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Mechanicsville, Virginia | |
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![]() Location in Hanover County and the state of Virginia | |
Coordinates: 37°36′14″N77°22′20″W / 37.60389°N 77.37222°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Virginia |
County | Hanover |
Area | |
• Total | 28.4 sq mi (73.6 km2) |
• Land | 28.3 sq mi (73.3 km2) |
• Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2) |
Elevation | 180 ft (50 m) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 39,482 |
• Density | 1,393.4/sq mi (538.0/km2) |
Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
ZIP Codes | 23111, 23116 |
Area code | 804 |
FIPS code | 51-50856 |
GNIS feature ID | 2389467 |
Mechanicsville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hanover County, Virginia, United States. The population was 39,482 during the 2020 census, [2] up from 36,348 in the 2010 census. [3]
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 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 are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [4]
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.
Mechanicsville, and the surrounding area, was the site of numerous battles during the American Civil War. 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. 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 Battle of Gaines' Mill was the third of the Seven Days Battles, 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.
Near Gaines' Mill was the Battle of Cold Harbor, the final major battle of Union Lieut. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. 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. An area of the battlefield which saw heavy casualties and a nearby post-war National cemetery are preserved as historic monuments.
Mechanicsville comprises the western portion of Hanover County's southern extension, north of the Chickahominy River. 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 6 miles (10 km) to the center of Richmond and northeast 40 miles (64 km) 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 9 miles (14 km) to the center of Richmond and north 29 miles (47 km) to Bowling Green.
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. [5]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Mechanicsville CDP has a total area of 28.4 square miles (73.6 km2), of which 28.3 square miles (73.3 km2) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.42%, are water. [3] The southern part of the CDP is drained by the Chickahominy River and its tributaries, flowing to the James River, while the northern part is drained by tributaries of the Pamunkey River, part of the York River watershed.
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | 5,189 | — | |
1980 | 9,269 | 78.6% | |
1990 | 22,027 | 137.6% | |
2000 | 30,464 | 38.3% | |
2010 | 36,348 | 19.3% | |
2020 | 39,482 | 8.6% |
As of the census of 2020, there were 39,482 people and 14,675 households residing [6] in the CDP. The population density was 1,393.4 people per square mile (414.5/km2).
The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.0% White, 8.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population. [6]
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 for the CDP was $38,487. 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line.
Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover.
Beaver County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,215. Its county seat is Beaver, and its largest city is Aliquippa. The county is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region of the state.
Hanover Township is a township in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,339 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area.
Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the name of an 18th-century plantation that was located in Westmoreland County, Virginia. The name "Chantilly" originated in France with the Château de Chantilly, about 28 miles north of Paris.
Glen Allen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Henrico County, Virginia, United States. The population was 16,187 as of the 2020 Census, up from 14,774 at the 2010 census. Areas outside the CDP which use a "Glen Allen" mailing address include residences in neighboring Hanover County.
Falmouth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Stafford County, Virginia, United States. Situated on the north bank of the Rappahannock River at the falls, the community is north of and opposite the city of Fredericksburg. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), Falmouth's population was 4,956 as of the 2020 census.
Alum Creek is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kanawha and Lincoln counties along the Coal River in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It includes the unincorporated communities of Alum Creek, Forks of Coal, and Priestley. The CDP had a population of 1,749 at the 2010 census, down from 1,839 at the 2000 census.
The Peninsula campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March to July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, was an amphibious turning movement against the Confederate States Army in Northern Virginia, intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond. Despite the fact that Confederate spy Thomas Nelson Conrad had obtained documents describing McClellan's battle plans from a double agent in the War Department, McClellan was initially successful against the equally cautious General Joseph E. Johnston, but the emergence of the more aggressive General Robert E. Lee turned the subsequent Seven Days Battles into a humiliating Union defeat.
