Castlewood is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in western

Russell County, Virginia Russell County () is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,781. Its county seat is Lebanon. History On January 2, 1786, Russell County was established from a section of Washington Cou ...

, United States. The population was 2,045 at the 2010 census, a small increase from the 2,036 reported in 2000. Castlewood was an

incorporated town An incorporated town is a town that is a municipal corporation. Canada Incorporated towns are a form of local government in Canada, which is a responsibility of provincial rather than federal government. United States An incorporated town o ...

from 1991 to 1997, when it reverted to unincorporated status.

History

The community was originally named Castle's Woods, as the land in the immediate area had once belonged to Jacob Castle, a frontiersman in the likes of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

. Castle purchased the land from the

Shawnee Indians The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

, for very little in trade, reportedly just a "hound dog, a knife, and a shot of whiskey". As a "Long Hunter", Castle spent long periods of time in the wilderness on hunting expeditions. There he befriended the Indians that inhabited the land in the Castlewood area. He married a Shawnee woman by the name of Gliding Swan, and they produced many children. It has been said that Castle himself showed Daniel Boone the

Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a Mountain pass, pass in the Eastern United States, eastern United States through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains and near the tripoint of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. At&n ...

and areas west, which led to Boone's expedition and settlement of these lands. Many descendants of Castle reside in Russell County, Virginia, and the surrounding area. Castle's father, Peter Cassell, was a German emigrant to Pennsylvania who was influential in the Dutch movement to America. The name was modified to Castlewood by 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 ...

in the late 1800s, as a simplification of the original spelling and pronunciation, which was common during this time period. In 1991, Castlewood became an incorporated town with a mayor and a six member town council. The goal of incorporation was to bring industry to the area after the loss of coal mines by building up the infrastructure. A town hall was built, financed through the newly levied property taxes. The new taxation and police department were unpopular. The town elected a government to dismantle the incorporation, a feat which was accomplished in 1997. The Castlerun Historic District and Mason-Dorton School 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 ...

Geography

Castlewood is located next to 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 ...

in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

of far

Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...

. 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 CDP has a total area of 7.2 square miles (18.7 km²), of which 99.86% is land and 0.14% is water.

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 2,036 people residing in the CDP of Castlewood, including 637 families. 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 283.0 people per square mile (109.3/km²). There were 950 housing units, at an average density of 132.1 per square mile (51.0/km²). The racial makeup was 98.48%

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 ...

, 0.93%

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 ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.05% from other races, and 0.44% 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 0.44% of the population. There were 872 households, of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.3% 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, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

household size was 2.32, and the average family size was 2.76. The

median The median of a set of numbers is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a Sample (statistics), data sample, a statistical population, population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as the “ ...

age was 42 years, with 20.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $27,232, and the median family income was $31,435. Males had a median income of $30,795, versus $16,576 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 CDP was $14,203. About 13.3% of families and 16.3% 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 23.4% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Kathleen Dickenson Mellen Kathleen Dickenson Mellen (née Kathleen Dickenson; 1895–1969) was an American author. She was a long time resident of the Territory of Hawaii, and published many books on Hawaii's history and culture. Life and career Kathleen Dickenson was ...

(1895–1969) American Hawaiian author * 49 Winchester, country band; bandmates Isaac Gibson, Chase Chafin, Bus Shelton, and Noah Patrick formed the group around 2015 in Castlewood at a house located at 49 Winchester Street

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Russell County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Former municipalities in Virginia Populated places disestablished in 1997 1997 disestablishments in Virginia