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'Charlottesville' is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Princess Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the wife of King George III of England.
As of the 2005 census update, the city proper had a population of 40,437. It is the county seat of Albemarle County though the two are separate legal entities. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Charlottesville with Albemarle County for statistical purposes, bringing the total population to 118,398. The city is part of the Charlottesville, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2004, Charlottesville was ranked the best place to live in the United States in the book ''Cities Ranked and Rated'' by Bert Sperling and Peter Sander. Sperling and Sander ranked the cities based on cost of living, climate, and quality of life. Charlottesville is best known as the home of the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson. The city is also known for Jefferson's Monticello, his renowned mountain-top home which attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year.
The city is served by Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, Greyhound, and by Amtrak.

Contents

Geography and history

Attractions & culture

Notable people of Charlottesville

Sports

Media

Rail transportation

Demographics

Education

Sister cities

References

External links

Geography and history

Charlottesville is located in the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia along the Rivanna River, a tributary of the James, just west of the Southwest Mountains which parallel the Blue Ridge about 20 miles to the West. It was formed by charter in 1762 along a trade route called ''Three Notched Road'' (present day US 250) which led from Richmond to the Great Valley. It was named for Queen Charlotte the consort of King George the Third. Other major highways through Charlottesville are US 29, from Washington, D.C. to Danville, Virginia, and I-64, which parallels US 250 in the vicinity of Charlottesville.
During the American Revolutionary War the Convention Army was imprisoned in Charlottesville between 1779 and 1781 ^[1] at the Albemarle Barracks. On June 4, 1781, Jack Jouett warned the Virginia Legislature meeting at Monticello of an intended raid by Banastre Tarleton, allowing a narrow escape.
Unlike most of Virginia, Charlottesville was spared the brunt of the American Civil War. The only battle to take place in Charlottesville was the Skirmish at Rio Hill, in which George Armstrong Custer was repulsed by local Confederate militia.
The first Black church in Charlottesville was established in 1864. Previously, it was illegal for African-Americans to have their own churches, though they could worship in white churches. A current predominately African-American church can trace its lineage to that first church. ^[2]
Charlottesville is the home of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory headquarters, the Leander McCormick Observatory and the CFA Institute. It is served by two area hospitals, the Martha Jefferson Hospital founded in 1903, and the UVA Hospital.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.6 km² (10.3 mi²), all land.^[3]

Attractions & culture

Charlottesville has a large series of attractions for its relatively small size. Sometimes referred to as the "city of the three presidents," the Charlottesville area was the home of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. Monticello, Jefferson's plantation manor, is located just a few miles from downtown. The home of James Monroe, Ash Lawn-Highland, is down the road from Monticello. About 25 miles northeast of Charlottesville lies the home of James and Dolley Madison, Montpelier. During the summer, Ash-Lawn Highland also serves as the home of the renowned Ash-Lawn Opera Festival.
The nearby Shenandoah National Park offers great recreational activities and beautiful scenery. It is famous for its rolling mountains and many hiking trails. Skyline Drive is a well-known scenic drive that runs the length of the park, alternately winding through thick forest and emerging upon sweeping scenic overlooks.
Charlottesville's bustling downtown is the center of business for Albemarle County. It is home to the Downtown Mall, one of the longest outdoor pedestrian malls in the nation, with many stores, restaurants, and civic attractions. The newly renovated Paramount Theater hosts various events, including Broadway shows and concerts. Local theatrics are highlighted by Charlottesville's professional level community theatre Live Arts. Also on the mall is the Virginia Discovery Museum, and a newly built 3500 seat outdoor amphitheater known as the Charlottesville Pavilion.
Court Square, just a few blocks from the Downtown Mall, is the original center of Charlottesville and several of the historic buildings there date back to the city's founding in 1762.
Charlottesville is also home to the University of Virginia. During the academic year, more than 20,000 students pour into Charlottesville to attend the university. UVA's main grounds are located west of the downtown area along University Avenue, an extension of West Main Street, forming a district known as The Corner. This area is full of college bars, eateries, and UVA merchandise stores, and is busy with student activity during the school year. Thomas Jefferson's academical village, known as The Lawn, is the center of the grounds. The Academical Village is composed of a long esplanade crowned by two prominent structures, The Rotunda (designed by Thomas Jefferson) and Old Cabell Hall (designed by Stanford White). Along the long sides of The Lawn are dorms reserved for distinguished students. The University Programs Council is the university's student-run programming body that often provides concerts, comedy shows, speakers and other events open to the students of UVa and the community.
Charlottesville is host to the annual Virginia Film Festival, in October, and the Virginia Festival of the Book, in March. In addition, the Foxfield Races are a steeplechase race held in April and October of each year. A Fourth of July celebration, including a Naturalization Ceremony, is held annually at Monticello, and a First Night celebration has been held on the Downtown Mall since 1982.
Common to many college towns, Charlottlesville has a significant liberal community that coexists with the university students in creating an art scene, music scene and intellectual environment. The city is home to numerous music venues, bars, and coffee shops that cater to the various populations.

