Wytheville is a town in, and the county seat of,
Wythe County
Wythe County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,290. Its county seat is Wytheville.
History
Wythe County was formed from Montgomery County in 1790. It wa ...
, in
southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
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. It is named after
George Wythe
George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...
, a signer of the
United States Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
, and mentor to
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
. Wytheville's population was 8,211 at the
2010 census.
Interstate Highways
77 and
81 were constructed to intersect at the town, long a crossroads for travelers.
During the American Civil War, Wytheville had a strategic importance. It was attacked in 1863 (
Toland's Raid) and 1865 (
Stoneman's 1865 Raid). The town is the birthplace of
Edith Bolling Wilson
Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...
, second wife of President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
.
History
![Historical Collections of Virginia - Wytheville](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Historical_Collections_of_Virginia_-_Wytheville.jpg)
Wythe County was created in 1789 and named for
George Wythe
George Wythe (; December 3, 1726 – June 8, 1806) was an American academic, scholar and judge who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The first of the seven signatories of the United States Declaration of Independence from ...
, the "father of American Jurisprudence" and signer of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
. In May 1790, Chris Simmerman donated 90 acres, along with John Davis's 10 acres, to establish a town and county seat. Robert Adams completed a town survey in November of that year, dividing the area into half-acre lots. The town did not have an official name yet, but was generally known as Wythe Court House.
Two years later, in October 1792, the town was officially named Evansham, for prominent local citizen Jesse Evans. After a disastrous fire in March 1839, the town was renamed Wytheville. At that time, it was home to about 500 residents.
Lynching of Raymond Bird
In 1926 the last documented
lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...
in Virginia took place here, when
Raymond Bird, an African-American man, was murdered by a large group of masked and costumed men while under arrest in the local jail. Bird was accused of raping or assaulting the three white daughters of Grover Grubb, his employer. The two older sisters, both of which bore Bird's children, were of age and revealed that the relationship was consensual and thus did not constitute a crime. However, he was eventually arrested on the accusation that he assaulted the minor daughter. Bird was shot and killed by the mob in his jail cell, dragged a few miles behind a truck, then put his body in the boot of a car, and then his dead body hanged from a tree on Charley Brown's land hear St. Paul Lutheran Church.
[J. Douglas Smith, ''Managing White Supremacy: Race, Politics, and Citizenship in Jim Crow Virginia''](_blank)
University of North Carolina Press, 2002 The event provoked outrage and national coverage by newspapers.
Bird's death was a catalyst for Virginia's passing an anti-lynching law in 1928, largely because of a campaign led by
Louis I. Jaffé, editor of the ''
Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virginia ...
''. It was supported by Governor
Harry Flood Byrd Sr., who linked the bill to his efforts to attract new businesses to the state.
[Sterling Giles, "Shameful chapter in Virginia history: Lynchings"](_blank)
''News-Leader'', May 16, 2016; Accessed March 15, 2018
Polio epidemic
A few cases of
polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
during the summer of 1950 swelled into an epidemic of hundreds. It was known to cause infantile and even adult paralysis. Of the 5,513 inhabitants of the town, 184 people contracted the disease, resulting in 17 fatalities. From the beginning of June until the end of August, parents kept children inside, and large gatherings were cancelled to diminish the chance of infection.
As the epidemic progressed, ambulances drove victims approximately to Memorial Crippled Children's Hospital in
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...
. Hearses from local
funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral.
Services ...
s were used when ambulances were unavailable.
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 ...
patients with polio were repeatedly denied admission to Roanoke's hospital and were forced to drive approximately to St. Philip's Hospital in
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, ...
, the closest hospital to serve blacks.
The Town Council erected billboards at all five entrances to the county, warning potential visitors of the epidemic and urging tourists to return the following year. By the end of the summer, all five billboards were stolen or demolished. Though the Town Council offered a reward for information, no one came forward.
[
]
Historic sites
The Crockett's Cove Presbyterian Church
Crockett's Cove Presbyterian Church, also known as Cove Brick Church, is a historic Presbyterian church located near Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia. The church was built in 1858, and is a small rectangular, Greek Revival style brick church b ...
, Haller-Gibboney Rock House, Loretto, St. John's Episcopal Church, St. John's Lutheran Church and Cemetery
St. John's Lutheran Church and Cemetery is a historic Evangelical Lutheran church and cemetery and national historic district near Wytheville, Virginia, United States. The church was built in 1854 and is a rectangular, three bay by two bay, fram ...
, Wythe County Poorhouse Farm, and Wytheville Historic District 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 ...
.
Geography
Wytheville is located at (36.947679, −81.086955).
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 , of which (0.14%) is water.
