New Castle (historically spelled as one word; "Newcastle") is the only

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 ...

Craig County, Virginia Craig County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,892. Its county seat is New Castle. Craig County is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area. History Nestled in the mountains of S ...

, United States. The population was 125 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 Craig County. The junctions of State Route 311 and State Route 42 and State Route 311 and State Route 615 are in New Castle. New Castle is part of the

Roanoke metropolitan area The Roanoke Metropolitan Statistical Area is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Virginia as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Roanoke MSA is sometimes referred to as the Roanoke Valley, even though the ...

Geography

New Castle is located at (37.500746, -80.110798). 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 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²), all of it land. Two notable geophysical features of the town are the high cliffs just west of the city (which keeps the New River watershed flowing north away from New Castle) and Johns Creek gorge featuring some challenging whitewater (James River watershed). Due to an old land charter however, paddling Johns Creek was disputed as trespassing by the landowner, recent court rulings have opened the run up once again. The town is just north of the Sinking Creek Valley Cluster, west of the

Craig Creek Cluster The Craig Creek Cluster is a region recognized by The Wilderness Society for its unique high elevation mountains, vistas, trout streams and wildlife habitat. The cluster contains wildlands and wilderness areas along Craig Creek, a 65-mile long cr ...

, and south of the

Barbours Creek-Shawvers Run Cluster The Barbours Creek-Shawvers Run Cluster is a region in the Jefferson National Forest recognized by The Wilderness Society (United States), The Wilderness Society for its unique high elevation mountains, vistas, trout streams and wildlife habitat. ...

; areas in the

Jefferson National Forest The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Moun ...

designated by the Wilderness Society as containing "Mountain Treasures".

Climate

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 179 people, 85 households, and 51 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 1,105.0 people per square mile (432.0/km²). There were 93 housing units at an average density of 574.1 per square mile (224.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 100.00%

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 ...

. There were 85 households, out of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% 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, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.73. In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.9% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $35,750. Males had a median income of $25,625 versus $19,583 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 $14,119. About 20.4% of families and 17.2% 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 28.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 6.1% of those sixty-five or over.

References

{{Authority control Towns in Craig County, Virginia County seats in Virginia