Notable people of Charlottesville

★ Thomas Jefferson - The third President of the United States (1801–1809), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Father.

★ Meriwether Lewis - American explorer, soldier, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Corps of Discovery, whose mission was to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase.

★ S. S. Van Dine - A U.S. art critic and author.

★ Edgar Allan Poe - Lived in the city while attending the University of Virginia.

★ Nicholas Philip Trist - Author of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican War

★ John Mosby - Also known as the "Gray Ghost," was a Confederate partisan Ranger (a partisan is similar to a guerrilla fighter) in the American Civil War.

★ William Faulkner - Writer in residence at the University of Virginia, to which he bequeathed all of his original manuscripts.

★ William McGuffey - Lived in Charlottesville while serving as a professor at the University and was buried nearby upon death.

★ Anna Anderson - A woman claiming to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, lived out her final years in Charlottesville.

★ John Grisham - Novelist lives just outside of Charlottesville.

★ Dave Matthews - Bartender in a Charlottesville bar called Miller's when he formed the rock band Dave Matthews Band, and now divides his time between homes in Seattle and the Charlottesville area.

★ Boyd Tinsley - Violinist and one of the backup singers for the rock band Dave Matthews Band.

★ Carter Beauford - Percussionist (drummer) and founding member of the rock band Dave Matthews Band.

★ LeRoi Moore - Saxophonist for the rock band Dave Matthews Band.

★ Coran Capshaw - Manager for the rock band Dave Matthews Band (among others) and a real estate mogul responsible for significant development in the city.

★ Kathleen Clifford - Silent film, vaudeville and Broadway stage actress was born in Charlottesville.

★ Sissy Spacek - famous for her portrayal of tormented high schooler Carrie, lives just outside of Charlottesville, in Albemarle County.

★ Howie Long - TV sports personality and former defensive end for the Oakland Raiders, also lives in Charlottesville year-round.

★ John W. Kluge - Multi-billionaire and philanthropist, lives outside Charlottesville.

★ Noteable homeoweners - Actors Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard have maintained homes in the area.

★ Other music notables are - Bella Morte and Stephen Malkmus of rock band Pavement, David Berman of rock band Silver Jews lived for a time in and formed their respective bands while residing in the city. James McNew, currently a member of Yo La Tengo, is from Charlottesville and went to Albemarle High School. Other bands from Charlottesville include Rude Buddha, the Landlords, Happy Flowers, Skip Castro, and the Michael Guthrie Band.

Sports

Charlottesville has no professional sports teams, but is home to the Virginia Cavaliers, who have a wide fan base throughout the region. The Cavaliers field teams in sports from soccer to basketball, and have modern facilities that draw spectators throughout the year. Cavalier football season draws the largest crowds during the academic year, with football games played in Scott Stadium, which on occasion, hosts large concerts by artists such as the Dave Matthews Band and The Rolling Stones.
John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in 2006, is the home arena of the Virginia Cavaliers basketball teams, in addition to serving as a site for concerts and other events. The arena is one of the largest basketball venues in the Atlantic Coast Conference, being the biggest not located in a major metropolitan area. In its first season in the new arena concluded in March 2007, the Virginia men's basketball team tied with UNC for 1st in the ACC.
Both men's and women's lacrosse have become a significant part of the Charlottesville sports scene. The Virginia Men's team won their first NCAA Championship in 1972; in 2006, they won their fourth National Championship and became the first NCAA Men's lacrosse team to become undefeated Champions. Virginia's Women's team has three NCAA Championships to its credit, with wins in 1991, 1993, and 2004. The soccer program is also strong; the Men's team shared a national title with Santa Clara in 1989 and won an unprecedented four consecutive NCAA Division I Championships (1991-1994). Their coach during that period was Bruce Arena, who later won two MLS titles at D.C. United and coached the U.S. National Team during the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
Charlottesville area high school sports have been prominent throughout the state. Charlottesville is a hotbed for lacrosse in the country, with teams such as St. Anne's-Belfield School and The Covenant School. St. Anne's-Belfield School won their fourth state championship in ten years in football in 2006.

Media

Charlottesville has a main daily newspaper: ''The Daily Progress''. Weekly publications include ''C-Ville Weekly'' and ''The Hook'', along with the monthly magazines ''Blue Ridge Outdoors'' and ''Albemarle Magazine''. A daily newspaper, ''The Cavalier Daily'', is also published by an independent student group at UVa, as well as a monthly aromatheraphy/holistic paper called ''Echo''. Charlottesville is served by most of the major national networks: WVIR 29 (NBC), WHTJ 41 (PBS), WCAV 19 (CBS), WAHU 27 (FOX), and WVAW 16 (ABC). News radio in Charlottesville can be heard on RadioIQ 89.7, WINA 1070, WCHV 1260, and WVAX 1450. There are also several community radio stations operated out of Charlottesville, including WNRN and WTJU. Additionally, there are three blogs: cvillenews.com by Waldo Jaquith, theHook.net by the Hook weekly and cVillain.com by the community members.

