Botetourt County, Virginia

Botetourt County is a  located in the  &mdash; officially, "" &mdash; of. As of the, the population was 30,496. Its is. The "r" in Botetourt is silent so the pronunciation is "bot-a-tot".

History
In the 1770s and 1780s, when Virginia claimed most of the which would later form all or part of six states, the land was divided between Botetourt and Augusta Counties.

Botetourt County was established in 1770 from. The county is named for, Baron de Botetourt, more commonly know as , (-), who was a popular governor of the from 1768 to 1770, when he died suddenly while in office.

Botetourt County is a part of the, and the southern parts of the county have become increasingly suburban in recent decades. Much of the area's former farmland and orchards have been developed into residential subdivisions and businesses.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,414 (546 ). 1,405 km² (543 mi²) of it is land and 8 km² (3 mi²) of it (0.60%) is water. The run along the eastern part of the county. The run along the western part of the county. The two mountain ranges come close together, separated by the town of Buchanan and the.

The James River originates in Botetourt County, near the village of, just south of the border by the merger of the pristine  and the heavily polluted. The James River runs south until, where it turns east and meanders through the county, passing until entering. In Buchanan, the river turns northward and flows into towards.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 30,496 people, 11,700 households, and 9,114 families residing in the county. The was 22/km² (56/mi²). There were 12,571 housing units at an average density of 9/km² (23/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 94.91%, 3.52% or , 0.22% , 0.47% , 0.19% from , and 0.69% from two or more races. 0.59% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 11,700 households out of which 32.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.80% were living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.10% were non-families. 19.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.40% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 28.80% from 45 to 64, and 13.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 99.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.40 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $48,731, and the median income for a family was $55,125. Males had a median income of $37,182 versus $25,537 for females. The for the county was $22,218. About 3.60% of families and 5.20% of the population were below the, including 5.40% of those under age 18 and 6.50% of those age 65 or over.

Education
There are two high schools in Botetourt County. opened in suburban Daleville in the fall of 1959. in Buchanan also opened in 1959.

Notable residents

 * , (1853-1896), born in Botetourt County, from
 * , (1749-1810), Explorer,pioneer, early settler of, TN and Patriot.
 * , (1796-1868), was a United States Representative from.