Jump to content

Abingdon, Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by EmausBot (talk | contribs) at 10:33, 21 December 2012 (r2.7.2+) (Robot: Adding uz:Abingdon (Virginia)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Abingdon, Virginia
Town
Abingdon Welcome Sign
Abingdon Welcome Sign
Official seal of Abingdon, Virginia
Seal
Motto(s): 
Honor Pro Antiquis, Fides Pro Futuris
Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountyWashington
Founded1776
Government
 • MayorEd Morgan
Area
 • Total
8.3 sq mi (21.6 km2)
 • Land8.3 sq mi (21.6 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
2,087 ft (636 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total
8,191
 • Density932.6/sq mi (360.2/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
24210-24212
Area code276
FIPS code51-00148Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1498444Template:GR
Websitehttp://www.abingdon.com/

Abingdon is a town in Washington County, Virginia, USA, 133 miles (214 km) southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,191 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washington CountyTemplate:GR and is a designated Virginia Historic Landmark. It has historic treasures, and a fine arts and crafts scene centered around the galleries and museums along Main Street.

Abingdon is part of the Kingsport–Bristol (TN)–Bristol (VA) Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.

History

Barter Theatre

The land on which the town of Abingdon is situated was originally surveyed between the years 1748 and 1750 by Dr. Thomas Walker and was part of the Great Road that Colonel William Byrd III ordered cut through the wilderness on to Kingsport, Tennessee.[1] In 1760, famed frontiersman, Daniel Boone, named the area Wolf Hills, after his dogs were attacked by a pack of wolves during a hunting expedition. The original location of the attack is located on 'Courthouse Hill' and is also the location of The Cavehouse Craft Shop. For a time, 27 wolf sculptures are found around the city, most were sold at an auction to raise money for Advance Abingdon.[1] During Lord Dunmore's War, Black's Fort was established in 1774 by Joseph Black to protect local settlers in the region from Indian attacks.[1] It consisted of a log stockade, with a few log cabins inside, to which nearby settlers were to repair in event of attack, as they did in 1776 when harassed by Dragging Canoe.[2] Between the years 1765 and 1770 James Douglas, Andrew Colville, George Blackburn, Joseph Black, Samuel Briggs and James Piper settled in and around present day Abingdon under purchases from Dr. Thomas Walker. The settlement later became known as Black’s Fort prior to its present name of Abingdon. Abingdon was then the crossing point of two great Indian trails, themselves following ancient animal migration trails, and thus presented a logical location as a trade center and access point to the west and south. Black, Briggs and Walker donated the 120 acres of land upon which the original town of Abingdon was laid out. In 1776 the community of Black's Fort was made the county seat of the newly formed Washington county. In 1778, Black's Fort was incorporated as the town of Abingdon, said to be named for the ancestral home of Martha Washington. Martha Washington College, a school for women, operated in Abingdon from 1860 to 1932 in a former private residence; since 1935 the building has been occupied by a hotel, the Martha Washington Inn. The Barter Theatre, the state theatre of Virginia, was opened in Abingdon in 1933. Virginia Governors Wyndham Robertson, David Campbell, and John B. Floyd lived here. Abingdon is also the final stop along the Virginia Creeper Trail, which allows pedestrian, cyclist and equestrian traffic. This trail is 35 miles long extending from White Top Mountain through Damascus, VA with the trailhead in Abingdon. The Historical Society of Washington County, Virginia is located in Abingdon and serves as a regional genealogy center, in addition as a repository for Washington County history.

The town of Abingdon was possibly named after Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England, the ancestral home of Martha Washington. Other possible origins of the name include Daniel Boone's home in Abington, Pennsylvania, or Lord Abingdon, friend of settler William Campbell.[3]

Climate

Climate data for Abingdon
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 44.2
(6.8) 		48.5
(9.2) 		58.3
(14.6) 		67.7
(19.8) 		75.1
(23.9) 		81.8
(27.7) 		84.7
(29.3) 		84.2
(29.0) 		78.6
(25.9) 		68.6
(20.3) 		58.1
(14.5) 		47.7
(8.7) 		66.5
(19.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 23.6
(−4.7) 		25.7
(−3.5) 		32.8
(0.4) 		40.1
(4.5) 		48.8
(9.3) 		57
(14) 		60.7
(15.9) 		59.9
(15.5) 		53.2
(11.8) 		41.4
(5.2) 		33.5
(0.8) 		26.4
(−3.1) 		41.9
(5.5)
Average precipitation inches (cm) 4
(10) 		3.6
(9.1) 		4.3
(11) 		3.8
(9.7) 		4.6
(12) 		4.1
(10) 		4.9
(12) 		3.7
(9.4) 		3.4
(8.6) 		2.8
(7.1) 		3.3
(8.4) 		4
(10) 		46.5
(117.3)
Source: Weatherbase [4]

Geography

Abingdon is located at 36°42′35″N 81°58′32″W / 36.70972°N 81.97556°W / 36.70972; -81.97556 (36.709773, -81.975694)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.3 square miles (21.6 km²), all land.

