South Boston, Virginia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

South Boston is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,491 at the 2000 census. NASCAR drivers Ward Burton and Jeff Burton are from South Boston and prepared for their racing career at the local speedway. Baseball player Michael Tucker is also from here. In 2002 a former local tobacco warehouse was transformed into the Prizery, a regional visual and perfoming arts center bringing culture to the area.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] History

History of Halifax County & South Boston, Virginia

On December 8, 1796, the General Assembly authorized eight commissioners to establish at Boyd's Ferry on the south side of the Dan River the town of South Boston, named for Boston, Massachusetts. Because this site proved vulnerable to flooding it was eventually abandoned in favor of a new settlement on the north side. By the 1850s the Richmond and Danville Railroad passed through South Boston, which eventually developed into an important market for brightleaf tobacco. In 1884 it was incorporated as a town; in 1960 it became an independent city by court order. South Boston became a town again and rejoined Halifax County on June 30, 1995.

[edit] Geography

South Boston is located at 36°42′28″N, 78°54′12″W (36.707722, -78.903388)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 31.8 km² (12.3 mi²). 31.6 km² (12.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.41%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 8,491 people, 3,502 households, and 2,185 families residing in the town. The population density was 268.3/km² (694.7/mi²). There were 3,946 housing units at an average density of 124.7/km² (322.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 50.63% White, 47.25% African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.45% of the population.

There were 3,502 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 79.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,964, and the median income for a family was $34,848. Males had a median income of $28,212 versus $20,371 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,872. About 15.3% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.