Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 60,501. The county seat is Chatham.
Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The Coles Hill uranium deposit, the largest undeveloped uranium deposit in the United States (seventh largest in the world) is located in Pittsylvania County.Shulz, Max (26 July 2008). Virginia Is Sitting on the Energy Mother Lode. The Wall Street Journal. Accessed July 27, 2008. (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 become 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
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water. 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.
Districts The county is divided into seven districts:
Banister Callands-Gretna Chatham-Blairs Dan River Staunton River Tunstall Westover
Adjacent counties and cities In Virginia: Bedford County - Northwest (across Smith Mountain Lake) Campbell County - North/Northeast Franklin County - West/Northwest Halifax County - East Henry County - West/Southwest Danville - South (independent city on North Carolina border, but otherwise surrounded by Pittsylvania County)
In North Carolina: Caswell County, North Carolina - South/Southeast Rockingham County, North Carolina - South/Southwest
Major highways
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Pittsylvania County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)45,84440,44345,92147,25044,27769.31%72.67%74.37%74.40%73.18%Black or African American alone (NH)19,72014,86714,52513,96312,35429.81%26.71%23.52%21.99%20.42%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)254382124930.04%0.08%0.13%0.20%0.15%Asian alone (NH)53621111762890.08%0.11%0.18%0.28%0.48%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census31717xx0.00%0.03%0.03%Other race alone (NH)22113421280.03%0.00%0.02%0.07%0.21%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3316021,631xx0.54%0.95%2.70%Hispanic or Latino (any race)4832397591,3321,7120.73%0.43%1.23%2.10%2.83%Total66,14755,65561,74563,50660,501 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 60,501. The median age was 47.3 years. 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 73.8% White, 20.5% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.3% from some other race, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.8% of the population.
10.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 89.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 25,315 households in the county, of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 28.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 29,369 housing units, of which 13.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 75.8% were owner-occupied and 24.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.6% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.3%.
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 . There were 31,656 housing units at an average density of .
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 Ind 2021 Callands-Gretna Robert M. Tucker Jr. (Chair) Ind 2022 Banister Justin Brown Rep 2025 Dan River Tim Dudley Rep 2019 Staunton River William 'Vic' Ingram (Vice Chair) 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: Vanessa Scearce (R)
Politics Pittsylvania County is a Republican stronghold. The last Democrat to carry the county was John F. Kennedy in 1960 (although Independent candidate George Wallace won it in 1968).
Communities Incorporated towns Chatham Gretna Hurt
Census-designated places Blairs Motley Mount Hermon
Other unincorporated communities
Ajax Bachelors Hall Banister Beaver Park Brosville Brights Brutus Buford Callahans Hills Callands Cartersville Cascade Cedar Forest Cedar Hill Chalk Level Climax Coles Hill Dry Fork Dundee Ebenezer Flint Hill Galveston Glenland Grady Green Acres Green Pond Greenfield Grit Henrys Mill Hermosa Hill Grove Hinesville Hollywood Hopewell Java Keeling Kentuck Lakewood Laniers Mill Laurel Grove Leaksville Junction Level Run Lucks Markham Motleys Mill Mount Airy Mount Cross Mountain Hill Museville Natal Peytonsburg Pickaway Pickerel Pittsville Pleasant Gap Pleasant Grove Pullens Ray Red Oak Hollow Redeye Renan Riceville Ridgeway Ringgold Rondo Sandy River Sharon Sheva Shockoe Soapstone Sonans Spring Garden Stony Mill Straightstone Sutherlin Swansonville Sycamore Tightsqueeze Toshes Transco Village Weal West Fork Whitfield Whitmell Whittles Witt Woodlake Park Woodlawn Worlds Vance Vandola
See also List of Virginia counties National Register of Historic Places listings in Pittsylvania County, Virginia Uranium mining in the US, Virginia
References
External links Pittsylvania County Official Website WMDV TV44/Danville