Windsor is 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 ...

in Isle of Wight County in the

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond, and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point near whe ...

region of southeastern

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 ...

, United States. It is located near the crossroads of U.S. routes 460 and

258 Year 258 ( CCLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tuscus and Bassus (or, less frequently, year 1011 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 258 for this yea ...

. The population was 2,626 at the 2010 census, up from 916 at the 2000 census.

History

Windsor was established next to the

Norfolk Southern Corporation The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

's railroad. The town of Windsor was chartered on March 15, 1902. Windsor established a volunteer fire department in 1947 and its police department in 1990. In 2001, the town annexed of Isle of Wight County, which nearly tripled its population. The Henry Saunders House and William Scott Farmstead 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 2021, it was reported that Windsor had developed a reputation for ticketing and fining passing motorists. Nearly 10 percent of the town's local revenue comes from traffic fines. The town obtained national media coverage when a Windsor police officer stopped and pepper-sprayed Lt. Caron Nazario, a Black Hispanic male driving through Windsor. As a result of the Nazario incident, the

Attorney General of Virginia The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an Executive (government), executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a United State ...

filed suit against Windsor for its "pattern of unconstitutional and discriminatory policing" in December 2021. On September 7, 2023, Windsor signed a settlement with the state that included independent reviews of misconduct allegations against its police force, additional training for its law enforcement officers, and a commitment to continue seeking Virginia Law Enforcement Professional Standards Commission accreditation.

Geography

Windsor is located in southern Isle of Wight County. U.S. Route 460 passes through the center of town, leading southeast to

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

and northwest to Petersburg.

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

is east of Windsor via US-460 and

U.S. Route 58 U.S. Route 58 (US 58) is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee, to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran on ...

. U.S. Route 258 crosses US-460 on the western side of Windsor, leading north to Smithfield and southwest the same distance to Franklin. 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 ...

, Windsor has a total area of , of which , or 0.41%, are 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 916 people, 389 households, and 269 families residing 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 1,077.2 people per square mile (416.1/km²). There were 422 housing units at an average density of 496.3 per square mile (191.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.74%

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 ...

, 9.06%

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 ...

, 0.44% Native American, and 0.76% 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 0.98% of the population. There were 389 households, out of which 30.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 84.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $36,528, and the median income for a family was $44,167. Males had a median income of $34,205 versus $25,000 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 $20,999. About 5.9% of families and 8.8% 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 13.4% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Windsor Elementary School serves students in grades of Pre-K through 5. The school mascot is the hornet, and for the 2010 – 2011 school year had a total enrollment of 613 students. Georgie D. Tyler Middle School serves students in grades 6 through 8 and the Titan is the school mascot. The school colors are blue and silver. The school used to be called Windsor Middle School. During Windsor Middle School's 2010 – 2011 school year yielded a total enrollment of 328 students. Georgie D Tyler Middle School opened in late summer of 2014. Windsor High School serves students in grades 9 through 12. The school colors are royal blue and gold, and the mascot is the Dukes. There were 501 students enrolled during the 2010 – 2011 school year. The school supports teams in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, football, marching band, golf, soccer, softball, track, tennis, wrestling and volleyball, theatre, forensics, and academic bowl.

References

External links

Town of Windsor official website

Isle of Wight-Smithfield-Windsor Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Towns in Isle of Wight County, Virginia Towns in Virginia