26,687 households, out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.93.

The median income for a household in the county was $44,356. The per capita income for the county was $23,597. About 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line.

Government[]

Pittsylvania County is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Supervisors. Management of the County is vested in a Board-appointed County Administrator.

Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors[13]
Name Party First Election District
style="background-color:#FF3333;" width=10px | " |  Robert Warren (Chair) Rep 2015 Chatham-Blairs
style="background-color:#FF3333;" width=10px | " |  Ronald Scearce (Vice Chair) Rep 2015 Westover
style="background-color:#FF3333;" width=10px | " |  Joe Davis Rep 2015 Dan River
style="background-color:#FF3333;" width=10px | " |  Tim Dudley Rep 2019 Staunton River
style="background-color:#ffffcc;" width=10px | " |  Ben Farmer Ind 2017 Callands-Gretna
style="background-color:#ffffcc;" width=10px | " |  Vic Ingram Ind 2019 Tunstall
style="background-color:#ffffcc;" width=10px | " |  Dr. Charles Miller Ind 2017 Banister

There are also five elected Constitutional Officers:

  • Clerk of the Circuit Court: Mark Scarce (I)
  • Commonwealth's Attorney: Robert Bryan Haskins (R)
  • Sheriff: Michael "Mike" Taylor (I)
  • Commissioner of Revenue: Robin Coles-Goard (I)
  • Treasurer: Vincent Shorter (I)
United States presidential election results for Pittsylvania County, Virginia[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 23,751 69.39% 10,115 29.55% 361 1.05%
2016 21,554 68.21% 9,199 29.11% 845 2.67%
2012 19,263 62.78% 10,858 35.39% 560 1.83%
2008 18,730 61.55% 11,415 37.51% 288 0.95%
2004 17,673 64.46% 9,274 33.83% 470 1.71%
2000 15,760 64.98% 7,834 32.30% 661 2.73%
1996 12,127 55.85% 7,681 35.37% 1,906 8.78%
1992 11,467 52.38% 7,675 35.06% 2,752 12.57%
1988 12,229 63.69% 6,612 34.44% 360 1.87%
1984 15,743 66.08% 7,791 32.70% 290 1.22%
1980 12,022 59.28% 7,653 37.74% 605 2.98%
1976 9,173 51.21% 7,929 44.26% 811 4.53%
1972 12,108 72.34% 4,429 26.46% 200 1.19%
1968 5,096 25.62% 5,427 27.29% 9,367 47.09%
1964 7,120 57.54% 5,228 42.25% 25 0.20%
1960 3,788 47.62% 4,089 51.41% 77 0.97%
1956 2,870 36.82% 4,136 53.07% 788 10.11%
1952 2,893 41.93% 3,976 57.62% 31 0.45%
1948 1,164 20.54% 3,149 55.58% 1,353 23.88%
1944 1,224 25.91% 3,492 73.92% 8 0.17%
1940 728 16.34% 3,710 83.28% 17 0.38%
1936 556 13.07% 3,694 86.82% 5 0.12%
1932 656 17.08% 3,124 81.35% 60 1.56%
1928 2,598 60.62% 1,688 39.38% 0 0.00%
1924 880 24.75% 2,563 72.08% 113 3.18%
1920 1,162 29.83% 2,715 69.69% 19 0.49%
1916 801 28.08% 2,012 70.52% 40 1.40%
1912 527 21.72% 1,558 64.22% 341 14.06%
1908 962 39.36% 1,471 60.19% 11 0.45%
1904 650 26.21% 1,718 69.27% 112 4.52%
1900 2,328 37.88% 3,758 61.16% 59 0.96%
1896 3,196 44.12% 3,987 55.04% 61 0.84%
1892 3,320 42.55% 3,661 46.92% 822 10.53%
1888 3,847 47.27% 4,261 52.36% 30 0.37%
1884 3,470 43.66% 4,477 56.34% 0 0.00%
1880 2,623 43.65% 3,386 56.35% 0 0.00%



Communities[]

Incorporated Towns[]

  • Chatham
  • Gretna
  • Hurt

Census-designated places[]

  • Blairs
  • Motley
  • Mount Hermon

Other unincorporated communities[]

  • Bachelors Hall
  • Brosville
  • Callands
  • Cascade
  • Chalk Level
  • Climax
  • Dry Fork
  • Grit
  • Java
  • Keeling
  • Markham
  • Mount Airy
  • Mountain Hill
  • Museville
  • Pickerals Crossing
  • Pittsville
  • Renan
  • Ringgold
  • Sheva
  • Sonans
  • Straightstone
  • Sycamore
  • Tightsqueeze
  • Whitmell
  • Whittles Depot

Unincorporated neighborhoods within incorporated towns[]

  • Chatham
    • Whittletown
    • Woodlawn
    • Woodlawn Heights

See also[]

  • List of Virginia counties
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Pittsylvania County, Virginia
  • Uranium mining in the USA, Virginia

References[]

  1. ^ "Pittsylvania County, Virginia". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US51143. Retrieved January 30, 2022. 
  2. ^ "Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas". Office Of Management and Budget. February 28, 2013. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf. 
  3. ^ Shulz, Max (2008, July 26). Virginia Is Sitting on the Energy Mother Lode. The Wall Street Journal. Accessed 27 July 2008.
  4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html. 
  5. ^ Wikisource-logo "Pittsylvania". The American Cyclopædia. 1879. 
  6. ^ "Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000". US Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html. 
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/va190090.txt. 
  9. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  10. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Pittsylvania County, Virginia". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51143&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2. 
  11. ^ a b "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Pittsylvania County, Virginia". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51143&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  12. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov. 
  13. ^ "Elected Officials - Pittsylvania County, VA - Official Website". https://pittsylvaniacountyva.gov/398/Elected-Officials. 
  14. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 

External links[]

Template:Pittsylvania County, Virginia

Coordinates: 36°49′N 79°24′W / 36.82, -79.40


This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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