Lunenburg County, Virginia

Lunenburg County
County
Lunenburg County Courthouse
Seal
Motto:  The Old Free State
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°57′N78°14′W / 36.95°N 78.24°W / 36.95; -78.24
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1746
Named for	Brunswick-Lüneburg
Seat	Lunenburg
Largest town	Victoria
Area
• Total	432 sq mi (1,120 km2)
• Land	432 sq mi (1,120 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (2 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	11,936
• Density	28/sq mi (11/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.lunenburgva.org

Lunenburg County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,936. ^[1] Its county seat is Lunenburg. ^[2]

History

Lunenburg County was established on May 1, 1746, from Brunswick County. The county is named for the former Duchy of Brunswick-Lünenburg ^[3] in Germany, because one of the titles also carried by Britain's Hanoverian kings was Duke of Brunswick-Lünenburg. Bedford, Charlotte, Halifax, and Mecklenburg Counties were later formed from Lunenburg County. It is nicknamed "The Old Free State" because during the buildup of the Civil War, it let Virginia know the county would break off if the state did not join The Confederacy. ^[4]

Among the earliest settlers of the county was William Taylor, born in King William County, Virginia. He was the son of Rev. Daniel Taylor, a Virginia native and Anglican priest educated at Trinity College, Cambridge University ^[5] in England, and his wife Alice (Littlepage) Taylor. William Taylor married Martha Waller, a daughter of Benjamin Waller of Williamsburg, Virginia. ^[6]

In 1760 Taylor purchased three adjoining tracts of land in Lunenburg County totaling 827 acres (3.35 km²). Taylor soon became one of the county's leading citizens, representing Lunenburg in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1765 until 1768. ^[7] In that capacity, Taylor voted in 1765 to support statesman Patrick Henry's Virginia Resolves in 1765. ^[8] Taylor served as County Clerk for 51 years (1763–1814).

Taylor was succeeded as County Clerk by his son William Henry Taylor, who held the office for another 32 years—from 1814 until 1846. Another son, General Waller Taylor, represented Lunenburg in the Virginia legislature, then moved to Vincennes, Indiana. There he became a judge and subsequently Adjutant General of the United States Army under General William Henry Harrison in the War of 1812. General Waller Taylor later served as one of the first United States senators from the newly created state of Indiana from 1816 to 1825. He died on a visit home to see his relatives in Lunenburg County in 1826. ^[9]

During much of the American Civil War, the family of Missionary Bishop Henry C. Lay lived in Lunenberg County, where Mrs. Lay (the former Eliza Withers Atkinson) grew up. Both of Bishop Lay's brothers served as Confederate colonels, and Mrs. Lay's uncle, Thomas Atkinson was bishop of North Carolina.

Cases surrounding an 1895 Lunenburg County murder are the subject of historian Suzanne Lebsock's book, A Murder in Virginia: Southern Justice on Trial .

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 432 square miles (1,120 km²), of which 432 square miles (1,120 km²) is land and 1 square mile (2.6 km²) (0.16%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Brunswick County (east)
• Charlotte County (west)
• Mecklenburg County (south)
• Nottoway County (northeast)
• Prince Edward County (north)

Major highways

• US 360 (Eastbound Only – Three-Sixty Hwy)
• SR 40 (Lunenburg County Rd; joins SR 49 and becomes Courthouse Rd; Court St and Main St in Victoria; K-V Rd; Main St and S Broad St in Kenbridge, Blackstone Rd)
• SR 49 (Falls Rd; joins SR 40 in Victoria and becomes Main St; Courthouse Rd
• SR 137 (E 5th Ave; S Hill Rd; Dundas Rd)
• SR 138 (E 5th Ave; S Hill Rd)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1790	8,959		—
1800	10,381		15.9%
1810	12,265		18.1%
1820	10,662		−13.1%
1830	11,957		12.1%
1840	11,055		−7.5%
1850	11,692		5.8%
1860	11,983		2.5%
1870	10,403		−13.2%
1880	11,535		10.9%
1890	11,372		−1.4%
1900	11,705		2.9%
1910	12,780		9.2%
1920	15,260		19.4%
1930	14,058		−7.9%
1940	13,844		−1.5%
1950	14,116		2.0%
1960	12,523		−11.3%
1970	11,687		−6.7%
1980	12,124		3.7%
1990	11,419		−5.8%
2000	13,146		15.1%
2010	12,914		−1.8%
2020	11,936		−7.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [10] 1790–1960 [11] 1900–1990 [12] 1990–2000 [13] 2010 [14] 2020 [15]

2020 census

Lunenburg County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010 [14]	Pop 2020 [15]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	7,730	7,016	59.86%	58.78%
Black or African American alone (NH)	4,451	3,773	34.47%	31.61%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	37	32	0.29%	0.27%
Asian alone (NH)	25	25	0.19%	0.21%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	3	5	0.02%	0.04%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	9	31	0.07%	0.26%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	189	465	1.46%	3.90%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	470	589	3.64%	4.93%
Total	12,914	11,936	100.00%	100.00%

2000 Census

As of the census ^[16] of 2000, there were 13,146 people, 4,998 households, and 3,383 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile (12 people/km²). There were 5,736 housing units at an average density of 13 units per square mile (5.0 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 59.12% White, 38.58% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 1.79% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,998 households, out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.50% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.30% under the age of 18, 8.00% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 25.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 113.80 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 115.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $27,899, and the median income for a family was $34,302. Males had a median income of $26,496 versus $20,237 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,951. About 14.90% of families and 20.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.30% of those under age 18 and 22.80% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Lunenburg County Public Schools operates the following schools:

• Kenbridge Elementary School- Kenbridge, VA
• Victoria Elementary School- Victoria, VA
• Lunenburg Middle School- Victoria, VA
• Central High School- Victoria, VA

There are no private or independent schools in Lunenburg County, and no colleges or universities are located there. Kenston Forest School in Nottoway County, approximately 20 minutes away, offers the closest K-12 private education available to Lunenburg County residents.

