Pittsylvania County
County
Pittsylvania County Courthouse
Pittsylvania County Courthouse
Official seal of Pittsylvania County
Seal
Map of Virginia highlighting Pittsylvania County
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Map of the United States highlighting Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°49′N 79°24′W / 36.82°N 79.4°W / 36.82; -79.4
Country United States
State Virginia
Founded1767
Named forWilliam Pitt
SeatChatham
Largest townChatham
Area
 • Total978 sq mi (2,530 km2)
 • Land969 sq mi (2,510 km2)
 • Water9 sq mi (20 km2)  0.9%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total60,501
 • Density62/sq mi (24/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district5th
Websitewww.pittsylvaniacountyva.gov

Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States 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, which subsequently was named Vandalia.

Pittsylvania County was formed in 1767 with territory annexed 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 who opposed some harsh colonial policies of the period.

In 1777 the western part of Pittsylvania County was partitioned off to 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

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

According to the United States 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 (this stretch of the river is known as the Staunton River), bisected by the Banister River running eastward through the center, and is drained on the south by the Dan River, flowing eastward.[5]

Districts

The county is divided into seven districts:

Adjacent counties and cities

In Virginia:

In North Carolina:

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
179011,579—
180012,6979.7%
181017,17235.2%
182021,32324.2%
183026,03422.1%
184026,3981.4%
185028,7969.1%
186032,10411.5%
187031,343−2.4%
188052,58967.8%
189059,94114.0%
190046,894−21.8%
191050,7098.1%
192056,49311.4%
193061,4248.7%
194061,6970.4%
195066,0967.1%
196058,296−11.8%
197058,7890.8%
198066,14712.5%
199055,655−15.9%
200061,74510.9%
201063,5062.9%
202060,501−4.7%
US 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 United States Census, there are 60,949 people, and 26,687 households in the county. The population density was 65.5 people per square mile (25.3 people/km2). There were 31,656 housing units at an average density of 32 units per square mile (12 units/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
Name Party First Election District
  Ken Bowman Rep 2023 Chatham-Blairs
  Darrell Dalton (Chair) Ind 2021 Callands-Gretna
  Robert M. Tucker Jr. (Vice Chair) Ind 2022 Banister
  Eddie Hite Ind 2023 Dan River
  Tim Dudley Rep 2019 Staunton River
  William 'Vic' Ingram Ind 2019 Tunstall
  Murray Whittle Ind 2023 Westover

There are also five elected Constitutional Officers:

  • Clerk of the Circuit Court: Angie Reece Harris (R)
  • Commonwealth's Attorney: Robert Bryan Haskins (R)
  • Sheriff: Michael "Mike" Taylor (I)
  • Commissioner of Revenue: Robin Goard (I)
  • Treasurer: Vincent Shorter (I)[12]
United States presidential election results for Pittsylvania County, Virginia[13]
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%

Communities

Incorporated Towns

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pittsylvania County, Virginia". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas. " (PDF). Office Of Management and Budget. February 28, 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ Shulz, Max (26 July 2oo8). Virginia Is Sitting on the Energy Mother Lode. The Wall Street Journal. Accessed 27 July 2008.
  4. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". US Census Bureau. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  5. ↑ Ripley, George; Dana, Charles A., eds. (1879). "Pittsylvania" . The American Cyclopædia.
  6. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". US Census Bureau. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). US Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Hispanic or Latino/Not Hispanic or Latino by Race - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Pittsylvania County, Virginia". US Census Bureau.
  11. 1 2 "Hispanic or Latino/Not Hispanic or Latino by Race - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Pittsylvania County, Virginia". US Census Bureau.
  12. ↑ "Elected Officials - Pittsylvania County, VA - Official Website". www.pittsylvaniacountyva.gov. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  13. ↑ Leip, David. "Atlas of US Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 9 December 2020.

36°49′N 79°24′W / 36.82°N 79.40°W / 36.82; -79.40

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