Wakefield, Virginia

For the census-designated place in Fairfax County, see Wakefield, Fairfax County, Virginia.

Wakefield, Virginia
Town
Main Street in Wakefield (photographed by Taber Andrew Bain) Main Street in Wakefield (photographed by Taber Andrew Bain)
Location of Wakefield, Virginia Location of Wakefield, Virginia
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Sussex
Area
• Total	1.3 sq mi (3.3 km2)
• Land	1.2 sq mi (3.2 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	98 ft (30 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	927
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	23888
Area code(s)	757
FIPS code	51-82384
GNIS feature ID	1496365

Wakefield is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 927 at the 2010 census.

Wakefield is widely known for the Virginia Diner, the Airfield Conference and 4-H Educational Center and the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office for Eastern Virginia, which issues weather alerts for the region.

Wakefield also hosts the Virginia Shad Planking.

Geography

Wakefield is located at (36.970219, -76.988461).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (3.10%) is water.

History

Wakefield, one of several stops along the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad in pre-civil war Virginia, is thought to have been named by William Mahone(1826-1895), then president of the N&P, and his wife Otelia Butler Mahone as they traveled the newly completed railroad in 1858. According to local lore, the name came from the Sir Walter Scott novel Ivanhoe, which Mrs. Mahone was reading at the time. The towns of Windsor and Waverly are said to have received their names the same way.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1910	570		—
1920	784		37.5%
1930	881		12.4%
1940	687		−22.0%
1950	949		38.1%
1960	1,015		7.0%
1970	942		−7.2%
1980	1,355		43.8%
1990	1,070		−21.0%
2000	1,038		−3.0%
2010	927		−10.7%
Est. 2014	886		−4.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,038 people, 423 households, and 285 families residing in the town. The population density was 833.2 people per square mile (320.6/km²). There were 485 housing units at an average density of 389.3 per square mile (149.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 47.50% White, 51.25% African American, 0.19% Native American, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.39% of the population.

There were 423 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,500, and the median income for a family was $34,539. Males had a median income of $26,429 versus $21,595 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,290. About 9.9% of families and 13.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.1% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.