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Brunswick County is a United States county located on the southern border 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 ...
of
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 ...
. Brunswick County was created in 1720 from parts of Prince George, Surry and
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
counties. The county was named for the former Duchy of Brunswick-Lunenburg, the ancestral home of the British monarchs of the
House of Hanover The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population of Brunswick county was 15,849. The county has a total area of 569 square miles, and 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 ...
is Lawrenceville. Known for its rural character, the county is one of the claimants to be the namesake of Brunswick stew, a popular Southern dish.


History

The first English settlers, in what was to become Brunswick County, swarmed into the relatively protected lands near Fort Christanna during its 4 years of operation (1714–1718). Among them were
indentured servants Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or ser ...
, including men deported from
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
in 1716 after being convicted by the Crown in the
Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Francis Edward Stuart, James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland ...
. They were required to work under indenture to pay the Crown back for their ship passage. Gradually the colonists pushed many of the Native Americans out of the area. An example of such a Scots rebel who started in the colony as a convict was
James Pittillo James Pittillo (b. 1690–1698 Scotland – d. 1754 Dinwiddie County, Virginia) was a Scots laborer and Jacobite rebel, who became a major landowner after being deported in 1716 to the Colony of Virginia. After completing service of his indenture, ...
. He survived his indenture and in 1726 was granted on Wagua Creek. He gradually became a major landowner in the area. He was appointed as a tobacco inspector in Bristol Parish in 1728 and that year served with William Byrd II on his spring and fall expeditions to survey the border between Virginia and North Carolina. Taking advantage of land grants due to headrights, for people whose passage he paid to the colony, and outright purchases, Pittillo ultimately owned more than in the area of Prince George County, Brunswick, and Dinwiddie counties in Southside Virginia. Brunswick County was established in 1720 from Prince George County. The county is named for the former Duchy of Brunswick-Lunenburg in Germany. One of the titles carried by Britain's Hanoverian kings was Duke of Brunswick-Lunenburg. In 1732 the county received more land from parts of Surry and
Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...
counties. Brunswick County reached the Blue Ridge Mountains until 1745, when increasing population in the region resulted in the formation of a series of new counties, and Brunswick's current western border was established. In 1780, during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, Greensville County was formed from part of Brunswick's eastern side. In 1787 the county's eastern border was finalized with a minor adjustment. Today Brunswick County is bisected by Interstate 85 and U.S. routes 1 and 58. Planters originally cultivated the land for tobacco by slave labor in colonial times. As tobacco exhausted the soil and the markets changed, planters and smaller farmers diversified the mostly rural economy by raising mixed crops and harvesting lumber before 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 a result of these changes, slaveholders in the Upper South had surplus slaves; many sold them in the domestic slave trade. It fed the development of cotton plantations in the
Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion of the Southern United States. The term is used to describe the states which were most economically dependent on Plantation complexes in the Southern United States, plant ...
. Altogether, more than one million enslaved African Americans were sold South in the antebellum years in this forced migration, which broke up many families. Saint Paul's College was established in this county in association with the Episcopal Church. In 1914 the school boasted that "The location of the school in the heart of the Black Belt of Virginia, with a Negro population of 100,000 almost at its very doors, is most favorable for the prosecution of uplift work." St. Paul's closed its doors in 2013. In the early 21st century, the county has a campus of
Southside Virginia Community College Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) is a public community college with two campuses in Virginia, one near Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of t ...
. The
Fort Barfoot Fort Pickett, formerly Fort Barfoot, is a Virginia Army National Guard installation, located near the town of Blackstone, Virginia. Home of the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center, Fort Pickett was originally named for the United ...
Army National Guard base is partly in the county.


Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water.


Adjacent counties

* Mecklenburg County – west * Lunenburg County – west * Nottoway County – northwest * Dinwiddie County – north * Greensville County – east * Northampton County, North Carolina – south


Major highways

* * * * * * *


Demographics


2020 census


2010 Census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 17,434 people living in the county. 57.3% were Black or African American, 40.4%
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 ...
, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 1.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 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 18,419 people, 6,277 households, and 4,312 families living in the county. The population density was . There were 7,541 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 41.99%
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 ...
, 56.85%
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 ...
or
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 ...
, 0.09% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01%
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 ...
, 0.34% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. 1.25% 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 6,277 households, out of which 27.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.90% were married couples living together, 16.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.30% were non-families. 27.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 20.50% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 113.10 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 115.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,288, and the median income for a family was $38,354. Males had a median income of $26,924 versus $20,550 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 $14,890. About 13.20% of families and 16.50% 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 20.10% of those under age 18 and 19.50% of those age 65 or over.


