Boydton is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Mecklenburg County, Virginia Mecklenburg County is a county (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,319. Its county seat is Boydton, Virginia, Boydton. His ...

, United States. The population was 302 at the 2020 census. It is the

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 ...

of Mecklenburg County, and it is near

Kerr Lake The John H. Kerr Reservoir (often called Kerr Lake in North Carolina and Bugg's Island Lake in Virginia) is a reservoir along the border of the U.S. states of North Carolina and Virginia. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the John ...

Geography

Boydton is located at (36.667997, −78.389001). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all land.

Demographics

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 454 people, 134 households, and 95 families residing in the town. 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 553.0 people per square mile (213.8/km²). There were 165 housing units at an average density of 201.0 per square mile (77.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 58.15%

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 ...

, 39.21%

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 ...

, 1.54% from other races, and 1.10% from two or more races.

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 were 2.42% of the population. There were 134 households, out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% 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, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.88. In the town the population was spread out, with 15.4% under the age of 18, 13.4% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 121.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 132.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $29,063, and the median income for a family was $38,125. Males had a median income of $25,417 versus $25,208 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 town was $14,034. About 6.0% of families and 13.3% 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 ...

, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.

History

Boydton was founded in 1812. It was home the original campus of Randolph-Macon College and

Boydton Academic and Bible Institute Boydton Academic and Bible Institute was a Christian school for African Americans from 1879 to 1935 in Boydton, Virginia. It was established on the site of the Boydton Race Course where the original campus of Randolph–Macon College was built and ...

which succeeded it after its move to

Ashland, Virginia Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,565, up from 7,225 at the 2010 census. Ashland is named after the L ...

. The school was small and barely stayed in operation during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

as its focus abruptly changed from a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

seminary to military cadet training. In the difficult post-war

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

years the trustees relocated the remote and struggling school to its present location in Ashland, closer to

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

service. Boydton/Clarksville was the terminus of the 19th-century " Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road" leading to Petersburg. This 80-mile (130-km)

Plank road A plank road is a road composed of Plank (wood), wooden planks or wikt:puncheon#Noun, puncheon logs, as an efficient technology for traversing soft, marshy, or otherwise difficult ground. Plank roads have been built since antiquity, and were comm ...

was covered with wooden planks, making it superior to other roads which were just unpaved dirt and rutted. Boyd's Tavern is an early 19th-century structure originally operated by merchant Alexander Boyd, a Scottish immigrant, which in recent years has been restored by his descendants and opened to public tours. In 1952 the large

was created nearby, drawing many boaters, campers, and fishermen to the local area (see

Clarksville, Virginia Clarksville is a town in Mecklenburg county in the U.S. state of Virginia, near the southern border of the commonwealth. The population was 1,139 at the 2010 census. Since the town has numerous buildings of the 18th-, 19th-, and early 20th-cen ...

). In addition to Boyd's Tavern, the Boydton Historic District and the Mecklenburg County Courthouse are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2002.

Government and infrastructure

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Boydton Post Office in Boydton. The

Virginia Department of Corrections The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is the government agency responsible for community corrections and operating prisons and correctional facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency is fully accredited b ...

formerly operated the Mecklenburg Correctional Center in unincorporated Mecklenburg County, near Boydton. In 2012, Mecklenburg Correctional Center was closed and subsequently demolished. Public school education is provided by

Mecklenburg County Public Schools Mecklenburg County Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Boydton, Virginia, United States. It provides the public school education for students who live in Mecklenburg County. Organization Mecklenburg County Public Schools is go ...

which is headquartered in the city. In 2010, Microsoft began construction of a $500 million data center in Boydton. In 2014, $350 million was spent on its expansion.

Notable people

* Mark Alexander (1792–1883), born near Boydton,

United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of the ...

from Virginia * William A. Burwell (1780–1821), born near Boydton,

State Legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

and

from Virginia, private secretary for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

. * Henry Johnson (1850–1904) born in Boydton, Buffalo Soldier,

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient. * Nancy Byrd Turner, poet, editor and lecturer (1880-1971) born in Boydton. * Odicci Alexander (1998-)

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

softball pitcher

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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Boydton has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

References

{{authority control Towns in Mecklenburg County, Virginia Towns in Virginia County seats in Virginia Populated places established in 1812 1812 establishments in Virginia