Blacksburg, Virginia
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| Blacksburg, Virginia | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Montgomery |
| Founded | 1798 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Ron Rordam |
| Area | |
| - Total | 19.4 sq mi (50.2 km²) |
| - Land | 19.4 sq mi (50.1 km²) |
| - Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.0 km²) 0.10% |
| Elevation | 2,080 ft (633 m) |
| Population (2000)[1] | |
| - Total | 39,573 |
| - Density | 2,044.2/sq mi (789.3/km²) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP codes | 24060-24063 |
| Area code(s) | 540 |
| FIPS code | 51-07784[2] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1498405[3] |
| Website: http://www.blacksburg.gov/ | |
Blacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States. The population was 39,573 at the 2000 census. Blacksburg, Christiansburg, and Radford are the three principal jurisdictions of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses those jurisdictions and all of Montgomery County for statistical purposes.
Blacksburg is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (better known as Virginia Tech), a Virginia land-grant university.
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[edit] History
Blacksburg, Virginia, was founded in 1798 on a thirty-eight acre tract laid out and deeded by William Black, for whom the town was named. The original town was limited to a sixteen-block area bounded by present-day Draper Road, Jackson Street, Wharton Street, and Clay Street. The city logo contains 16 small squares that create a larger square and represents these 16 square blocks.
Blacksburg's town limits were slightly northeast of an earlier frontier settlement dating from 1748 called Draper's Meadow, the site of the infamous "Draper's Meadow massacre" of 1755. Smithfield Plantation, built in approximately 1774 by Col. William Preston,[4] sits on the original Draper's Meadow site, which is near the Duck Pond on the Virginia Tech campus.
At the Duck Pond there is a bridge that is dedicated to the Draper's Meadow Massacre.
In the 1970s Blacksburg's population more than tripled as Virginia Tech was annexed into the town and other land area was also brought in. The population grew from 9,000 people in 1970 to 30,000 in 1980.
Blacksburg is the site of the Blacksburg Electronic Village or BEV, conceived as a project of Virginia Tech in 1991 and officially born in 1993.
[edit] Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting comprising two separate attacks about two hours apart on April 16, 2007, on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg. The perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and wounded many more,[5] before committing suicide, making it the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.[6]
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.4 square miles (50.2 km²) of which 19.4 square miles (50.1 km²) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²), or 0.10%, is water. Blacksburg is 2,080 feet (634 m) above sea level.
The tallest building in Blacksburg is Slusher Tower, a twelve story residence hall on the Virginia Tech campus. The building with the highest elevation is actually Lee Hall, another residence hall, home to the transmitter of campus radio station WUVT.
Blacksburg is served primarily by US-460 and I-81.
The Eastern Continental Divide traverses through Blacksburg Airport.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 39,573 people, 13,162 households, and 4,777 families residing in the town, of which 23,895, or 60%, were college students.[7] The population density was 2,044.2 people per square mile (789.2/km²). There were 13,732 housing units at an average density of 709.4/sq mi (273.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 84.39% White, 7.80% Asian, 4.39% African American, 0.11% Native American 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.32% of the population.
There were 13,162 households out of which 16.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.7% were married couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 63.7% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.79.
In the town the population was spread out with 9.7% under the age of 18, 57.4% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 9.2% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there are 127.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.7 males.
The median household income was $22,513 and the median income for a family was $51,810. Males had a median income of $37,129 versus $24,321 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,946. About 15.9% of families and 43.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.1% of those 65 and older.
[edit] Economy
The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center is home to several companies of varying sizes including VTLS, Honeywell, Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Mailtrust (formerly Webmail.us), and the National Weather Service which maintains its Southwestern Virginia headquarters there.
[edit] Notable natives
- Bob Roop, American heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler
- Brandon Stokley, NFL wide receiver for the Denver Broncos
- Henry Lee Lucas, serial killer, claimed to have killed 350+ victims
[edit] Points of interest
[edit] Organizations, associations and clubs
[edit] References
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau, State & County QuickFacts: Blacksburg (town), Virginia
- ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Historic Smithfield: History and Research Resources
- ^ Report of the Virginia Tech Review Panel (pdf). Commonwealth of Virginia. Retrieved on 2007-08-31. Cho shot and wounded a further 17 people and caused injury to 6 others as they tried to flee.
- ^ Fact File: Deadliest shootings in the U.S.. MSNBC. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.There have been several deadlier shootings in U.S. history, but not by a single gunman, and not on a school campus.
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder: DP-2. Profile of Selected Social Characteristics: 2000
[edit] External links
| Virginia Tech massacre |
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| Articles |
| Timeline |
| Perpetrator |
| Media coverage |
- Town of Blacksburg
- Blacksburg Electronic Village
- The Roanoke Times
- New River Valley
- Virginia Tech
- Collegiate Times
- WUVT 90.7 FM
- Planet Blacksburg
- A Guide to Resources for the History of Blacksburg, Virginia
- Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce
- The Lyric Theatre
- Blacksburg, Virginia is at coordinates Coordinates:
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