Grundy, Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Grundy, Virginia
Downtown Grundy, circa 2005. From the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Grundy flood control project website.
Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia
Coordinates: 37°27′676″N, 82°09′5038″W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Buchanan
Founded	1858
Government
- Mayor	Roger Powers
Area
- City	5 sq mi (8.05 km²)
- Land	5 sq mi (8.05 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	1,050 ft (320 m)
Population (2000)
- City	1,105
- Density	221/sq mi (137.26/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website: http://www.grundyvirginia.com/

Grundy is a town in Buchanan County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,105 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Buchanan County^GR6. The town is noted for its educational institutions and their role in the town's economic rebirth. In the past, the town served as a stopover for Union troops on their way to the Battle of Saltville. The town is also noteworthy for its flood control project, where the mountain across the river was blasted to make way for new development.

Contents 1 History 1.1 On the way to Saltville 1.2 Grundy flood control project 1.3 Start of a regional grocery store chain 1.4 Education as a new sustaining industry 1.4.1 Appalachian School of Law 1.4.2 University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy 1.5 Appalachian School of Law shooting 2 Geography 2.1 Transportation 3 Demographics 4 Education 4.1 Public schools 4.2 Private schools 4.3 Colleges and universities 5 Notable Citizens 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

The town, founded in 1858, was named for Felix Grundy (1777-1840), United States Attorney General (1838-1839) and United States Senator from Tennessee (1839-1840). It was incorporated in 1876. The present courthouse dates from 1905.

[edit] On the way to Saltville

In October 1864, Union raiders under Brigadier General Stephen G. Burbridge passed through Grundy on their way to destroy the saltworks near Saltville in Smyth County, where they were met by Confederate troops commanded by Brigadier General Alfred E. Jackson at the Battle of Saltville.

[edit] Grundy flood control project

Since 1929, Grundy has suffered nine major floods of the adjoining Levisa Fork River. After the inundation of April 4, 1977, many businesses did not reopen, and the buildings that housed them were abandoned. A project is underway to relocate most of the town to higher ground on the other side of the river.

[edit] Start of a regional grocery store chain

Grundy was the home of the predecessor to the Food City Stores when Jack Smith opened a Piggly Wiggly franchise in 1955. The store was Smith's first and the chain grew to 95 stores in Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The chain is best known for sponsoring the Food City 500 NASCAR race at Bristol Motor Speedway.^[1] That store remained open until November 2005 and is now closed.

[edit] Education as a new sustaining industry

Grundy is home to the Appalachian School of Law, organized in 1994 and opened in 1997, as well as the University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy which opened in August of 2005. Buchanan County brought ASL to Grundy in order to revitalize a town that had been in a steady economic decline since the town's Flood of 1977. ASL has brought a positive economic impact on its home town, including spurring construction of rental homes and the opening of additional businesses in the area. ASL has become a success story for the concept of higher education as a economic development tool.^[2] The school has brought in $12 million to the local economy.^[3]ASL's success spurred the conception and implementation of the University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy from 2003 to the date the doors opened in 2005.^[4] UACP, like the Appalachian School of Law, was envisioned to be an economic redevelopment tool. In its short existence, UACP is achieving that goal for the Buchanan County community. For example, as the school opened, 80 apartments were being built down the street. The school is forecasted to bring in $20 million per year to the local economy.^[3]

[edit] Appalachian School of Law

In 1993, Norton, Virginia lawyer Joe Wolfe came up with the idea to create a law school in Central Appalachia. His idea was well received by local business leaders and a steering committee was founded in 1994 and grew to eighty members. The committee gained permission of the Virginia General Assembly to start a law school in 1995 and continued to secure endorsements from local civic associations and industrial development authorities. When Wise County, Virginia could not find the resources to start the school, Buchanan County, Virginia approached the committee in 1996 and offered the grounds and buildings of the former Grundy Elementary and Intermediate Schools to which the steering committee accepted.^[5] A $1 million loan (which was later converted into a grant) financed the buildings' renovations.^[2]The school opened its doors in August 1997.

[edit] University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy

Citing a need to address a higher than normal age adjusted mortality rate (42% higher locally as opposed to the rest of Virginia) and a national pharmacist shortage, local leaders began to explore the possibility of a new pharmacy school in the region. In 2003, the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors commissioned County Attorney and school founder Frank Kilgore to start the school. Spurred by the success of the Appalachian School of Law, the school continued to raise funds quickly and recruit its inaugural class. The school opened its doors in August 2005.^[6]

[edit] Appalachian School of Law shooting

Main article: Appalachian School of Law shooting

On January 16, 2002, tragedy hit the town when Appalachian School of Law Dean Anthony Sutin, Professor Thomas Blackwell, and 1L student Angela Dales were shot and killed by disgruntled student Peter Odighizuwa, 43, of Nigeria on the law school's campus. At trial, Odighizuwa was found mentally competent, plead guilty to the murders to avoid the death penalty, and was sentenced to multiple life terms in prison.^[7]

[edit] Geography

Grundy is located at 37°16′36″N, 82°5′42″W (37.276760, -82.095038)^GR1. The town is located at intersection of U.S. Route 460 and State Route 83 directly on the banks of the Levisa Fork. Grundy is located in the coalfields of the Appalachian Mountains.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.1 km² (5.0 mi²), all land.

Grundy is located in the Ridge and Valley Appalachians, just east of the Allegheny Plateau. The town is tightly tucked within the mountains in little valleys called hollers.

[edit] Transportation

Grundy is served by the Grundy Municipal Airport located in Vansant. The airport serves general aviation air traffic. Commercial air traffic can be found at airports in Bluefield (1 hour driving away) and Beckley (2 hours driving away) in West Virginia and at the Tri-Cities Regional Airport in Tennessee (about 2 hours driving away).

Four County Transit maintains a local trolley system that services downtown locations. Stops include the Courthouse, Grundy Church of Christ, the former Food City parking lot, the Grundy Community Center, the Appalachian School of Law, and the former downtown parking lot.^[8]

Grundy is at the corner of the Levisa River and Slate Creek. Norfolk Southern Railroad maintains tracks and runs trains through the town but no trains stop in Grundy.

Grundy is served by U.S. Highway 460. The Coalfields Expressway will be built just to the north and east of town. State Route 83 is also a major highway in the area.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,105 people, 405 households, and 249 families residing in the town. The population density was 84.7/km² (219.3/mi²). There were 519 housing units at an average density of 39.8/km² (103.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 79.19% White, 17.92% African American, 0.45% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.81% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.81% of the population.

There were 405 households out of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 36.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.72.

In the town the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $37,411, and the median income for a family was $47,143. Males had a median income of $40,236 versus $24,821 for females. The per capita income for the town was $19,531. About 10.5% of families and 17.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 14.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Grundy is the home of two public institutions which students living in the town proper go to if they so choose to go to the public schools. The town also houses one private school that serves grades K-12. The town is also home to two graduate level colleges one granting law degrees and the other granting pharmacy degrees.

[edit] Public schools

• Grundy Senior High School
• Riverview Elementary/Intermediate School

[edit] Private schools

• Mountain Mission School

[edit] Colleges and universities

• Appalachian School of Law
• University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy
• Southwest Virginia Community College

[edit] Notable Citizens

• Lee Smith - Author
• Jack Smith - founder of KVAT Stores, better known as Food City Grocery Stores.
• Mel Street - The late Country music singer
• Beverly Perdue - Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina
• Jayma Mays - Actress(Red Eye, Epic Movie).

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Town of Grundy
• Grundy, Virginia at the Open Directory Project (suggest site)
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 37.27676° -82.095038°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA