Albemarle County, Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Albemarle County, Virginia | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Virginia |
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 Virginia's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1744 |
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| Seat | Charlottesville |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
726 sq mi (1,880 km²) 4 sq mi (10 km²), 0.49% |
| PopulationEst. - (2008) - Density |
94,075 109/sq mi (42/km²) |
| Time zone | eastern : / |
| Congressional district | 5th |
| Website: www.albemarle.org | |
| Named for: William Ann Keppel, second Earl of Albemarle[1] | |
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Albemarle County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau give an estimated 2008 population of 94,075. Its county seat is Charlottesville.[2]
Albemarle County is part of the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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[edit] History
In 1744, the Virginia General Assembly created Albemarle County by taking the northern portion of Goochland County.[3] The county was named in honor of Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle and titular Governor of Virginia at the time.[4] The large county was divided in 1761, forming Buckingham and Amherst counties, at which time the county seat was moved from the formerly-central Scottsville to a piece of newly-central land, christened Charlottesville.[4]
President Thomas Jefferson was born in the county at Shadwell, though it was then part of Goochland County.[5] His home of Monticello is located in the county, however.[6]
[edit] Government
Albemarle is governed by a six-member Board of Supervisors. The long-conservative body's key political issue is growth; its composition recently shifted, with the 2007 election of Ann Mallek, from a 3-3 split on issue to a 4-2 majority for growth opponents.[7]
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 726 square miles (1,881 km²), of which, 723 square miles (1,872 km²) of it is land and 4 square miles (9 km²) of it (0.49%) is water.[8]
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Greene County, Virginia (north)
- Orange County, Virginia (northeast)
- Louisa County, Virginia (east)
- Fluvanna County, Virginia (southeast)
- Buckingham County, Virginia (south)
- Nelson County, Virginia (southwest)
- Augusta County, Virginia (west)
- Rockingham County, Virginia (northwest)
- In addition, the city of Charlottesville is enclaved within Albemarle County. Under Virginia law in effect since 1871, all municipalities in the state incorporated as cities are legally and politically independent of any county.[citation needed]
See also: List of counties in Virginia
[edit] National protected area
- Shenandoah National Park (part)
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 79,236 people, 31,876 households, and 21,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per square mile (42/km²). There were 33,720 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile (18/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.16% White, 9.65% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 2.86% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.86% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. 2.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 31,876 households out of which 32.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.20% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the county, the population was spread out with 24.80% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $50,749, and the median income for a family was $63,407. Males had a median income of $39,622 versus $30,645 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,852. About 4.20% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.50% of those under age 18 and 4.70% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Towns
The only incorporated town in Albemarle County is Scottsville, the original county seat. Unincorporated communities include Barboursville, Crozet, Earlysville, Free Union, Ivy, Keene and Keswick, among with many smaller hamlets. Some parts of Albemarle County are considered unincorporated Charlottesville.
[edit] Emergency Services
Albemarle County has 2 branches of law enforcement, the Albemarle County Police Department, which handles criminal matters and is directed by the appointed police chief, John Miller. The second branch is the Albemarle County Sheriffs Office, which handles civil service in the county and they are directed by the elected Sheriff Chip Harding.
EMS services are provided by 3 volunteer rescue squads, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, located in the City of Charlottesville, the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, located in Crozet, and the Scottsville Volunteer Rescue Squad, located in the Town of Scottsville. The county government also provides EMS services managed by Albemarle County Fire Rescue, and they operate 2 Advance Life Support ambulances, one out the Monticello Fire/Rescue Station, and another out of the Hollymead Fire/Rescue Station.
Fire suppression services are provided by 7 volunteer fire companies, 2 county career stations, and an automatic mutual aid contract with the Charlottesville Fire Department. The Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Airport also maintains an Airport Crash/Rescue department which is staffed by airport personnel and is assisted by county stations in the event of an aircraft emergency. 4 of the 7 volunteer county stations, East Rivanna Vol. Fire Dept, Earlysville Vol. Fire Company, Stony Point Vol. Fire Company, and Seminole Trail Vol. Fire Dept, are supplemented by county career firefighters during the daytime (6:00am - 6:00pm) to assist the volunteers. The county also operates 2 fire stations managed by Albemarle County Fire Rescue office, they are Monticello Fire/Rescue and Hollymead Fire/Rescue. These 2 stations are staffed 24/7 with county career firefighters and have supplemental volunteer staffing. The City of Charlottesville fire department maintains a contract with the county with automatic mutual aid for areas that border the city boundaries. Albemarle County Fire Rescue also plans to build 2 more county career stations, one in the eastern portion of the county near Pantops Mountain, and another near the Ivy area in the western part of the county, however with economic downturn and the desire to study the needs for the 2 stations, construction and planning for these 2 stations have been halted indefinitely.
