Culpeper (formerly Culpeper Courthouse, earlier Fairfax) is an
incorporated town in
Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,062 at the
2020 census,
up from 16,379 at the
2010 census. It is the
county seat of Culpeper County.
Geography
Culpeper is located at .
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.31 square miles (18.9 km), of which 7.27 square miles (18.8 km) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km) is water.
History
After establishing
Culpeper County, Virginia in 1748, the
Virginia House of Burgesses voted to establish the Town of Fairfax on February 22, 1759. The name honored
Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron
(1693–1781) who was proprietor of the
Northern Neck peninsula, a vast domain north of the
Rappahannock River; his territory was then defined as stretching from
Chesapeake Bay to what is now
Hampshire County,
West Virginia.
The original plan of the town called for ten blocks, which form the core of Culpeper's downtown area today. The original town was surveyed by a young
George Washington, who at age 17 was a protege of the 6th Lord Fairfax. In 1795, the town received a
U.S. Post Office under the name Culpeper Court House, although most maps continued to show the Fairfax name. The confusion resulting from the difference in official and postal names, coupled with the existence to the northeast of
Fairfax Court House and
Fairfax Station post offices in
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
, was finally resolved when the
Virginia General Assembly formally renamed the town as simply Culpeper in 1869 (Acts, 1869–1870, chapter 118, page 154).
During the
American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), the
Culpeper Minutemen, a pro-Independence
militia, formed in the town of Culpeper Courthouse. They organized in what was then known as "Clayton's Old Field," near today's Yowell Meadow Park.
During the
Civil War (1861-1865), Culpeper was a crossroads for a number of armies marching through central Virginia, with both
Union and
Confederate forces occupying the town by turn. In the heart of downtown, the childhood home of Confederate General
A.P. Hill stands at the corner of Main and Davis streets. One block north on Main Street (present location of Piedmont Realty) was the frame house where "The Gallant Major"
John Pelham died after sustaining a wound at the
Battle of Kelly's Ford.
In 1974, the town had a Choral Society, an Odd Fellows Hall, and an American Legion Hall.
Culpeper began to grow dramatically in the 1980s, becoming a "
bedroom community" of more densely populated
Northern Virginia and
Washington, D.C. suburbs. A growing number of residents of the town and county of Culpeper once lived and continue to work in those areas.
In 2011, East Davis Street in downtown Culpeper was named as a 2011 America's Great Place by the American Planning Association.
Downtown Culpeper was one of the communities most affected by the August 23,
2011 Virginia earthquake. Several buildings along Main Street and East Davis Street suffered structural damage, and some were later condemned. The earthquake led to the temporary evacuation of the
Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation
The National Audiovisual Conservation Center, also known as the Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation, is the Library of Congress's audiovisual archive located inside Mount Pony in Culpeper, Virginia.
Establishment
From 1969 to 1988, th ...
, which at the time was hosting a town hall event for
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and power ...
Mark Warner.
In 2014, the Museum of Culpeper History moved into the town's historic train depot.
Image:Culpeper Theater, Culpeper, VA IMG 4310.JPG, The downtown Culpeper Theater
Image:Culpeper, VA, Presbyterian Church IMG 4311.JPG, Culpeper Presbyterian Church
Image:Post office at Culpepper, VA IMG 4305.JPG, U.S. Post Office in Culpeper
File:Packard-campus-library-of-c.jpg, National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation in Culpeper
Demographics
As of the 2010 census, the racial makeup of the town was 61.5%
White, 21.9%
Black, 0.6%
Native American, 2.1%
Asian, 0.01%
Pacific Islander, and 4.0% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 17.0% of the population.
The town's population included 25.7% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was at a time $35,438, and the median income for a family was $41,894 but due to the economic downturn this has changed. Males had a median income of $28,658 versus $25,252 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $16,842. About 23.0% of families and 26.9% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 40.8% of those under age 18 and 22.1% of those age 65 or over.