Wytheville is an important point on both I-77
Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...
and I-81
Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...
and lies amidst a wrong-way concurrency
A concurrency in a road network is an instance of one physical roadway bearing two or more different route numbers. When two roadways share the same right-of-way, it is sometimes called a common section or commons. Other terminology for a concurr ...
of I-77 and I-81. It is located about halfway between Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
/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 ...
and Roanoke. On the I-77 corridor, it is located about halfway between Charleston, West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
and Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. The nearby community of Fort Chiswell
Chiswell , sometimes , is a small village at the southern end of Chesil Beach, in Underhill, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It is the oldest settlement on the island, having formerly been known as Chesilton. The small bay at Chiswell is ca ...
is the control city
A control city is a city, locality, or other location posted on a series of traffic signs along a particular stretch of road indicating destinations on that route. Together with route numbers and cardinal directions, these focal points aid the m ...
for the northbound traffic on I-77 coming from Charlotte, Statesville, Elkin, and Mount Airy, North Carolina. In the near future, Interstate 74
}
Interstate 74 (I-74) is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western end is at an interchange with I-80 in Davenport, Iowa (Quad Cities); the eastern end of its Midwest segment is at an interchange ...
will go through Wytheville in addition to the two other interstates.
Due to the confluence of I-77, I-81 and several U.S. Highways
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...
, and its location in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...
, Wytheville is known as "The Hub of Southwest Virginia" and "The Crossroads of the Blue Ridge".
Climate
Due to its elevation, the climate of Wytheville is either classified as mountain temperate or humid subtropical
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Cfb'' or ''Cfa'', respectively), and the town straddles the border between USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
s 6B and 7A. Summers are warm and humid, although significantly cooler than low-elevation places within the state, with only 4.6 days of + highs annually, and winters are generally cool to cold with occasional intervening warm periods and 11 nights of sub- lows. Monthly mean temperatures range from in January to in July. Snowfall averages per season and generally occurs from December to March.
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 7,804 people, 3,504 households, and 2,112 families residing 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 546.8 people per square mile (211.2/km2). There were 3,776 housing units at an average density of 264.6 per square mile (102.2/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 90.76% 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 o ...
, 7.19% 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 ...
, 0.13% Native American, 0.70% 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 ...
, 0.03% 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 O ...
, 0.33% from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.86% 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 ...
or 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 0.82% of the population.
There were 3,504 households, out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.72.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 78.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $28,043, and the median income for a family was $41,513. Males had a median income of $28,160 versus $21,282 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 $20,223. About 10.0% of families and 14.6% 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 21.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.
Media
WYVE 1280 on the AM dial signed-on in 1949. In August 2018, WYVE acquired FM Translator dial position 99.9FM. Three Rivers Media Corp. owns WYVE and its sister stations, WXBX and WLOY with towers in Wythe County and studio space adjacent to Downtown Wytheville.
Places of interest
* The Edith Bolling Wilson
Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...
Birthplace
* Big Walker Lookout
Big Walker Lookout is a observation tower located in the Blue Ridge Highlands Region atop Big Walker Mountain in Bland County, Virginia.
Location
The tower is accessed from the Big Walker General Store, just off US Route 52 about from Wy ...
Tower, a 100-foot observation tower located 12 miles to the north of Wytheville
*The town is home to a Chautauqua
Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...
Festival, held the third weekend in June every year since 1985. The Festival features live concerts, stage magic
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...
, arts and crafts, hot air ballooning, dance, children's activities and diverse carnival-style food. The presence of the hot air balloons for the yearly festival inspired the balloon-themed painting of the town's water tower, visible to I-81 travellers near the I-77 interchange. The Festival is held at Elizabeth Brown Memorial Park and is cosponsored by the county, town and the Wythe Arts Council.
Notable people
* David French Boyd, president of Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...
, 1877–1880; 1884–1886, born in Wytheville in 1834
* Thomas Duckett Boyd
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
, president of LSU from 1886 (interim) and 1896 to 1926, born in Wytheville in 1854, brother of David French Boyd
* William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...
, writer, spent much of his childhood there
* William Nauns Ricks, poet
* E. Lee Trinkle, Governor of Virginia
* James Walker, Lt. Governor of Virginia; Confederate General
* Edith Bolling Wilson
Edith Wilson ( Bolling, formerly Galt; October 15, 1872 – December 28, 1961) was the first lady of the United States from 1915 to 1921 and the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson. She married the widower Wilson in December 1915, during hi ...
, second wife of President Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
* Robert E. Withers
Robert Enoch Withers (September 18, 1821September 21, 1907) was an American physician, officer (armed forces), military officer, newspaperman, politician diplomat, and Freemason. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and represented Virgin ...
, former U.S. Senator, Lt. Governor of Virginia, first American Ambassador to China
References
Further reading
*
External links
Visit Wytheville
(Visitor's guide, history, and other resources)
{{Authority control
21st-century Chautauquas
Towns in Wythe County, Virginia
Towns in Virginia
County seats in Virginia
U.S. Route 11
Southwest Virginia