Fire Stations by Number
- Station 1 - Charlottesville Fire Department 250 Bypass
- Station 2 - East Rivanna Vol. Fire Department
- Station 3 - North Garden Vol. Fire Company
- Station 4 - Earlysville Vol. Fire Company
- Station 5 - Crozet Vol. Fire Department
- Station 6 - Stony Point Vol. Fire Company
- Station 7 - Scottsville Vol. Fire Department
- Station 8 - Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department
- Station 9 - Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Airport Crash/Rescue
- Station 10 - Charlottesville Fire Department Ivy Rd
- Station 11 - Monticello Fire/Rescue
- Station 12 - Hollymead Fire/Rescue
[edit] Education
The Albemarle County Public School System operates public education in the county, including the Murray High School, a charter school.
Many private schools in Albemarle serve the county and students from surrounding areas. These include:
- The Covenant School (upper campus)
- Field School of Charlottesville
- The Miller School of Albemarle
- Montessori Community School
- North Branch School
- Peabody School
- Tandem Friends School
County children also attend several private schools in the city of Charlottesville.
[edit] Notable residents
- Chilton Allan (1786-1858), born in Albemarle County, United States Congressman from Kentucky[10]
- David M. Bailey, singer-songwriter
- Mary Chapin Carpenter, singer-songwriter
- Dabney Smith Carr (1802-1854), born in Albemarle County, founder of newspaper Baltimore Republican and Commercial Advertiser, United States minister to Turkey[10]
- Christopher Henderson Clark (1767-1828), United States Congressman from Virginia[10]
- Edward Coles (1786-1868), born in Albemarle County, Governor of Illinois[10]
- Greensville Dowell (1822-1876), born in Albemarle County, noted physician, professor, and author[10]
- James T. Farley (1829-1886), born in Albemarle County, United States Senator from California[10]
- James Walker Gons (1812-1870), born in Albemarle County, Baptist church clergyman, later converting to Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), editor and publisher of church's Christian Intelligencer, educator.[10]
- John Grisham, author
- John Harvie (1742-1807), born in Albemarle County, member of the Continental Congress and mayor of Richmond, Virginia from 1785 to 1786[10]
- Samuel Hopkins (1753-1819), born in Albemarle County, United States Army officer and United States Congressman from Kentucky[10]
- Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and former governor of Virginia
- Jack Jouett (1754-1822), born in Albemarle County, known as the "Paul Revere of the South", influential in organizing Kentucky as a separate state, Virginia and Kentucky state legislator[10]
- Walter Leake (1769?-1825), born in Albemarle County, United States Senator from Mississippi and later governor of that state[10]
- Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), born in Albemarle County, explorer, governor of Louisiana, and one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition[10]
- Howie Long, former NFL player with the Oakland Raiders
- Joseph Martin, Revolutionary War general, Indian fighter
- Dave Matthews, of the Dave Matthews Band
- James Monroe (1799-1870), born in Albemarle County, United States Congressman from New York[10]
- Sissy Spacek, actress
- Bebe Williams, Xeric Award cartoonist/artist Art Comics Daily
[edit] External links
- Albemarle County
- The Healthy Living Directory
- Architecture of Jefferson Country – images of historic buildings of Albemarle County (from UVA Libraries)
- Charlottesville Tomorrow - An organization that covers growth and development in Albemarle
- Albemarle County Fire Rescue
- Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, Inc.
[edit] References
- ^ "County Overview". County of Albemarle. http://www.albemarle.org/page.asp?info=demog.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Pawlett, Nathaniel (1976), An Index to Roads Shown in the Albemarle County Surveyors Books 1744-1853, Charlottesville, Virginia: Virginia Highway & Transportation Research Council, http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/76-r45.pdf, retrieved on 2008-10-11
- ^ a b Atkins, Ace (2007-03-27). "A county by any other name?". C-Ville Weekly (Portico Publications). http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=121304064644348&z_Issue_ID=11042203071932370&ShowArchiveArticle_ID=11042303074210078&Year=2007. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
- ^ Henry Stephens Randall, The Life of Thomas Jefferson
- ^ "Albemarle County". Commonwealth of Virginia. http://www.virginia.org/site/Cities.asp?locality=Albemarle. Retrieved on 2008-10-11. "Albemarle County is widely recognized as rich in history and beauty. Among its historic attractions are Monticello, home to President Thomas Jefferson..."
- ^ Barnes, Lindsay (2007-11-15). "Purple haze: Albemarle tilts blue-- and red... and purple?". The Hook (newspaper) (Charlottesville). http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2007/11/15/NEWS-election-C.rtf.aspx. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
- ^ "Albemarle County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/51/51003.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-11.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
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Rockingham County | Greene County | Orange County |
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| Augusta County |  |
Louisa County | |||||
 Albemarle County, Virginia  |
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| Nelson County | Buckingham County | Fluvanna County |
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