Scottsville is a town in Albemarle,

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

and Fluvanna counties in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

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

. The population was 566 at the 2010 census. It is part of the

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

According t
Scottsville's website
the town "served as Virginia's westernmost center of government and commerce during the 1700s, when rivers were the primary means of travel in the new American wilderness." During the late 18th and the 19th centuries attempts were made to improve navigability along the James, as well as other central Virginian rivers. Part of this was the construction of a canal running roughly parallel with the James west from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Scottsville was the largest port town along this route, called the

James River and Kanawha Canal The James River and Kanawha Canal was a partially built canal in Virginia intended to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast. Ultimately its towpath became the roadbed for a ...

. The ultimate goal of this project was to connect the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

with the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

via the

Kanawha River The Kanawha River ( ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately 97 mi (156 km) long, in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The largest inland waterway in West Virginia, its valley has been a significant industrial region of the stat ...

. These aims were not achieved, due to interruption by 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 states th ...

and the efficiency of the railroads. It did however succeed in making Scottsville a busy, prominent town. In fact, thanks to a wagon road connecting Staunton to Scottsville, all of the agricultural wealth of the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

poured into town en route to Richmond and the sea, thereby making Scottsville the largest

grain market The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

in the state. Trade was disrupted when Union soldiers broke the canal works in the area. Then the train came, the tracks being laid directly on the towpath of the old canal, a monument to its demise. Eventually, the train too stopped taking passengers, leaving Scottsville a sleepy country town on a coal line. Located near Scottsville, the

Hatton Ferry Hatton Ferry is a poled cable ferry located 5.5 miles west of Scottsville, Virginia on the James River. It is the last poled ferry in the United States. The ferry crosses the river upstream of Scottsville between Albemarle County and Buckingham ...

serves as a seasonal crossing of the James River and has been the location of a ferry since the late 1870s. Scottsville was the birthplace of

Thomas Staples Martin Thomas Staples Martin (July 29, 1847November 12, 1919) was an American lawyer and Democratic Party politician from Albemarle County, Virginia, who founded a political organization that held power in Virginia for decades (later becoming known as t ...

, who served five terms as a Democrat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

representing Virginia. Born at Scottsville in 1847, Martin served in the Confederate Army, then went on to practice law. The

Scottsville Historic District Scottsville Historic District is a national historic district located at Scottsville, Albemarle County and Fluvanna County, Virginia. The district encompasses 153 contributing buildings, 1 contributing site, and 4 contributing structures in t ...

, Cliffside, High Meadows,

Mount Ida In Greek mythology, two sacred mountains are called Mount Ida, the "Mountain of the Goddess": Mount Ida in Crete, and Mount Ida in the ancient Troad region of western Anatolia (in modern-day Turkey), which was also known as the '' Phrygian Ida'' ...

, and Mount Walla are 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 artistic v ...

. In September 2019, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to adjust the town's boundaries. The adjustment accounts for the expansion of the Scottsville Volunteer Fire Department and for a clarification of a boundary line along the James River.

Geography

Scottsville is located at (37.8022, -78.4969). 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. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of 1.5 square miles (4.0 km²), all land.

Transportation

The main highways serving Scottsville are

Virginia State Route 6 State Route 6 (SR 6) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as River Road, the state highway runs from U.S. Route 250 (US 250) in Afton east to SR 161 in Richmond. SR 6 is one of the main highw ...

and

Virginia State Route 20 State Route 20 (SR 20) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 15 (US 15) in Dillwyn north to SR 3 in Wilderness. SR 20 is a C-shaped route that connects Charlottesville with Farmvill ...

. SR 6 extends westward towards Waynesboro and eastward towards

. SR 20 extends northward towards

and southward towards Dillwyn.

Demographics

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 556 people, 256 households, and 145 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 360.2 people per square mile (139.1/km²). There were 300 housing units at an average density of 194.7 per square mile (75.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.51%

White White is the 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 reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 4.68%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.72% Native American, 0.36%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 0.72% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.36% of the population. There were 256 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% 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, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $30,903, and the median income for a family was $41,667. Males had a median income of $31,369 versus $22,656 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 town was $17,432. About 11.1% of families and 12.9% 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 t ...

, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Floods

Scottsville has not flooded since the levee was constructed in the 1985. Since 1870, Scottsville has had twenty-one floods (defined as water levels of twenty feet or more above the average low water level). In 1985, the Army Corps of Engineers built a

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

around the lowest portion of Scottsville, providing protection against further floods. Mayor A. Raymon Thacker spearheaded the movement to build the levee starting after Hurricane Agnes to prevent any more floods affecting Scottsville. The levee has been very effective preventing numerous floods in the post levee era.

References

External links

Town website

Scottsville Museum

Scottsville's Canal Basin Square Website
{{authority control Towns in Albemarle County, Virginia Towns in Fluvanna County, Virginia Populated places on the James River (Virginia)