Appomattox County ( ) is a United States county located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. The county is part of the Lynchburg metropolitan area, and its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is the town of Appomattox. Appomattox County was created in 1845 from parts of four other Virginia counties. The name of the county comes from the Appamatuck Indians, who lived in the area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,119.

History

Appomattox County was formed in 1845 from

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 United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

, Prince Edward, Campbell, and Charlotte counties. In 1848, another part from Campbell County was added. It was named for the

Appomattox River The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia, named for the ...

, which in turn was named for the Appamatuck, a historic Native American tribes in Virginia of the Algonquian-speaking Powhatan Confederacy. Appomattox came to national attention on April 9, 1865, when Confederate

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

met with Union General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

at the village of Appomattox Court House to accept Lee's surrender. The surrender of Lee, which effectively ended the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, took place at the McLean House, home of Wilmer McLean.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Nelson County, Virginia - north *

Buckingham County, Virginia Buckingham County is a rural United States county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and containing the geographic center of the state. Buckingham County is part of the Piedmont region of Virginia, and the county seat is Buckingham. ...

- northeast *

Prince Edward County, Virginia Prince Edward County is located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 21,849. Its county seat is Farmville, Virginia, Farmville. History Formation an ...

- southeast * Charlotte County, Virginia - south *

Campbell County, Virginia Campbell County is a United States county situated in the south central part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Located in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Campbell borders the Blue Ridge Mountains. The county seat is Rustburg. Grounded on a to ...

- southwest *

Amherst County, Virginia Amherst County is a county, located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is also named Amhers ...

- northwest

National protected area

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park The Appomattox Court House National Historical Park is the preserved 19th-century village named Appomattox Court House in Appomattox County, Virginia. The village was named for the presence nearby of what is now preserved as the Old Appomatto ...

Major highways

* * * * * *

Demographics

2020 census

2000 Census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 13,705 people, 5,322 households, and 4,012 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 5,828 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 75.94%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 22.91%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.26% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 5,322 households, out of which 32.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.70% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 21.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.94. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,507, and the median income for a family was $41,563. Males had a median income of $31,428 versus $21,367 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $18,086. 11.40% of the population and 8.70% of families 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 ...

. Out of the total population, 14.10% of those under the age of 18 and 21.50% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Government

Appomattox County was historically strongly Democratic, as part of the

Solid South The Solid South was the electoral voting bloc for the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the Southern United States between the end of the Reconstruction era in 1877 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the aftermath of the Co ...

. It has been consistently won by Republicans since 1964.

Board of Supervisors

*Appomattox River district: Ken Wolfskill (R) *Courthouse district: Samuel E. Carter (I) *Falling River district: John F. Hinkle, Chairman (R) *Piney Mountain district: Alfred L. Jones III, Vice-Chairman (I) *Wreck Island district: Trevor L. Hipps (R)

Constitutional officers

*Clerk of the Circuit Court: Janet A. Hix (I) *Commissioner of the Revenue: Sara R. Henderson (I) *Commonwealth's Attorney: Leslie M. Fleet (I) *Sheriff: Robert Richardson (I) *Treasurer: Victoria C. Phelps (I) Appomattox County is represented by Republican John McGuire, in the Virginia Senate, Republican Tom Garrett in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican Bob Good the U.S. House of Representatives.

Communities

Towns

* Appomattox * Pamplin City

Census-designated place

* Concord (primarily in Campbell County)

Other unincorporated communities

* Beckham * Bent Creek * Bowler * Chap *

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

* Fore Store * Hixburg *

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

* Hurtsville * Oakville * Promise Land * Spout Spring * Spring Mills * Stonewall *

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

References

External links

Official County websiteOfficial Tourism website for Town and County of Appomattox

{{Authority control Virginia counties 1845 establishments in Virginia Counties on the James River (Virginia) Populated places established in 1845