Culpeper, Virginia

Culpeper is an incorporated town in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper County. Culpeper is part of the Culpeper Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Culpeper County. Both the Town of Culpeper and Culpeper County are part of the greater Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.

Geography
Culpeper is located at °N, °W (38.471915, -77.999168).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.5 km²), of which, 6.7 square miles (17.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.44%) is water.

History
After forming Culpeper County, Virginia, in 1748, the Virginia House of Burgesses voted to establish the Town of Fairfax on February 22, 1759. The name honored Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron, who was proprietor of the Northern Neck, a vast domain north of the Rappahannock River stretching from Chesapeake Bay to what is now Hampshire County, West Virginia. The original plan called for ten blocks, which form the core of Culpeper's downtown area today. In 1795, the town received a post office under the name Culpeper Court House, although most maps continued to show the Fairfax name. The confusion resulting from the difference in official and postal names, coupled with the existence of Fairfax Court House and Fairfax Station post offices in Fairfax County, was finally resolved when the Virginia Assembly formally renamed the town Culpeper in 1869 (Acts, 1869–1870, chapter 118, page 154). The original town was surveyed by a young George Washington.

During the American Revolutionary War, the Culpeper Minutemen, a pro-Independence militia group, formed in the town of Culpeper, in what was then known as "Clayton's Old Field," near today's Yowell Meadow Park.

During the Civil War, Culpeper was a crossroads for a number of armies marching through central Virginia, with both Union and Confederate forces occupying the town by turn. In the heart of downtown, the childhood home of Confederate General A.P. Hill stands at the corner of Main and Davis streets. One block north on Main St. (present location of Piedmont Realty) was the frame house where "The Gallant Major" John Pelham died after sustaining a wound at the battle of Kelley's Ford.

Culpeper began to grow dramatically in the 1980s, becoming a "bedroom community" of the more densely populated Northern Virginia and its Washington, DC, suburbs, where a growing number of residents of the town and county of Culpeper once lived and continue to work.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,664 people, 3,933 households, and 2,442 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,436.2 inhabitants per square mile (554.4/km²). There were 4,139 housing units at an average density of 615.1 per square mile (237.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.27% White, 18.15% Black, 0.21% Native American, 1.32% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.98% from other races, and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.55% of the population.

There were 3,933 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% 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 2.97.

The town's population included 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was at a time $35,438, and the median income for a family was $41,894 but due to the economic downturn this has changed. Males had a median income of $28,658 versus $25,252 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,842. About 23.0% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.8% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those age 65 or over.

According to the 2007 census estimates, Culpeper's population has grown to 13,497.

Transportation
Culpeper is served by U.S. Route 29, U.S. Route 15, and U.S. Route 522 as well as state primary routes 229, 299, and 3. Interstate 95 is accessible via 3 east to Fredericksburg, Interstate 64 is accessible via U.S. Route 29 south to Charlottesville and U.S. Route 15 south in Zion Crossroads, Interstate 66 is accessible via U.S. Route 29 north, Interstate 81 is accessible via U.S. Route 522 north in Winchester.

Amtrak operates a station in Culpeper, station code CLP. This station is served by the Cardinal, Northeast Regional and Crescent trains daily.

The town of Culpeper is also serviced by Virginia Regional Transit. Virginia Regional Transit operates three buses in town—one on a northern loop, one on a southern loop, and one for disabled individuals.

Notable residents

 * Kenny Alphin, of the country music group Big & Rich.
 * John S. Barbour, Jr., U.S. Congressman, 1881–1887 and U.S. Senator, 1889-1892.
 * Cary Travers Grayson, highly-decorated U.S. Navy surgeon, onetime chairman of the American Red Cross, and personal aide to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson.
 * General A. P. Hill, Confederate General during the American Civil War, commander of "Hill's Light Division," under Stonewall Jackson.
 * John Preston "Pete" Hill, Negro league baseball player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was born in nearby Buena, Virginia.
 * Alexis "Mo Mo" Brown, Back-up dancer in Michael Jackson's This Is It and seen on an episode of The Bad Girls Club
 * Keith Jennings, former NBA point guard, Golden State Warriors.
 * William Morgan, whose 1826 disappearance sparked a powerful anti-Freemasonry movement.
 * Waller T. Patton, Confederate Colonel during the American Civil War, great-uncle of World War II General, George S. Patton.
 * John Pendleton, American diplomat.
 * Eppa Rixey, major league pitcher and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
 * J. Loren Wince, Lead Singer/Songwriter for the band HURT
 * Shannon Davis, Back-up singer for R&B Diva Patti LaBelle
 * Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle

Interesting Culpeper Facts

 * Culpeper was the first municipality south of the Mason-Dixon Line to install fluorescent street lighting.
 * Dinosaur tracks were uncovered in 1989 at a quarry run by the Culpeper Stone Co.
 * Brandy Station, a community lying several miles north of town, is the site of a house whose interior walls bear numerous charcoal images, signatures, and comments left by both Union and Confederate soldiers. It's appropriately known as the "Graffiti House".
 * It is often misspelled Culpepper
 * There have been discussions about combining the town and the county; residents are divided.
 * Culpeper County was the area of land that student surveyor George Washington had been sent to survey by Lord Fairfax of the House of Burgesses.
 * Country singer/songwriter Taylor Swift has said that her favorite place in Virginia is Culpeper.
 * The Library of Congress's National Audio-Visual Conservation Center is located on Mt. Pony Road, 2 miles from the town center.
 * In 1967, it was the scene of a one day standoff between members of the American Nazi Party and police and military personnel over the attempt to bury American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell in the local National Cemetery.
 * The scene of the riding accident that paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve.
 * The only place during the entire Civil War where Gen. Stonewall Jackson ever attempted to unsheath (unsuccessfully) his sword.
 * The residents of Culpeper have been used as a focus group for reports on U.S. politics by the BBC's Newsnight program.
 * One of the two DNSSEC Root KSK facilities operated by ICANN is located in Culpeper. ICANN East Coast Facility

Public schools

 * A.G. Richardson Elementary (18370 Simms Dr., Culpeper Va. 22701)
 * Emerald Hill Elementary (11245 Rixeyville Road, Culpeper VA 22701)
 * Farmington Elementary (500 Sunset Lane Culpeper VA 22701)
 * Pearl Sample Elementary (18480 Simms Drive, Culpeper VA 22701)
 * Sycamore Park Elementary (451 Radio Lane, Culpeper, Virginia 22701)
 * Yowell Elementary (701 Yowell Drive, Culpeper, VA 22701)
 * Culpeper Middle School (14300 Achievement Drive, Culpeper VA 22701)
 * Floyd T. Binns Middle School (205 E. Grandview Ave. Culpeper, VA 22701)
 * Culpeper County High School (14240 Achievement Drive, Culpeper Va. 22701)
 * Eastern View High School (16332 Cyclone Way, Culpeper, VA 22701)

Link Culpeper County Public Schools * Culpeper County Public Schools