Everything about Petersburg Virginia totally explained
Petersburg is an
independent city in
Virginia,
United States located on the
Appomattox River. The population was 33,740 at the
2000 census. It is in
Tri-Cities area of the
Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The
Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Petersburg (along with
Colonial Heights) with neighboring
Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes.
History
Founding and early history
At the time the English arrived in Virginia in the early 1600s, the site was occupied by a significant
Powhatan settlement, shown on
Captain John Smith's map as
Appamatuck. It was the seat of a sub-tribe of
Native Americans of the same name, and governed by a "queen" who was affiliated with
Chief Powhatan and the
Powhatan Confederacy.
Petersburg grew from the former Fort Henry, established by the English on the south bank of the Appomattox River in
1645. The city developed rapidly. The
Virginia General Assembly formally organized it in
1748. The
Battle of Petersburg in
1781 was a part of the British attempt to regain control of Virginia.
The Port of Petersburg became renowned as a commercial center for transporting and processing
cotton,
tobacco and metal, produced and shipped from the region. As travel technology developed, Petersburg became established as a
railroad center, with links completed to Richmond to the north, Farmville and Lynchburg to the west, and
Weldon, North Carolina to the south. The last major line was to the east, when the
Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was completed in 1858.
Paved streets began to appear in
1813, soon followed by a canal bypassing the Appomattox Falls. Railroad lines linking the city to all points of the compass came next, gaslights were introduced in 1851, and a new municipal water system was installed by 1857. All these civic improvements helped attract and hold a substantial business community, based on manufacture of tobacco products, but also including cotton and flour mills and banking.
Civil war
Petersburg's 1860 population was 18,266, half of whom were black. Nearly one-third of them were free blacks. Petersburg had the highest percentage of free African American men and women in the slave-holding states of the Confederacy and the Union. Ninety percent of the white half were native Virginians. Their devotion to the cause during the
War of 1812 inspired the nickname "Cockade City" in honor of the rosette they wore on their caps.
When the
Civil War started in 1861, Petersburg's men again responded. They provided the South several infantry companies and artillery units, as well as three troops of cavalry. In 1864, Petersburg was a significant target during the
Overland Campaign of
Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Because of its railroads, Petersburg was the lifeline to
Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy.
After the
Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant stayed east of Richmond and headed south to Petersburg. Grant decided to cut off the rail lines into Petersburg, and thus Richmond's supplies. On
June 9, troops under
William F. "Baldy" Smith, of the
18th Corps, attacked the
Dimmock Line, a set of defensive
breastworks originally constructed in 1861 and 1862 to protect Petersburg against the
Army of the Potomac under General
George McClellan during the
Peninsula Campaign.
in early April 1865
The Confederate troops numbered around 2,000. The lines could have easily been taken, but with the memory of Cold Harbor still fresh, Generals Smith and
Hancock were reluctant to attack a fortified line. Confederate General
P.G.T. Beauregard alerted Lee that he was facing the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg. Lee later arrived, and the 292-day
Siege of Petersburg began.
On the Eastern Front, the trench lines were very close together. One soldier in the 48th Pennsylvania, a coal miner in civilian life, remarked aloud, "We could blow that battery into oblivion if we could dig a mine underneath it." Colonel
Henry Pleasants, division commander, took this idea seriously and moved it up the chain of command. The plan was given the go ahead. On
July 30, the mine was exploded. Due to poor Union leadership and the timely arrival of Confederate General
William Mahone, the Union lost the
Battle of the Crater. They suffered more than 4,000 casualties. This famous battle was portrayed in the motion picture
Cold Mountain.
In early April 1865, the Siege of Petersburg ended. It preceded Robert E. Lee's surrender and the end of the war. Confederate General
Ambrose P. (A.P.) Hill died on the last day the Confederates occupied the Petersburg trenches. The use of an extended network of fortified entrenchments around Petersburg established a warfare precedent. Trenches would be used extensively in
Europe during
World War I (qv.
Trench warfare).
Postbellum history
The city was ringed with a series of fortifications during the years of "
Reconstruction" following the war. Many of these have been preserved in Pamplin Park.
In 1874 during Reconstruction, James M. Wilkerson, Sr. founded a business named the Wilkerson Undertaking Company. It continues to operate as the James M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc.
(External Link
) and is one of the oldest black-owned firms in the United States. Central State (psychiatric) Hospital and
Fort Lee, housing the U.S. Army
Quartermaster Corps Center and School, are also located nearby.
The Petersburg area is home to
Virginia State University, founded in 1882 (in Ettrick). It was one of the first fully state-supported four-year institutions of higher learning for
African Americans. In 1888
John Mercer Langston became the first African American to be elected to the United States Congress from Virginia.
Following school integration in the 1960s, many white families moved to suburban
Colonial Heights, Virginia.
As of 2007, Petersburg is an evolving small city. The former downtown area, once vibrant near the north end of Sycamore Street, had declined into desolation by the late 20th century because suburban development drew off retail. Structural changes caused loss of local jobs.
Like some other old, East Coast small downtowns, lately Petersburg has been having a rebirth. Many restaurants, specialty shops, and up-scale apartments and condos have been developed, with more underway.