Government


Board of Supervisors

*Meherrin district: John Zubrod (I) *Powellton district: Chair Welton Tyler (I) *Red Oak district: Bernard L. Jones, Sr. (I) *Sturgeon district: Vice-Chair Dr. Alfonzo R. Seward (I) *Totaro district: Dr. Barbara Jarrett-Harris (I)


Constitutional officers

*Clerk of the Circuit Court: Jacqueline Seward-Morgan (I) *Commissioner of the Revenue: Camilla Clayton-Bright *Commonwealth's Attorney: Meredith Smith (I) *Sheriff: Brian Roberts (V) *Treasurer: Jackie Mangrum (I) Brunswick County is represented by Republican Emily Jordan in the Virginia Senate, Republican Otto Wachsmann in the
Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
, and Democrat Jennifer McClellan in the U.S. House of Representatives.


County government

The Virginia Department of Corrections Brunswick Correctional Center was in an
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
near Lawrenceville.Brunswick
" Virginia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on October 7, 2018. "1147 Planters Road ..Lawrenceville, VA 23868"


Brunswick stew

Brunswick County is best known as the origin place for Brunswick stew. The original Brunswick stew, according to Brunswick County historians, was created in 1828 by a black American chef, Mr. Jimmy Matthews, also referred to as "Uncle" by some locals. As the story goes, Dr. Creed Haskins of Mount Donum on the Nottoway River, a member of the Virginia State Legislature, took several friends on a hunting expedition. While the group hunted, Mr. Matthews, Haskin's enslaved camp cook, hunted squirrel for the evening meal. Mr. Matthews slowly stewed the squirrels in butter, with onions, stale bread and seasoning in a large iron pot. When the hunting party returned, they were reluctant to try the new, thick concoction, but one taste convinced them to ask for more. Since that time, Brunswick stew has been prepared by many different "stew masters." It is often associated with the harvest season in the fall and completion of tobacco processing. Cooks produce large batches of the "Virginia ambrosia" for church functions, local fund raisers, family reunions, and political rallies. Each cook and generation add their variations to Jimmy Matthews's recipe for Brunswick stew: chicken has been substituted for squirrel and vegetables have been added. During 1987, the Brunswick Industrial Development Commission and a committee of the Brunswick Chamber of Commerce, with the aid of a professional advertising agency, began a program to develop balanced economic growth in Brunswick County. They decided to capitalize on the county's home-grown Brunswick stew as a brand. On February 22, 1988, at the State Capitol in Richmond, Brunswick County officially kicked off a campaign to increase awareness of its economic development opportunities. The Brunswick Chamber of Commerce and the County of Brunswick hosted a Brunswick Stew-Fest on the Capitol grounds to celebrate the General Assembly's passing of a resolution proclaiming Brunswick County, Virginia, as "The Original Home of Brunswick Stew". The proclamation contains a tongue-in-cheek jab at
Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...
, which claims to have created the traditional Southern dish, setting off what has been coined as "The Stew Wars." One of the many traditional recipes, which requires 6 to 7 hours to cook, was renamed Brunswick Proclamation Stew for the occasion. A good Brunswick stew must be cooked down slowly, according to stew masters for the Capitol Square event, "Until the stirring paddle stands up straight in the stew." When the paddle stood, Brunswick stew was served to the legislators and hundreds of Virginians who turned out for the event to "Get a Taste of Brunswick." With the help of the Fearnow Brothers, the County got its own stew label, approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Their company also produces small quantities of canned Brunswick stew for the Chamber of Commerce to store and use. The cans bear the label "Virginia's Own – 1828-Brunswick County Stew". A sample of Brunswick stew, along with information on the county's assets, was included in the county's promotional packages and sent to business and industry prospects. The stew and County are tied together with the campaign's theme: "Since 1828 when Ol’ Jimmy Matthews created Brunswick stew, we’ve been doing things a special way. A little slow, but right.""Brunswick Stew" campaign
, Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce


Communities


Towns

*
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
* Brodnax (partial) * Lawrenceville (county seat)


Census-designated places

*
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
* Gasburg * Warfield


Unincorporated communities

* Ante *
Dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
*
Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...
* White Plains * Wyche


Notable people

* Aaron Brown (1795–1859), Governor of Tennessee * Albertis Harrison (1907–1995) Governor of Virginia * George Jackson (1850–1900), American politician * Goronwy Owen (1723-1769) Welsh-American poet, Episcopalian Vicar, and cotton and tobacco plantation owner * Hon. Cleo Powell (1957- ), Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia * Peter Starke (1813–1888), politician and Confederate general * Bryant Stith (1970- ), NBA basketball player


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Brunswick County, Virginia


References


External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110128190417/http://www.brunswickco.com/ {{authority control 1720 establishments in the Colony of Virginia Virginia counties Black Belt (U.S. region) Populated places established in 1720 Majority-minority counties and independent cities in Virginia