Bland County, Virginia

Bland County is a located in the  portion of the  &mdash; officially, "" &mdash; of. As of the, the population was 6,871. Its is.

History
Bland County was formed in from, , and  counties. Later there was more land from Giles County added. The people of the area had become dissatisfied with the distance to the various county seats. The rough mountain trails did not lend themselves to the quick and pleasant conduct of necessary legal affairs. There was also great dissatisfaction with taxes paid for the benefit of those far removed from the rugged mountains and valleys of Bland. Thus an act to establish the County of Bland passed the General Assembly of the State of Virginia on March 30, 1861.The county was named after Richard Bland, a leader of Colonial Virginia whose arguments laid the intellectual foundation for freedom and independence from the mother country.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 929 (359 ). 929 km² (359 mi²) of it is land and 0 km² (0 mi²) of it (0.02%) is water.

Bland County lies within the Appalachian Regional Commission's definition of the Appalachian region. The County is mountainous with small river valleys running through the county.

The North Fork of the Holston River has its head waters in Bland County. The Interstate that passes through the county is unique, as the Bland is the only county that is both entered and exited in a tunnel.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 6,871 people, 2,568 households, and 1,908 families residing in the county. The was 7/km² (19/mi²). There were 3,161 housing units at an average density of 3/km² (9/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.82%, 4.19% or , 0.09% , 0.12% , 0.01% , 0.09% from , and 0.68% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 2,568 households out of which 28.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.40% were living together, 8.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.85.

The population distribution of Bland County is: 19.40% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 27.90% from 45 to 64, and 14.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 119.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,397, and the median income for a family was $35,765. Males had a median income of $30,801 versus $23,380 for females. The for the county was $17,744. 12.40% of the population and 9.10% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 14.20% are under the age of 18 and 22.60% are 65 or older.