The town is located in the Great Appalachian Valley, between the Middle Fork and the North Fork of the Holston River.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19202,532—
19302,87713.6%
19403,1589.8%
19504,70949.1%
19604,7581.0%
19704,376−8.0%
19804,318−1.3%
19907,00362.2%
20007,78011.1%
20108,1915.3%
source:[5]
Office of the Abingdon Virginian newspaper

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2010, there were 8,191 people, 3,878 households residing in the town. The population density was 932.6 people per square mile (360.2/km²). There were 3,788 housing units at an average density of 454.1 per square mile (175.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.8% White, 3.1% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.8% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.[6]

There were 3,522 households out of which 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.6% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.6% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08 and the average family size was 2.72.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 81.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,976, and the median income for a family was $46,106. Males had a median income of $32,005 versus $22,844 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,486. About 7.3% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Abingdon is served by Washington County Public Schools, in which students attend Abingdon Elementary, Watauga Elementary, Greendale Elementary, E.B. Stanley Middle School, and Abingdon High School.

Virginia Highlands Community College located in Abingdon is the local community college offering 2-year degrees.

Emory & Henry College is located 7 miles outside of town in the Emory community.

Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center, on the campus of VHCC, provides the region with access to undergraduate and graduate degree programs and courses. Participating academic institutions include: Emory & Henry College, Old Dominion University, Radford University, University of Virginia, University of Virginia's College at Wise, Virginia Commonwealth University, Virginia Highlands Community College, Virginia Intermont College, and Virginia Tech.

Points of interest

  • Abingdon Historic District, which includes the Fields-Penn 1860 House Museum, Arts Depot, and the Martha Washington Inn
  • Barter Theatre, designated as the "State Theatre of Virginia" in 1946 and is one of the longest-running professional regional theatres in the nation
  • The northern end of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail lies in Abingdon.
  • Virginia Creeper Trail, a 35-mile rail trail that runs from Abingdon to Whitetop, Virginia
  • The Virginia Highlands Festival, is a festival that was started in 1948 by Robert Porterfield, founder of the Barter Theatre, as a simple one-week festival to showcase Appalachian arts and crafts. The festival has now grown into a 16 day event offering a variety of venues. Every year hundreds of volunteers work to create exciting new events for our festival for you to enjoy.

http://www.vahighlandsfestival.org/

http://www.abingdonfarmersmarket

  • The Appalachian Trail, Virginia contains 544 miles of The Appalachian Trail, more than any other state.

The trail goes through Mount Rogers National Recreation Area in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. www.abingdon.com

Notable residents

Mayors of Abingdon, Virginia

  • John Montgomery Preston 1834-1836, 1842-1843
  • J. M. Butt 1910-1912
  • T.H. Crabtree 1912-1916, 1926-1930, 1936-1940.
  • A.P. Hutton 1920-1922
  • George F. Grant 1916-1920
  • R.B. Hagy 1922-1926, 1931-1935
  • E.W. Potts 1935-1936
  • T.C. Phillips 1940-1946
  • Ronald C. Craig 1946-1948
  • John C. Summers, Jr. 1948-1950
  • Charles Henry Butt 1950-1966
  • J.A. Johnson 1966-1972
  • George W. Summerson 1972-1978
  • Harry L. Coomes 1978-1982
  • French Moore, Jr.
  • Joe Phipps
  • Lois Humphries
  • Ed Morgan 2010-Present

References

  1. ^ a b c Official City of Abingdon website
  2. ^ Carrie Hunter Willis and Etta Belle Walker, 1937, Legends of the Skyline Drive and the Great Valley of Virginia, p. 118-119.
  3. ^ Tennis, Joe. Southwest Virginia Crossroads: An Almanac of Place Names and Places to See. Overmountain Press: Johnson City, Tennessee, 2004..
  4. ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Abington, Virginia". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
  5. ^ "Population Finder: Abingdon CDP, Virginia". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  6. ^ "Fact Finder". U.S. Census.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1967.
  8. ^ Hayes, Tim (2008-06-28). "LOCAL LEGENDS IN THE PROS: Harris' Big League Career Was A Hit". Bristol Herald Courier. Retrieved 2008-06-28. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Gail Harris Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac
  10. ^ 'Minnesota Historical Society collection, 1901, pg. 144-146
Retrieved from "http://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Abingdon,_Virginia&oldid=529099248"