Rail transportation

Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to Charlottesville with two routes: The Cardinal (operating NYC to Chicago via Washington DC through Virginia and West Virginia) and the Crescent (operating NYC to New Orleans via Washington DC and Atlanta). The Cardinal operates three times a week and the Crescent daily in both directions.
Charlottesville was once a major rail hub, at one time being served by multiple trains daily by both the C&O and Southern Railway Lines. The first train service to Charlottesville was by the Louisa Railroad Company, which later became the Central Virginia Railroad before becoming the Chesapeake and Ohio, and now referred to as the C&O. The Southern Railway started service to Charlottesville around the mid 1860s with a north-south route crossing the C&O east-west tracks. The new depot which sprang up at the crossing of the two tracks was called Union Station. In addition to this new rail line by Southern, they also located a major repair shop which produced competition between the two rail companies and bolstered the local economy. The Queen Charlotte hotel went up on West Main street along with multiple restaurants for the many new railroad workers.
The former C&O station on East Water Street was turned into offices in the mid 1990s. Union Station, still a functional depot for Amtrak, is located on West Main street between 7th & 9th streets where the tracks of the former C&O Railway (now CSX) and Southern (now Norfolk Southern Railway) lines cross. Amtrak and the city of Charlottesville finished refurbishing the station just after the year 2000, upgrading the depot and adding a full service restaurant. Norfolk Southern has two north/south tracks crossing one CSX east/west track which follows U.S. Route 250 West. The CSX line rejoins the Norfolk Southern line near Orange, Virginia.
Amtrak Train 51, the westbound Cardinal, is scheduled to depart Charlottesville at 1:55pm on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday with service to Staunton, Clifton Forge, White Sulphur Springs, Alderson, Hinton, Prince, Thurmond, Montgomery, Charleston, Huntington, Ashland, South Portsmouth, Maysville, Cincinnati, Connersville, Indianapolis, Crawfordsville, Lafayette, Rensselaer, Dyer, and Chicago. Amtrak Train 50, the eastbound Cardinal, is scheduled to depart Charlottesville at 2:47pm on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday with service to Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria, and Washington, DC, before continuing on to New York City.
The Crescent (Trains 19/20), formerly the Southern Crescent, runs from New Orleans, LA to New York Penn Station through Charlottesville. The train at one time was a dual route splitting at Charlottesville with the Cardinal going west while the Crescent headed south. The two trains now operate at different times. The Southern Crescent started in 1891 under the Richmond and Danville Railroad, and then by Southern Railway, and finally was joined with Amtrak in 1979. The Southern Crescent had a wonderful dining car with linen tablecloths, a real kitchen and excellent fried chicken. When the Crescent was converted to Amtrak, the chef of the dining car observed that they would have to "learn to talk like a Yankee and run a microwave oven."
Amtrak Train 19, the southbound Crescent, is scheduled to depart Charlottesville at 8:52pm daily with service to Lynchburg, Danville, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury, Charlotte, Gastonia, Spartanburg, Greenville, Clemson, Toccoa, Gainesville, Atlanta, Anniston, Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridian, Laurel, Hattiesburg, Picayune, Slidell, and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 20, the northbound Crescent, is scheduled to depart Charlottesville at 7:20am daily with service to Culpeper, Manassas, Alexandria, and Washington, DC, before continuing on to New York City.
Currently, there is talk of extending Virginia Railway Express, the commuter rail line connecting Northern Virginia to Washington, DC, to Charlottesville at least twice a day. [1]

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 40,099 people, 16,851 households, and 7,633 families residing in the city. The metropolitan area population is 185,000. The population density was 1,695.3/km² (4,389.7/mi²). There were 17,591 housing units at an average density of 662.0/km² (1,714.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.56% White, 22.22% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 4.93% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 2.13% from two or more races. 2.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.^[4]
There were 16,851 households out of which 20.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.2% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 54.7% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.85.
The age distribution, strongly influenced by the University of Virginia, is: 15.2% under the age of 18, 33.8% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,007, and the median income for a family was $45,110. Males had a median income of $31,197 versus $26,458 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,973. About 12.0% of families and 25.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Charlottesville is served by the Charlottesville City Public Schools. The school system operates six elementary schools, Buford Middle School, and Charlottesville High School. The area is also home to several private schools, including Miller School, the Tandem Friends School, The Covenant School, St. Anne's-Belfield School and Charlottesville Catholic School.

Sister cities

Charlottesville has four sister cities:^[5]

★ Besançon, France

★ Pleven, Bulgaria

★ Poggio a Caiano, Italy

★ Long Beach, Washington

References

1. John Hammond Moore, ''Albemarle: Jefferson's County, 1727 - 1976'', Charlottesville,VA: Albemarle County Historical Society & U Press of Virginia, 1976.
2. http://www.mtziofabc.com/history.html
3. Data of the United States Census Bureau
4. "DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000." ''U.S. Census Bureau.'' 2000. Retrieved on June 2, 2006.
5. Sister Cities designated by Sister Cities International, Inc.. Retrieved on June 2, 2006.

External links

★ Official City Government website

★ Charlottesville, A Brief Urban History