Rappahannock County, Virginia

Rappahannock County, Virginia

Seal

Location in the state of Virginia

Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded 1833
Seat Washington
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

267 sq mi (692 km²)
267 sq mi (692 km²)
0 sq mi (0 km²), 0.10%
Population
 - (2010)
 - Density

7,373
26/sq mi (10/km²)
Website rappahannockcountyva.gov

Rappahannock County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 7,373.[1] Its county seat is Washington[2]. The name "Rappahannock" comes from the Algonquian word lappihanne (also noted as toppehannock), meaning "river of quick, rising water" or "where the tide ebbs and flows."

Contents

History

A first Rappahannock County was founded 1656 from part of Lancaster County, and became extinct in 1692 when it was separated to form Essex County and Richmond County. The currently existing Rappahannock County was founded by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1833, based on the growing population's need to have better access to a county seat. The county's land was carved from Culpeper County. The county was named for the river that separates it from Fauquier County.

Geography

The Rappahannock River forms the northeastern boundary and separates Rappahannock County from Fauquier County. Rappahannock County is bounded on the southeast by Culpeper County and on the southwest by Madison County. The Blue Ridge Mountains occupy much of the western portion of the county.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 267 square miles (690 km2), of which 267 square miles (690 km2) is land and 0 square miles (0 km2) (0.10%) is water.

Education

The Rappahannock County Public Schools School District is located in Washington, VA and includes two schools that serve 921 students county-wide in grades PK through 12.

Among the private schools in the county are two pre-K thru 12 schools, Hearthstone School [2], and Wakefield Country Day School.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Mountains

The summits of the following mountains are located within Rappahannock County:

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1840 9,257
1850 9,782 5.7%
1860 8,850 −9.5%
1870 8,261 −6.7%
1880 9,291 12.5%
1890 8,678 −6.6%
1900 8,843 1.9%
1910 8,044 −9.0%
1920 8,070 0.3%
1930 7,717 −4.4%
1940 7,208 −6.6%
1950 6,112 −15.2%
1960 5,368 −12.2%
1970 5,199 −3.1%
1980 6,093 17.2%
1990 6,622 8.7%
2000 6,983 5.5%
2010 7,373 5.6%

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 7,373 people, 2,788 households, and 2,004 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 92.64% White, 5.44% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 1.15% from two or more races. 1.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,788 households out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.50% were married couples living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.30% under the age of 18, 5.60% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 31.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,943, and the median income for a family was $51,848. Males had a median income of $32,725 versus $22,950 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,863. About 5.20% of families and 7.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.80% of those under age 18 and 3.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

Unincorporated communities

See also

References

  1. ^ [1]. Weldon Cooper Center 2010 Census Count Retrieved September 8, 2011
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  3. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

External links