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Mechanicsville is an
unincorporated community 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 ...
and
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
Hanover County, Virginia Hanover 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 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover, Virginia, Hanover. Hanove ...
, United States. The population was 39,482 during the 2020 census, up from 36,348 in the 2010 census.


History

The area was settled by English colonists starting in the 17th century. Rural Plains, also known as Shelton House, is a structure built in 1670 and lived in by male Sheltons until 2006. Located in the northern part of the Mechanicsville CDP, it is now owned and operated by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
as one of the sites of the Richmond National Battlefield Park. In addition to Rural Plains, Clover Lea, Cold Harbor National Cemetery, Cool Well, Hanover Meeting House, Hanover Town, Immanuel Episcopal Church, Laurel Meadow, Locust Hill, Oak Forest, Oakley Hill, Selwyn, and
Spring Green Spring Green or spring green may refer to: Colors * Spring green ** Spring bud, formerly known as spring green Plants * Spring greens, edible young leaves of certain plants * Spring greens (Brassica oleracea), vegetables Places in the United S ...
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 downtown Mechanicsville stands a stone windmill, now a landmark in the area. The building was constructed as a Heritage Bank branch office in the 1970s. In 2007–2008, it was restored and enlarged by a new bank occupancy. The "windmill" is decorative and driven by an electric motor.


American Civil War

Mechanicsville, and the surrounding area, was the site of numerous battles during 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 ...
. The first was the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, which began on June 26, 1862. Confederate General A.P. Hill launched a series of assaults against Union Major General Fitz John Porter's army positioned along Beaver Dam Creek, just east of Mechanicsville. Union forces repulsed the Confederate attacks and afterward withdrew to a new position along Boatswain Creek near Gaines' Mill. The Beaver Dam Creek engagement was the second in the series of Civil War battles known as the
Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...
. A small portion of the battlefield in the southeast part of the CDP has been preserved as part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park, a park area administered by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
. The Battle of Gaines' Mill was the third of the
Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate States Army, Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army ...
, occurring farther east of Mechanicsville. A portion of the battlefield has been preserved at the "Watt House" as part of the Richmond National Battlefield Park, a park area administered by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
. Near Gaines' Mill was the
Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses ...
, the final major battle of Union Lieut. Gen.
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 ...
's 1864
Overland Campaign The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, towards the end of the American Civil War. Lieutenant general (United States), Lt. G ...
. This was fought over the same ground as the Battle of Gaines' Mill. The area identified as part of the battlefield for "Second Cold Harbor" stretches from near the intersection of Walnut Grove Road and Mechanicsville Turnpike to "Turkey Hill" near the Rt. 156 crossing of the
Chickahominy River The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern border of Charles City County, Vir ...
. An area of the battlefield which saw heavy casualties and a nearby post-war National cemetery are preserved as historic monuments.


Geography

Mechanicsville comprises the western portion of Hanover County's southern extension, north of the
Chickahominy River The Chickahominy is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern border of Charles City County, Vir ...
. The southern border of the CDP, which follows the Chickahominy, is the Henrico County line, and at its closest point, Mechanicsville is less than two miles from the city limits of Richmond. U.S. Route 360 passes through the CDP, leading southwest to the center of Richmond and northeast to Tappahannock. Interstate 295, an eastern bypass of Richmond, crosses Mechanicsville from northwest to southeast, with access from exits 41, 38, 37, and 34. U.S. Route 301 forms the northwest border of the CDP, leading south to the center of Richmond and north to
Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
. The original rural hamlet of Mechanicsville is in the southwest part of the CDP along US 360, just southwest of I-295 Exit 37. The CDP also includes the neighborhoods or named places of Pearsons Corner, Oak Forest, Kings Charter, Rural Point, Borkeys Store, Burnside Farms, Mayfield Farms, Carneals Store, Pole Green, Newman, Dogwood Knoll, Spring Meadows, Brandy Creek Estates, Windy Hill Estates, Ellerson Mill, and Simpkins Corner. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Mechanicsville CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.42%, are water. The southern part of the CDP is drained by the Chickahominy River and its tributaries, flowing to the
James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...
, while the northern part is drained by tributaries of the
Pamunkey River The Pamunkey River is a tributary of the York River, about long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in eastern Virginia in the United States. Via the York Ri ...
, part of the York River watershed.


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 2020, there were 39,482 people and 14,675 households residing in the CDP. 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 1,393.4 people per square mile (414.5/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.0%
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 ...
, 8.9%
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 ...
, 0.2% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1%
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 ...
, and 4.7% 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 1.8% of the population. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. The median income for a household in the town was $84,833. 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 $38,487. 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line.


Notable people

* Willie Adler, guitarist for
Lamb of God Lamb of God (; , ) is a Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at wikisource:Bible (American Standard)/John#1:29, John 1:29, where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, " ...
* Lucy Dacus, singer/songwriter * Wes Freed, artist and musician * Kevin Grubb, racing driver * Wayne Grubb, racing driver * Jock Jones, NFL Linebacker * Tim Menzies, singer/songwriter *
Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz ( ; born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't Wo ...
, singer/songwriter * Connor Overton, MLB pitcher * Billy Parker,
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
defensive specialist for the
New York Dragons The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division (AFL), Eastern Division. ...
* Mary Ann Redmond, singer/songwriter * Sam Rogers, NFL fullback * Zuriel Smith, former
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
wide receiverZuriel Smith Profile at dallascowboys.com
* Matt Taylor, bassist in the band
Motion City Soundtrack Motion City Soundtrack is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew Ta ...
Our Late Night with Conan O'Brien
/ref> * Tony Thaxton, drummer in the band
Motion City Soundtrack Motion City Soundtrack is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew Ta ...
* Stacy Tutt, NFL fullback * Joe Douglas, NFL GM


References


External links

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Hanover County, Virginia Suburbs of Richmond, Virginia