South Hill is a town in Mecklenburg County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 4,650 at the 2010 census. Located on major

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and

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highways, it has a full-service hospital (serving patients from several rural counties), a tobacco market, and several hotels. South Hill has a close relationship with the neighboring town of

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

Lake Gaston Lake Gaston is a hydroelectric reservoir in the eastern United States. Part of the lake is in the North Carolina counties of Halifax, Northampton, and Warren. The part extending into Virginia lies in Brunswick and Mecklenburg counties. Lake Gas ...

, a large reservoir popular with boaters and fishermen, is a short distance to the southwest. The Colonial Theatre 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 artistic v ...

in 2003.

Geography

South Hill is located at (36.726759, −78.130597). The town has a total area of 6.31 square miles (16.4 km²), of which 6.27 square miles (16.4 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²) (0.47%) is water.

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 4,403 people, 1,809 households, and 1,190 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 696.2 people per square mile (269.0/km²). There were 1,988 housing units at an average density of 314.4/sq mi (121.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 58.37%

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, 39.43%

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 ...

, 0.30% Native American, 1.00%

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 ...

, 0.39% from

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, and 0.52% 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 1.57% of the population. There were 1,809 households, out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% 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, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88. In the town the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 77.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.5 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,078, and the median income for a family was $38,156. Males had a median income of $30,128 versus $21,996 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 $19,319. About 14.3% of families and 18.8% 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 30.9% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

In previous years, election returns have shown that South Hill citizens favored Republican candidates (more often at 60% or above) in state and national elections since 1996, though this slipped to only 57.5% support for Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 Presidential election. In the 2006 election cycle, while donations from residents to Democratic and Republican candidates and organizations were almost evenly divided, citizens favored Republican candidate George Allen over Democratic candidate Jim Webb. Webb eventually went on to win the election. In 2007–2008, contributions to presidential campaigns favored Republican candidates overall, although the top single recipient as of March was Democratic Senator Barack Obama. The 283 South Hill voters who participated in the state's February 12 Democratic primary also favored Obama over Senator Hillary Clinton, 58% to 41%; the 244 Republican primary voters supported Senator John McCain (62.3%) over Governor Mike Huckabee (34.8%).

Local government

South Hill is governed by a council-manager government, the weak mayoral system, with an eight-member town council and a mayor. In this form of the mayor-council government, the council possess both legislative and executive authority. The council may appoint officials and must approve of mayoral nominations. The council also exercises primary control over the municipal budget. Members of the South Hill Town Council:
Lillie Feggins-Boone (Ward 1)
Ashley C. Hardee (Ward 2)
Gavin Honeycutt (Ward 3)
Delores Luster (Ward 1)
Mike Moody (Ward 2)
Shep Moss (Ward 3)
Michael Smith (Ward 2)
Joseph E. Taylor, Jr. (Ward 3) Mayor: Dean Marion Vice Mayor: Mike Moody The daily operation of South Hill is overseen by a town manager, Kim Callis. The town council and mayor seats are non-partisan, and elections are held every four years.

References

{{authority control Towns in Mecklenburg County, Virginia Towns in Virginia