Highland County, Virginia

Highland County is a located in the  &mdash; officially, "" &mdash; of. As of the, the population was 2,536. Its is. Highland County is the least populous county in Virginia. Highland lays claim to being one of the least populated counties and one of the highest average elevations east of the Mississippi River.

History
The county was formed in from  and. It was named for its lofty elevation.

The, part of 's campaign, took place here ,.

Geography


According to the, the county has a total area of 1,077 (416 ). 1,077 km² (416 mi²) of it is land and 0 km² (0 mi²) of it (0.00%) is water.

Districts
The county is divided into three supervisor districts: Blue Grass, Monterey, and Stonewall.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - southeast
 * - southwest
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 2,536 people, 1,131 households, and 764 families residing in the county. The was 2/km² (6/mi²). There were 1,822 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (4/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 99.25%, 0.08% or , 0.12% , 0.12% , 0.08% from , and 0.35% from two or more races. 0.51% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 1,131 households out of which 24.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.90% were living together, 7.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 29.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.74.

In the county, the population was spread out with 19.90% under the age of 18, 4.10% from 18 to 24, 24.50% from 25 to 44, 31.20% from 45 to 64, and 20.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $29,732, and the median income for a family was $37,530. Males had a median income of $25,904 versus $19,250 for females. The for the county was $15,976. About 9.30% of families and 12.60% of the population were below the, including 13.20% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.

Attractions
It is called "Virginia's Switzerland," in reference to the steep mountains and valleys. The Highland Maple Festival has been held annually in March since to promote the county's  industry. Additionally, other outdoor sports such as fishing, hiking, caving, and cycling are enjoyed in the county. Every August the Mountain Mama Road Bike Challenge brings cyclists from all over the country to challenge themselves on the steep roads of Highland County. The last weekend of August/first weekend of September, the Highland County Fair is held on the fairgrounds located behind Highland High School.