Southern Living magazine recently featured this area, as did
HGTV's "What You Get For The Money". The area has also become a booming arts center. It has both an area Arts League as well as a Performing Arts Center and restaurant, the Sycamore Rouge. The city celebrates a "Friday of the Arts" on the second Friday of each month, in which many locations feature local artwork and live music.
Wellotson Holdings, LLC, an investment firm based in Petersburg, has purchased many buildings in the area. It has renovated several into stores, restaurants, and a large antique mall, called The Oak Antique Mall. Wellotson Holdings is renovating other buildings in Old Towne for both housing and commercial development.
Location
Located along the
eastern seaboard, approximately halfway between
New York and
Florida, Petersburg is at the juncture of Interstates 95 and 85, just 23 miles south of Virginia's state capital,
Richmond. The city is one of 13 jurisdictions that comprise the
Richmond-Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Petersburg is a part of the
Tri-cities, Virginia regional economy known as the "Appomattox Basin" that includes the counties of Dinwiddie and Prince George, the southern part of Chesterfield County, and the cities of Hopewell and Colonial Heights.
Industry and revitalization
Petersburg has a long history as an industrial center for Virginia. Though tobacco giant
Brown & Williamson left the town, firms like
Remmie Arnold Pen Co.,
Seward Trunk Co. and
Titmus Optical are well known brand names associated with the town.
Since the departure of Brown & Williamson,Petersburg has invested heavily in
historic preservation of architecture, as the city has a large inventory of 18th, 19th and 20th century structures in its historic neighborhoods. Groups like
Historic Petersburg Foundation and
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities have worked to restore many of the city's buildings.
Geography
Petersburg is located at (37.21295, -77.400417).
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.2
square miles (60.1
km²), of which, 22.9 square miles (59.3 km²) of it's land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (1.29%) is water.
Petersburg is located on the
Appomattox River at the
fall line, which marks the area where an upland region (continental
bedrock) and a
coastal plain (coastal
alluvia) meet. The fall line is typically prominent where a river crosses its rocky boundary as there are rapids or waterfalls. River boats couldn't travel any farther inland, making the location the
head of navigation. The need of a port and abundant supply of water power causes settlements to develop where a river crosses the fall line.
The most prominent example of fall line settlement was the establishment of the cities along the eastern coast of the
United States where the
Appalachian Rise and the coastal plains meet.
Adjacent counties / Independent city
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 33,740 people, 13,799 households, and 8,513 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,474.6 people per square mile (569.4/km²). There were 15,955 housing units at an average density of 697.3/sq mi (269.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 18.52%
White, 78.97%
African American, 0.20%
Native American, 0.70%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.59% from
other races, and 1.00% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.
In 2005 Petersburg's population was 18.4% non-Hispanic whites. African-Americans were a slightly smaller percentage of the city's total population, now only numbering 78.6% of the total. 0.9% of the population was Asian and 2.1% were Latino.
There were 13,799 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were
married couples living together, 26.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city, the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,851, and the median income for a family was $33,955. Males had a median income of $27,859 versus $21,882 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,989. About 16.7% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.
Famous residents of Petersburg
Actor Joseph Cotten was born and raised in Petersburg.
Former First Lady, Nancy Davis Reagan lived in the city with her stepfather and mother, Dr. Eugene and Mrs. Davis, until age 13.
United States Army General, diplomat, and presidential candidate Winfield Scott was born nearby in Dinwiddie County and spent much time in and around Petersburg in his youth.
Victoria Gray Adams, the first black woman to run for the U. S. Senate from the state of Mississippi as well co-chairwoman with Fannie Lou Hamer found the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party in 1964 lived in Petersburg towards the end of her life.
NBA great Moses Malone was born in Petersburg.
NBA player Mark West was born in Petersburg.
Ricky Smith, general manager of the Houston Texans football team was born in Petersburg.
NFL Defensive Player Ricky Hunley was born in Petersburg.
Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first President of Liberia lived for a time in Petersburg.
Civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Vernon Johns.
Actor Afemo Omilami (Forrest Gump, Glory) was born and raised in Petersburg.
Actor Stoney Jackson was born and raised in Petersburg.
Rev. Dr. Wyatt T. Walker civil rights activist (a confidant and deputy to Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.) and Pastor of the Historic Gillfield Baptist Church of Petersburg (as well as Senior Pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Harlem.
Actor Tico Wells of the Cosby Show and "Five Heart Beats" (choir boy) was born in Petersburg
Actor Blair Underwood was raised in Petersburg.
Punk Rocker Dee Dee Ramone was born at Ft. Lee Army base in Petersburg.
R&B singer Trey Songz was born in Petersburg.
R&B singer Tyra Bolling was born in Petersburg.
Keith A. Ridley,IV founder of the Ridley Funeral Estab.Inc(DC) 1993EBONY MAGAZINE bachelor was born in Petersburg
19th century railroad builder, Confederate General (hero of the Battle of the Crater), and politician William Mahone was once the mayor of Petersburg, where he and his wife Otelia Butler Mahone made their home for many years. One of their prior homes is now part of the Petersburg Public Library, and he's credited with arranging substantial state funding to found the institution which became Virginia State University.
Founder of Product World USA Carl J. Goodwyn was born in Petersburg.
Co-Founder of Product World USA Robert Crenshaw was born in Petersburg.Further Information
Get more info on 'Petersburg Virginia'.
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