The Chickahominy is an 87-mile-long (140 km) river in eastern Virginia. The river, which serves as the eastern border of Charles City County, rises about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Richmond and flows southeast and south to the James River. The river was named after the Chickahominy Indian tribe who lived near the river when the English colonists arrived in 1607. Chickahominy descendants live in Charles City County today.
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 General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, away from Richmond and into a retreat down the Virginia Peninsula. The series of battles is sometimes known erroneously as the Seven Days Campaign, but it was actually the culmination of the Peninsula Campaign, not a separate campaign in its own right.
The Battle of Hanover Court House, also known as the Battle of Slash Church, took place on May 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War.
The Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, also known as the Battle of Mechanicsville or Ellerson's Mill, took place on June 26, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia. It was the first major engagement of the Seven Days Battles during the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War and the start of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's counter-offensive against the Union Army of the Potomac, under Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, which threatened the Confederate capital of Richmond.
The Battle of Gaines' Mill, sometimes known as the Battle of Chickahominy River, took place on June 27, 1862, in Hanover County, Virginia, as the third of the Seven Days Battles which together decided the outcome of the Union's Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. Following the inconclusive Battle of Beaver Dam Creek (Mechanicsville) the previous day, Confederate General Robert E. Lee renewed his attacks against the right flank of the Union Army, relatively isolated on the northern side of the Chickahominy River. There, Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter's V Corps had established a strong defensive line behind Boatswain's Swamp. Lee's force was destined to launch the largest Confederate attack of the war, about 57,000 men in six divisions. Porter's reinforced V Corps held fast for the afternoon as the Confederates attacked in a disjointed manner, first with the division of Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill, then Maj. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, suffering heavy casualties. The arrival of Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson's command was delayed, preventing the full concentration of Confederate force before Porter received some reinforcements from the VI Corps.
State Route 156 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs 57.38 miles (92.34 km) from U.S. Route 301 and SR 35 in Templeton north to US 360 Business in Mechanicsville. SR 156 follows a circuitous route through the eastern part of the Richmond–Petersburg metropolitan area. South of the James River, the state highway connects Templeton in Prince George County with Hopewell, which is directly served by SR 156 Business. SR 156 crosses the James River on the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge and briefly passes through Charles City County. For most of its length in Henrico and Hanover, the state highway is a rural road that provides access to several units of Richmond National Battlefield Park. However, SR 156 provides access to Richmond International Airport, Interstate 64 (I-64), and I-295 as it passes through the Richmond suburbs of Sandston and Highland Springs as a major highway.
The Richmond National Battlefield Park commemorates 13 American Civil War sites around Richmond, Virginia, which served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for most of the war. The park connects certain features within the city with defensive fortifications and battle sites around it.
Cold Harbor National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in Mechanicsville, Hanover County, Virginia. It encompasses 1.4 acres (5,700 m2), and as of the end of 2005, had 2,110 interments. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is managed by the Hampton National Cemetery.
Hanover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hanover County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat and is located at the junction of U.S. Route 301 and State Route 54 south of the Pamunkey River. While historically known as Hanover Courthouse, the U.S. Geological Survey, Census Bureau, Postal Service and residents refer to it as "Hanover". The population as of the 2010 census was 252.
Rural Plains, also informally known as Shelton House, is a historic farm house dating to the 1660s in Mechanicsville, Virginia, Hanover County; it is one of the sites included within the Richmond National Battlefield Park. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Beaver Dam Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of New Windsor, Blooming Grove, and Cornwall in Orange County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 2,609.
The Battle of Garnett's and Golding's Farms took place June 27–28, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Seven Days Battles of the American Civil War's Peninsula Campaign. While the battle at Gaines's Mill raged north of the Chickahominy River, the forces of Confederate general John B. Magruder conducted a reconnaissance in force that developed into a minor attack against the Union line south of the river at Garnett's Farm. The Confederates attacked again near Golding's Farm on the morning of June 28 but in both cases were easily repulsed. The action at the Garnett and Golding farms accomplished little beyond convincing McClellan that he was being attacked from both sides of the Chickahominy.