Pittsylvania County, Virginia

Pittsylvania County is a located in the  &mdash; officially, "" &mdash; of. As of the, the population was 61,745. Its is. Pittsylvania County and the independent city of are combined in the Danville, Virginia.

History
Originally "Pittsylvania" was a name suggested for an unrealized British colony located primarily in what is now. Pittsylvania County would not have been within this proposed colony, subsequently known as.

The county was formed in from. It was named for, who served as from 1766 to 1768 and opposed harsh colonial policies.

In the western part of Pittsylvania County became.

Maud Clement's History of Pittsylvania County notes the following: ”Despite the settlers’ intentions, towns failed to develop for two reasons: the generally low level of economic activity in the area and the competition from plantation settlements already providing the kind of marketing and purchasing services typically offered by a town. Plantation settlements along the rivers, particularly at ferrying points, became commercial centers. The most important for early Pittsylvania was that of Sam Pannill, a Scots-Irishman, who at the end of the eighteenth century, while still a young man, set up a plantation town at Green Hill on the north side of the Stuanton River in Campbell. (Clement 15)”

“Until the opening of the Dismal Swamp Canal in 1817-19, Pittsylvania was geographically cut off from access to the coast and thus had grown very slowly. Its economy was tobacco-dominated and reliant on a growing slave labor force. It was a county without towns or a commercial center. Plantation villages on the major River thoroughfares were the only centers of trade, until the Danville emergence.(Clement 23)”

The city of Danville’s history up through the antebellum period overall is an expression of the relationship between the town and the planters who influenced its development.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,533 (978 ), making it the largest county in Virginia. 2,514 km² (971 mi²) of it is land and 19 km² (7 mi²) of it (0.76%) is water.

Districts
The county is divided into seven districts: Banister, Callands-Gretna, Chatham-Blairs, Dan River, Staunton River, Tunstall, and Westover.

Adjacent Counties and Cities

 * - northwest
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - southeast
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west/southwest
 * - west/northwest

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 61,745 people, 24,684 households, and 18,216 families residing in the county. The was 25/km² (64/mi²). There were 28,011 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (29/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 75.00%, 23.66% or , 0.14% , 0.19% , 0.37% from , and 0.63% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 24,684 households out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.30% were living together, 11.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the county, the population was spread out with 23.00% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 26.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,153, and the median income for a family was $41,175. Males had a median income of $30,105 versus $21,382 for females. The for the county was $16,991. About 8.60% of families and 11.80% of the population were below the, including 14.80% of those under age 18 and 16.60% of those age 65 or over.

Towns


Although is within the boundaries of Pittsylvania County, it is not a part of the county. Since it is incorporated as a city, it is an under Virginia law.