Wytheville, Virginia

Wytheville is a town in Wythe County, Virginia, United States. The population was 7,804 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wythe CountyTemplate:GR. The town is home to a Chautauqua Festival, held the third weekend in June every year since 1985. The Festival features stage magic, arts and crafts, hot air ballooning, dance, music and children's activities. The Festival is held at Elisabeth Brown Memorial Park and is cosponsored by the county, town and the Wythe Arts Council .

Geography

Location of Wytheville, Virginia

Wytheville is located at 36°56′52″N 81°5′13″W (36.947679, -81.086955)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 37.0 km² (14.3 mi²). 37.0 km² (14.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.14%) is water.

Wytheville is an important point on both I-77 and I-81 and lies amidst a Wrong-Way Concurrency of I-77 and I-81. It is located about halfway between Bristol, TN or Bristol, VA and Roanoke, VA. On the I-77 corridor, it is located about halfway between Charleston, WV and Charlotte, NC. The nearby community of Fort Chiswell is the control city for the northbound traffic on I-77 coming from Charlotte, Statesville, Elkin, and Mount Airy. In the near future, Interstate 74 will go through Wytheville in addition to the two other interstates.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 7,804 people, 3,504 households, and 2,112 families residing in the town. The population density was 211.2/km² (546.8/mi²). There were 3,776 housing units at an average density of 102.2/km² (264.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 90.76% White, 7.19% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.

There were 3,504 households out of which 22.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.7% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.72.

The age distribution is 19.3% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 78.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,043, and the median income for a family was $41,513. Males had a median income of $28,160 versus $21,282 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,223. About 10.0% of families and 14.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Reference

• Fussell, Fred C. (2003). Blue Ridge Music Trails: Finding a Place in the Circle. North Carolina Folklife Institute. 080785459X.