Communities

Towns

• Kenbridge
• Victoria

Census-designated place

• Lunenburg

Other unincorporated communities

• Dundas
• Fort Mitchell
• Meherrin
• Rehoboth

Notable people

• Lewis Archer Boswell, experimented with flying aircraft. Local legends claim he achieved heavier-than-air flight before the Wright Brothers, though there is no historical evidence.
• Justice Paul Carrington (1733–1818), second member appointed of the Virginia Supreme Court.
• Roy Clark, born in Meherrin, he became a highly acclaimed country musician and a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
• Henry W. Collier, born in the county, was elected fourteenth Governor of Alabama, from 1849 to 1853.
• Alfred L. Cralle, born in the county, became an inventor and businessman in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is best remembered for inventing the lever-operated ice cream scoop in 1897.
• Anthony Davis, an NFL football player, currently for the New Orleans Saints (beginning 2009). From Lunenburg County, he attended Central High School in Victoria, Virginia.
• Richard Ellis, born and raised in Lunenburg County, settled in Alabama where he was a member of Alabama's Constitutional Convention in 1818 and an associate justice of the Alabama Supreme Court (1819–1826).
• James Greene Hardy, a county native, was elected Lt. Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, serving from 1855 to 1856.
• John A. Murrell (1806?–1844), born in the county, bandit, known for the Mystic Clan or Mystic Confederacy and Murrell Insurrection Conspiracy
• Verner Moore White (1863–1923), born in the county, was a noted landscape and portrait artist.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Lunenburg County, Virginia ^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,537	58.95%	2,418	40.30%	45	0.75%
2016	3,204	57.36%	2,227	39.87%	155	2.77%
2012	2,969	51.78%	2,684	46.81%	81	1.41%
2008	2,900	51.33%	2,703	47.84%	47	0.83%
2004	2,858	54.49%	2,362	45.03%	25	0.48%
2000	2,510	54.67%	2,026	44.13%	55	1.20%
1996	2,063	46.26%	1,995	44.73%	402	9.01%
1992	2,227	45.34%	2,082	42.39%	603	12.28%
1988	2,530	56.27%	1,870	41.59%	96	2.14%
1984	2,713	59.94%	1,754	38.75%	59	1.30%
1980	2,045	49.44%	1,958	47.34%	133	3.22%
1976	1,816	49.73%	1,739	47.62%	97	2.66%
1972	2,464	69.14%	1,044	29.29%	56	1.57%
1968	1,181	29.44%	1,180	29.41%	1,651	41.15%
1964	1,847	62.04%	1,128	37.89%	2	0.07%
1960	838	35.22%	1,451	60.99%	90	3.78%
1956	580	24.80%	1,111	47.50%	648	27.70%
1952	837	35.27%	1,528	64.39%	8	0.34%
1948	251	14.61%	1,126	65.54%	341	19.85%
1944	184	13.21%	1,205	86.50%	4	0.29%
1940	144	10.60%	1,213	89.26%	2	0.15%
1936	77	5.62%	1,291	94.23%	2	0.15%
1932	92	7.38%	1,141	91.50%	14	1.12%
1928	314	20.75%	1,199	79.25%	0	0.00%
1924	130	12.55%	686	66.22%	220	21.24%
1920	208	20.08%	818	78.96%	10	0.97%
1916	110	11.74%	814	86.87%	13	1.39%
1912	66	10.51%	508	80.89%	54	8.60%

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lunenburg County, Virginia

References

1. "Lunenburg County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 30, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 192.
4. The Old Free State: A Contribution to the History of Lunenburg County and Southside Virginia. Landon Covington Bell. 1927. Pp. 578ff. Reprint: 1974, 2005, Genealogical Publishing Company. ISBN   9780806306230. Google Books.
5. Admissions to the College of St. John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, Part III, Robert Forsyth Scott, The University Press, Cambridge, 1903
6. Listing: "Rev. Daniel Taylor", Virginia Magazine of History and biography, Vol. VIII, Virginia Historical Society, Printed by William Ellis Jones, Richmond, Va., 1901
7. Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Vol. I, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1915
8. At his death in 1820, a Richmond newspaper noted in its obituary of William Taylor that he was the last man known to be alive who had heard Patrick Henry's famous "Give me liberty or give me death" speech in the Virginia House of Burgesses.
9. Pattie B. Seay, Survey Report, The Taylor Cemetery Archived February 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , Library of Virginia Digital Collection
10. "Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000". US Census Bureau . Retrieved January 24, 2022.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
13. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
14. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Lunenburg County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau .
15. "P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Lunenburg County, Virginia". United States Census Bureau .
16. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved May 14, 2011.
17. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved December 9, 2020.

36°57′N78°14′W / 36.95°N 78.24°W / 36.95; -78.24