Tappahannock, Virginia

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Tappahannock, VA


Founded	1608
State	Virginia
County	Essex
Mayor	Roy Gladding
Schools	St. Margaret's School Essex High School
http://www.tappahannock-va.gov

Tappahannock is a town in Essex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,068 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Essex County^GR6. Its name comes from the Algonquian language word lappihanne (also noted as toppehannock), meaning "river of quick, rising water" or "where the tide ebbs and flows."

[edit] Geography

Tappahannock is located at 37°55′20″N, 76°51′47″W (37.922180, -76.863158)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.9 km² (2.7 mi²). 6.8 km² (2.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (2.99%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,068 people, 857 households, and 495 families residing in the town. The population density was 305.9/km² (793.6/mi²). There were 946 housing units at an average density of 139.9/km² (363.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 54.64% White, 41.59% African American, 0.10% Native American, 2.51% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.39% of the population.

There were 857 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 18.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 78.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,688, and the median income for a family was $41,579. Males had a median income of $28,409 versus $20,431 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,862. About 10.6% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Popular culture references

The town of Tappahannock made a cameo appearance in Michael Moore's 2004 political documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11.
Tappahannock is the birthplace of Grammy award-nominated R&B singer Chris Brown.
Tappahannock is hometown of New York Jets running back Stacy Tutt.
Former minor league baseball player and MLB coach Lorenzo “Peanut” Bundy is a native of this town.