Blacksburg, Virginia
Encyclopedia : B : BL : BLA : Blacksburg, Virginia
| Blacksburg, VA
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| Founded | 1798 |
| State | Virginia |
| County | Montgomery |
| Mayor | Ron Rordam |
| http://www.blacksburg.va.us/ | |
Blacksburg is a town located in Montgomery County, Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,573.
Blacksburg is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (better known as Virginia Tech), Virginia's largest university by land area (among other measures)[[Citing sources citation needed]].
History
Blacksburg, Virginia, was founded in 1798 on a thirty-eight acre tract laid out and deeded by William Black, for whom the town was named. The original town was limited to a sixteen-block area bounded by present-day Draper Road, Jackson Street, Wharton Street, and Clay Street.
Blacksburg's town limits were slightly northeast of an earlier frontier settlement dating from 1748 called Draper's Meadow, the site of the infamous "Draper's Meadow Massacre" of 1755. Smithfield Plantation, built in approximately 1772 [link] by Col. William B. Preston, sits on the original Draper's Meadow site, which is near the Duck Pond on the Virginia Tech campus.
In the 1970's Blacksburg's population more than tripled as Virginia Tech was annexed into the city as well as other land area was brought in, going from 9,000 people in 1970 to 30,000 in 1980, becoming Virginia's largest town.
Geography
Blacksburg is located at 37°13'48" North, 80°25'4" West (37.229874, -80.417694)[Geographic references#1GR1].According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 50.2 km² (19.4 mi²). 50.1 km² (19.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.10% water. Blacksburg is 2080 feet (634m) above sea level.
The tallest building in Blacksburg is Slusher Tower, a twelve story residence hall on the Virginia Tech campus.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there are an estimated 39,573 people residing in Blacksburg [link], of which an estimated 23,895 (≈ 60%) are college students [link].
There are an estimated 13,162 households and 4,777 families residing in the town. The population density is 789.2/km² (2,044.2/mi²). There are 13,732 housing units at an average density of 273.9/km² (709.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 84.39% White, 4.39% African American, 0.11% Native American, 7.80% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 2.36% from two or more races. 2.32% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
16.3% of the households have children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.7% are married couples living together, 5.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 63.7% are non-families. 26.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 3.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.37 and the average family size is 2.79.
Blacksburg's age distribution is: 9.7% under the age of 18, 57.4% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 9.2% from 45 to 64, and 4.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. This unusual age distribution is explained by the presence of Virginia Tech, which heavily skews the population toward the 18-24 group. For every 100 females there are 127.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 129.7 males. Virginia Tech's presence also explains the unusual sex distribution; it has large and well-regarded programs in several male-dominated academic fields, most notably engineering.
The median household income is $22,513 and the median income for a family is $51,810. Males have a median income of $37,129 versus $24,321 for females. The per capita income for the town is $13,946. 43.2% of the population and 15.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.7% of those under the age of 18 and 6.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. However, traditional measures of poverty can be highly misleading when applied to communities with large student populations, such as Blacksburg.
External links
- [Town of Blacksburg]
- [Blacksburg Electronic Village]
- [The Roanoke Times]
- [CRAM (The Roanoke Times college site)]
- [New River Valley]
- [Virginia Tech]
- [Collegiate Times]
- [WUVT 90.7 FM]
- [Planet Blacksburg]
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