Fluvanna County, Virginia
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| Fluvanna County, Virginia | |
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| Map | |
 Location in the state of Virginia |
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| Statistics | |
| Formed | 1777 |
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| Seat | Palmyra |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
752 km² (290 mi²) sq mi ( km²) 7 km² (3 mi²), 0.98% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
20,047 27/km² |
| Website: www.co.fluvanna.va.us | |
- Fluvanna is also the name of a community in Texas.
Fluvanna County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth" — of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 20,047. Its county seat is Palmyra6.
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[edit] History
Fluvanna County was established in 1777 from Albemarle County. The county name comes from 'Queen Anne's River. ('fluv' is Latin for river) The county has the James and Rivanna Rivers running through it. The Point of Fork (near Columbia where the James and Rivanna Rivers meet) was the site of a major Monacan Indian village in pre-colonial times. Thomas Jefferson was part of a group of investors that began a major canal project during the colonial era. The canal on the Rivanna River would eventually connect Charlottesville with the James River. Another major canal ran along the James River connecting Richmond and Lynchburg by canal. During the American Civil War over 1,200 of its citizens served in the Confederate forces during the American Civil War. Its citizens served in Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery units during the war. See Fluvanna Artillery for more information.
[[History of the Flying Flucos]] In the 1940's Fluvanna High School was one of the few teams in Virginia that was playing high school football. The team was very successful. There was a big game with a school from the Richmond area. In a newspaper article the term Flying Flucos emerged. Something was written to the effect, "The High Flying Men of Flu.Co." (an attempt to abbreviate Fluvanna County) This was taken over by the Fluvanna HS as the 'Flying Flucos' and has been the mascot every since. The 'Mercury Winged Foot' Flying Fluco logo appeared in the 1960's. The flying 'F' with wings is a recent change in the logo. Students at FHS call the gym the 'Shoebox.' There was an effort in recent years to make a super hero type character the Flying Fluco mascot but never gathered any support. The Flying Fluco mascot made the ESPN Top 100 High School mascots in the country a few years ago. There was talk when the school district intergrated in the 1960's to come up with a new mascot when Abrams HS combined with Fluvanna HS but the community support for the Flying Flucos mascot was overwhelming. Flying Fluco football made a name for itself in the 1970's and 1980's led by Coach Phil Browning. In fact, Fluvanna partipated in the first Group 'A' Football Championship game in 1970. The Flying Flucos were also very successful in Track and Field during the 70' and 80's, winning some state championships to include coaches Phil Browning, Tap Pace, and Feda Kidd. The basketball program, coached by boys coach Monroe Rateau and girls coach Feda Kidd, won state championships during the 80's and early 90's. The Flying Flucos participated in the James River District for many years with traditional rivals Buchingham, Goochland, and Powhatan. Lunenburg Central became a James River District rival in later years. As enrollment for the high school grew, the Flying Flucos moved to the AA Jefferson District with rivals Charlottesville, Western Albermarle, Louisa, Monticello, and Orange.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 752 km² (290 mi²). 744 km² (287 mi²) of it is land and 7 km² (3 mi²) of it (0.98%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 20,047 people, 7,387 households, and 5,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 27/km² (70/mi²). There were 8,018 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (28/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.44% White, 18.41% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. 1.17% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 7,387 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.60% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.80% were non-families. 18.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the population was spread out with 23.60% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 31.70% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 86.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $46,372, and the median income for a family was $51,141. Males had a median income of $32,346 versus $24,774 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,338. About 3.90% of families and 5.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.60% of those under age 18 and 7.30% of those age 65 or over.
