Pennington Gap is the most populous town in Lee 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 1,781 at the 2010 census. The Lee Regional Medical Center was in Pennington Gap until it closed in October 2013, and the

United States Penitentiary, Lee The United States Penitentiary, Lee (USP Lee) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Virginia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also ...

is nearby. The Pennington Gap post office was established in 1891.

Geography

Pennington Gap is located at (36.756580, −83.029375). 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 t ...

, the town has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km), all of it land. Pennington Gap is located at the junction of U.S. Route 58A and U.S. Route 421.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Pennington Gap has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 1,781 people, 811 households, and 480 families living in the town. The population density was 1,174.0 people per square mile (452.4/km). There were 950 housing units at an average density of 626.2 per square mile (241.3/km). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the town was 95.28% White, 3.43% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.28% Asian, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.67%. Of the 811 households 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 37.5% of households were one person and 16.8% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.84. The age distribution was 20.5% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.6 males. The median household income was $18,056 and the median family income was $27,875. Males had a median income of $27,885 versus $18,625 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,742. About 28.3% of families and 31.3% 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 42.0% of those under age 18 and 24.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

is located in the Lee County Industrial Park in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Lee County, Virginia Lee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,173. Its county seat is Jonesville. History The area of far western Virginia and eastern Kentucky supported large Archai ...

, near Pennington Gap.USP Lee Contact Information
" Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved on August 23, 2010.

Education

Lee County Public Schools operates schools in the county. Pennington Elementary School was located on Morgan Avenue, consisting of three buildings built at various times, 1912, 1917, and 1937. In 1989, with the consolidation of many of the county's high schools at the newly constructed Lee High School, the old Pennington High School was converted into Pennington Middle School (grades 6–8).

Notable residents

Barry Audia Barry Alan Audia (born August 1, 1957) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1980 to 1987. He began his boxing career in the early 1970s and turned professional in 1980. His ranking as a boxer peaked in the mid-1980s at numbe ...

, pro boxer *

Claude Ely "Brother" Claude Ely (July 22, 1922 – May 7, 1978) was an American Appalachian religious singer-songwriter and a Pentecostal Holiness preacher. Brother Claude Daniel Ely, coined as the King Recording Label's "Gospel Ranger" of the Appalachia ...

, preacher and songwriter *

Jim Pankovits James Franklin Pankovits (born August 6, 1955 in Pennington Gap, Virginia) is an American professional baseball coach, a former Major League Baseball infielder and minor league manager. In MLB, he appeared in 318 games played, 316 of them with the ...

, pro baseball player * William C. Wampler, representative to the United States Congress * Carol S. Wood, mathematician

References

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