Ettrick is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

(CDP) in Chesterfield County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 7,241. The town is home to

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of hi ...

and the

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

train station. Most of Ettrick has a

mailing address, ZIP code 23803, although the community is not part of the city of Petersburg.

History

On Ettricks Island, Petersburg, Dinwiddie County, Virginia

Ettrick was named around 1765 by the foreign merchant Neil Buchanan, who dubbed the eventual village Ettrick Banks for its similarities to his native Ettrick area of Selkirk,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

.Jeffrey M. O'Dell, ''History of Chesterfield County'' Capt.

Christopher Newport Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the ''Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the settle ...

led expeditions in this area. Near Petersburg, which developed as an industrial city, Ettrick also developed industry. It had

cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Althou ...

s, as it was on the Fall Line and could use water power. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

, the Confederate Army established a large hospital here. In the late nineteenth century, the biracial state legislature established the first state-supported

black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

, founded here in 1882 as Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute (now

). John Mercer Langston, who founded the Law School at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, was its first president. He was elected as a US Congressman from Virginia from here. Vawter Hall and Old President's House was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1980. One of the longstanding landmarks is Campbell's Bridge, first built around 1810. It has been reconstructed several times and is the only direct thoroughfare from the village across the river into Petersburg.

Ettrick today

Currently there is an active Historical Society, gathering for many annual events including a "Burns Night", which celebrates the life's works of the Scottish poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who ha ...

. The evening includes a traditional dinner of

haggis Haggis ( gd, taigeis) is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and cooked while traditionally encased in the animal's stomach though now a ...

. Heritage Day is observed every second Saturday in April, complete with pipe and drums, food, clans, and Native American, Civil War, and pirate re-enactors.

Geography

Ettrick is located at (37.242750, −77.425418). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.48%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 Census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 5,627 people, 1,517 households, and 989 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,884.0 people per square mile (726.6/km²). There were 1,673 housing units at an average density of 560.1/sq mi (216.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 21.49%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 75.14%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.32% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.09%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 1.00% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 2.22% of the population. There were 1,517 households, out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 20.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.03. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 17.6% under the age of 18, 40.1% from 18 to 24, 20.6% from 25 to 44, 13.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $38,470, and the median income for a family was $43,357. Males had a median income of $33,241 versus $28,134 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $13,251. About 6.7% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Robert Prentiss Daniel, born in Ettrick; African-American educator and college administrator, president of

for 18 years *

James Farrior James Alfred Farrior (born January 6, 1975) is a former American football linebacker who played fifteen seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Virginia. He played with the New York Je ...

, plays for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

and holds two Super Bowl rings * Rudi Johnson, former All Pro running back for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

in the

* John Mercer Langston, first president of Virginia State University in 1882 and US Congressman from Virginia * Lennie Pond,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

Rookie of the year was born in Ettrick * Robert 'Bob' Eanes, Chesterfield County's first Fire Chief. Born Ettrick.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Chesterfield County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Greater Richmond Region