Giles County, Virginia

Giles County, Virginia
Giles County Courthouse in Pearisburg, Virginia
Seal
Location in the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1806
Named for	William Branch Giles
Seat	Pearisburg
Largest town	Pearisburg
Area
• Total	360 sq mi (932 km2)
• Land	356 sq mi (922 km2)
• Water	4.6 sq mi (12 km2), 1.3%
Population
• (2010)	17,286
• Density	47/sq mi (18/km²)
Congressional district	9th
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website	www.gilescounty.org

Giles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,286. Its county seat is Pearisburg.

Giles County is included in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Giles County is the location of Mountain Lake, one of only two natural fresh water lakes in Virginia. The Lake drains into Little Stony Creek, which passes over "The Cascades", a spectacular waterfall, before reaching the New River.

History

William Branch Giles, for whom the county was named

Giles County was established in 1806 from Montgomery, Monroe, Wythe, and Tazewell counties. The county is named for William Branch Giles who was born in Amelia County in 1762. Giles became a lawyer and from there was elected to the United States House of Representatives where he served from 1790 to 1815. He also served on the Virginia General Assembly from 1816 to 1822. In 1827, he was elected Governor. In all, he served his nation and state around a total of forty years.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 360 square miles (930 km²), of which 356 square miles (920 km²) is land and 4.6 square miles (12 km²) (1.3%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Summers County, West Virginia - north
• Monroe County, West Virginia - north
• Craig County - east
• Montgomery County - southeast
• Pulaski County - south
• Bland County - west
• Mercer County, West Virginia - northwest

National protected area

• Jefferson National Forest (part)

Major highways

• US 219 (US Highway 219 in Virginia)
• US 460 (US Highway 460 in Virginia)
• SR 42 (Virginia State Route 42)
• SR 100 (Virginia State Route 100)

Railroads

• Norfolk Southern (Virginia Division)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	3,745		—
1820	4,521		20.7%
1830	5,274		16.7%
1840	5,307		0.6%
1850	6,570		23.8%
1860	6,883		4.8%
1870	5,875		−14.6%
1880	8,794		49.7%
1890	9,090		3.4%
1900	10,793		18.7%
1910	11,623		7.7%
1920	11,901		2.4%
1930	12,804		7.6%
1940	14,635		14.3%
1950	18,956		29.5%
1960	17,219		−9.2%
1970	16,741		−2.8%
1980	17,810		6.4%
1990	16,366		−8.1%
2000	16,657		1.8%
2010	17,286		3.8%
Est. 2014	16,815		−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the census of 2010, there were 17,286 people, 7,215 households, and 4,899 families residing in the county. The population density was 48 people per square mile (18/km²). There were 8,319 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.74% White, 1.51% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.36% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,215 households out of which 29.27% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.46% were married couples living together, 10.49% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 27.86% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.56% 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 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 22.70% under the age of 18, 4.89% from 20 to 24, 23.85% from 25 to 44, 29.43% from 45 to 64, and 18.03% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 96.14 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.55 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,231, and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $41,521 versus $36,886 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,766. About 6.60% of families (2000 census) and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line(2012), including 17.70% of those under age 18 (2012)and 10.50% of those age 65 or over (2000 census).

Government

Board of Supervisors

At-Large District: Paul W. "Chappy" Baker (I)

At-Large District: Richard "Ricky" McCoy (I)

Central District: Barbara M. Hobbs (I)

Eastern District: Larry "Jay" Williams (I)

Western District: B. Scott Dunn (I)

Constitutional Officers

Clerk of the Circuit Court: C.L. "Bubbie" Fraley, III (I)

Commissioner of the Revenue: Lisa Corell (I)

Commonwealth's Attorney: Robert M. Lilly, Jr. (I)

Sheriff: W. Morgan Millirons (I)

Treasurer: Gerald W. Duncan (I)

Giles is represented by Democrat John S. Edwards in the Virginia Senate, Republican Joseph R. Yost in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican H. Morgan Griffith in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Communities

Towns

• Glen Lyn
• Narrows
• Pearisburg
• Pembroke
• Rich Creek

Unincorporated communities

Eggleston Goldbond Hoges Chapel Kimballton Maybrook

Newport Prospectdale Ripplemead Staffordsville White Gate

Education

Giles county is home to three public elementary/middle schools and two public high schools:

Eastern Elementary School (Pembroke)

Macy McClaugherty (Pearisburg)

Narrows Elementary/Middle (Narrows)

Narrows High School (Narrows)

Giles High School (Pearisburg)

The schools have a combined enrollment of 2425 as of mid 2014.

See also

• Giles County Sheriff's Office
• National Register of Historic Places in Giles County, Virginia

External links

• http://gilescounty.org/
• Giles County Web Portal