Richlands is a town in Tazewell 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 5,823 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,578.

History

Located along the banks of the

Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in Ki ...

, Richlands began as a farming community and was named for its fertile "rich lands." Miners at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine

The Clinch Valley Coal & Iron Company began to develop Richlands in 1890, and company officials hoped Richlands' readily available coal, iron, and timber might make it the "Pittsburgh of the South." The company abandoned its plans following the stock market crash of 1893. In February 1893, Richlands was the site of a mass

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 ...

of five black railroad workers after it was alleged some of the men had robbed and beaten a white man. Four of the railroad workers were arrested and held in the Richlands jail, but the jailor was overpowered by a mob of white townspeople, including James Hurt, a magistrate and member of Richlands' town council, and James Crabtree, a prominent businessman, who removed the four men and hanged them from the same tree. A fifth black railroad worker was later found and lynched. The Richlands Historic District encompasses much of downtown Richlands, and the

Tazewell Avenue Historic District Tazewell Avenue Historic District is a national historic district located at Richlands, Tazewell County, Virginia. The district encompasses 70 contributing buildings in a primarily residential section of the town of Richlands. They were largel ...

, and Williams House, are both 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

Richlands is situated along the

just east of the Tazewell- Russell county line. Cedar Bluff borders Richlands to the east, and the community of

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

lies just to the west.

U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

and

Virginia State Route 67 State Route 67 (SR 67) is a primary state highway in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It runs from SR 80 near Honaker east to U.S. Route 460 (US 460) at Raven, east concurrently with US 460 and US 460 Business (US 460 Bus ...

both traverse Richlands. 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 2.7 square miles (6.9 km²), all land.

Climate

The

Trewartha climate classification The Trewartha climate classification (TCC) or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC) is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köppen ...

is temperate oceanic due to five months of winter chill (monthly means below 10 °C (50 °F)), abbreviated "Do" on climate maps.

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 4,144 people, 1,882 households, and 1,223 families living in the town. The population density was 1,565.7 people per square mile (603.8/km²). There were 2,137 housing units at an average density of 807.4 per square mile (311.4/km²). 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 98.75% White, 0.05% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.34%. Of the 1,882 households 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 32.1% of households were one person and 15.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.76. The age distribution was 20.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males. The median household income was $23,712 and the median family income was $30,257. Males had a median income of $30,682 versus $18,670 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,548. About 13.6% of families and 17.8% 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 24.1% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Richlands is served by the Tazewell County Public School System. Schools in Richlands include: * Richlands Elementary School * Richlands Middle School * Richlands High School It is served by

Southwest Virginia Community College Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) is a public community college in Cedar Bluff. It is part of the Virginia Community College System. SWCC was opened in 1968 to serve the residents of Buchanan, Russell and Tazewell counties, as wel ...

, which is located in nearby Wardell, Virginia.

King University King University is a private Presbyterian-affiliated university in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). ...

, based in

Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in the State of Tennessee. Located in Sullivan County, its population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The ...

, has a satellite campus at SWVCC.

In popular culture

Blues musician

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He wo ...

performed ''Richland Women Blues''. The lyrics were risqué for the early 1930s, filled with sexual double entendres. Virginian singer and pianist

Bruce Hornsby Bruce Randall Hornsby (born November 23, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. His music draws from folk rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Southern rock, country rock, jam band, rock, heartland rock, and blues rock musical traditions ...

wrote a song set in Richlands, entitled "The Road Not Taken". It appears on his 1988 album ''

Scenes from the Southside ''Scenes from the Southside'' is the second album by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The single "The Valley Road" was Hornsby's third (and last) Top 10 U.S. hit, peaking at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and also his first number one on ...

''.

Notable people

* Mike Compton, former guard for the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, and Jacksonville Jaguars. *

Cathryn Hankla Cathryn ("Cathy") Hankla (born March 20, 1958) is an American poet, novelist, essayist and author of short stories. She is professor emerita of English and Creative Writing at Hollins University in Hollins, Virginia, and served as inaugural dire ...

, poet and artist. *

Heath Miller Earl Heath Miller Jr. (born October 22, 1982) is a former American football tight end who played professionally for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons from 2005 to 2015. Miller played college football fo ...

, former tight end and 2 time Super Bowl Champion for the Pittsburgh Steelers. *

Jim Moody James Powers Moody (September 2, 1935March 22, 2019) was an American economist and Democratic politician. He served five terms as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 5th congressional district (1983–1993). At the time, the 5th congre ...

, member of U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin.

References

External links

Town website

Richlands Area Chamber of Commerce

{{Authority control Towns in Tazewell County, Virginia