Jonesville is a town in 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 ...

Lee County, Virginia Lee County is the westernmost county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,173. Its county seat is Jonesville. History The area of far western Virginia and eastern Kentucky supported large Arch ...

, United States. The population was 872 as of the 2020 census.

History

Jonesville was a small but thriving center of local commerce in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but like most towns in the central Appalachian region, it fell into gradual economic decline as the coal boom ebbed in the latter half of the twentieth century. By the end of the century much of the commercial real estate in its downtown area was either unoccupied or underutilized. Most of Jonesville's remaining commercial activity is concentrated in the west end. Jonesville Drug, one of the oldest surviving downtown businesses, relocated to the old Chappell's Dairy site on the west end in 2004. Jonesville is the birthplace of Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO (August 6, 1828 – December 12, 1917). Dr Still was a founder of Baker University in Kansas and the founder of the American School of Osteopathic Medicine (now A. T. Still University) in Kirksville, MO (1892). Dr Still is considered the founder of osteopathic medicine and is the author of four books published in his lifetime. In December 2013 Dr. Still was announced as an inductee to the Hall of Famous Missourians. The Dickinson-Milbourn House and Jonesville Methodist Campground 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 ...

Notable people

* Elbert S. Martin,

congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

; born near Jonesville *

John Preston Martin John Preston Martin (October 11, 1811 – December 23, 1862) was a political figure in Kentucky in the early 19th century. He was born on October 11, 1811, near Jonesville, Lee County, Virginia. He moved to Prestonsburg, Floyd County, Kentucky ...

, Kentucky state senator; born near Jonesville *

Andrew Taylor Still Andrew Taylor Still (August 6, 1828 – December 12, 1917) was the founder of osteopathic medicine. He was also a physician and surgeon, author, inventor and Kansas territorial and state legislator. He was one of the founders of Baker University ...

, M. D., D.O., father of osteopathic medicine and founder of its first school and infirmary; born in Jonesville in 1828 *

Steve Rasnic Tem Steve Rasnic Tem (born 1950) is an American author. He was born in Jonesville, Virginia. Rasnic attended college at Virginia Tech, and also at Virginia Commonwealth University. He earned a B.A. in English education. In 1974, he moved to Colorado ...

, author; born in Jonesville *

Glen Morgan Williams Glen Morgan Williams (February 17, 1920 – November 4, 2012) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. Education and career Born in Jonesville, Virginia, Williams received an ...

, federal judge; born in Jonesville

Geography

Jonesville is located at (36.688012, -83.116305). 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 1.1 square miles (2.8 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 995 people, 497 households, and 261 families living 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 901.1 people per square mile (349.2/km²). There were 565 housing units at an average density of 511.7 per square mile (198.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.30%

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 ...

, 0.10%

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 ...

, and 0.60% 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 0.40% of the population. There were 497 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% 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, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.3% were non-families. 45.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.91 and the average family size was 2.66. In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.1% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 23.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the town in 2000 was $16,548, and the median income for a family was $27,368. Males had a median income in 2000 of $26,950 versus $19,297 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 $18,347. About 25.4% of families and 32.3% 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 55.6% of those under age 18 and 24.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

United States Penitentiary, Lee The United States Penitentiary, Lee (USP Lee) is a high-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Virginia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also ...

is located east of Jonesville.USP Lee
"

. Retrieved on January 3, 2012. "USP Lee is located in southwest Virginia in Lee County, 8 miles east of Jonesville, off U.S. 58 at the intersection of State Route 638."

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Lee County, Virginia Towns in Virginia County seats in Virginia Populated places established in 1794 1794 establishments in Virginia