Climate
Culpeper has a
humid subtropical climate (
Köppen ''Cfa''), with very warm, humid summers and cool winters. Precipitation is abundant and well spread (although the summer months are usually wetter), with an annual average of .
Transportation
Highways directly serving Culpeper include
U.S. Route 15 Business,
U.S. Route 29 Business,
U.S. Route 522,
Virginia State Route 3 and
Virginia State Route 229.
U.S. Route 15 and
U.S. Route 29 pass just southeast of the town limits. US 15 Bus, US 29 Bus and US 522 share the same alignment through downtown, following Main Street. US 29 extends southwest towards
Charlottesville and
Interstate 64 westbound, while US 15 provides connections southward towards
Orange and
Gordonsville. US 15 and US 29 are concurrent to the north, providing connections to
Warrenton and
Washington, D.C. US 522 connects southward to I-64 eastbound, and northward towards
Front Royal
Front Royal is the only incorporated town in Warren County, Virginia, United States. The population was 15,011 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Warren County.
History
The entire Shenandoah Valley including the area to become ...
,
Winchester and
Interstate 81. SR 3 extends eastward, connecting to
Fredericksburg and
Interstate 95. SR 229 provides a connection northward towards
Rixeyville and
U.S. Route 211
U.S. Route 211 (US 211) is a spur of US 11 in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known for most of its length as Lee Highway, the U.S. Highway runs from Interstate 81 (I-81) and Virginia State Route 211 (SR 211) in New Market east to US 15 Business, ...
.
Amtrak operates
a station in Culpeper, station code CLP. This station is served by the ''
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...
'', ''
Northeast Regional'' and ''
Crescent'' trains daily. Nearly 9,000 train passengers in 2010 used Culpeper station, which connects to New Orleans, Chicago, New York and Boston via the Crescent, Cardinal, and Northeast Regional lines.
The town of Culpeper is also serviced b
Virginia Regional Transit Virginia Regional Transit operates three buses in town—one on a northern loop, one on a southern loop, and one for disabled individuals.
Academy Bus offers a commuter bus from Culpeper to
Washington, D.C.
Culpeper Regional Airport serves the area with a 5,000 foot runway.
Public schools
* A.G. Richardson Elementary (18370 Simms Dr., Culpeper Va. 22701)
* Emerald Hill Elementary (11245 Rixeyville Road, Culpeper VA 22701)
* Farmington Elementary (500 Sunset Lane, Culpeper VA 22701)
* Pearl Sample Elementary (18480 Simms Drive, Culpeper VA 22701)
* Sycamore Park Elementary (451 Radio Lane, Culpeper, Virginia 22701)
* Yowell Elementary (701 Yowell Drive, Culpeper, VA 22701)
* Culpeper Middle School (14300 Achievement Drive, Culpeper VA 22701)
* Floyd T. Binns Middle School (205 E. Grandview Ave. Culpeper, VA 22701)
* Culpeper County High School (14240 Achievement Drive, Culpeper Va. 22701)
* Eastern View High School (16332 Cyclone Way, Culpeper, VA 22701)
Notable people
*
Nell Arthur, 21st
First Lady of the United States
*
Kenny Alphin, of the
country music group
Big & Rich
*
John S. Barbour, Jr.,
U.S. congressman (1881–1887) and
U.S. senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and power ...
(1889-1892)
*
Robert Young Button
Robert Young Button (November 2, 1899 – September 1, 1977) served two terms as Attorney General of Virginia, as well as a fifteen years as Virginia State Senator. Button rose through the ranks of the Byrd Organization and became one of its lead ...
,
Attorney General of Virginia (1962-1970) and
Virginia State Senator (1945-1961)
*
Cary Travers Grayson, highly decorated U.S. Navy surgeon, onetime chairman of the
American Red Cross, and personal aide to U.S. President
Woodrow Wilson
*
A. P. Hill, Confederate general during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, commander of "Hill's Light Division," under
Stonewall Jackson
*
John Preston "Pete" Hill,
Negro league baseball player and member of the
Baseball Hall of Fame, born in nearby Buena, Virginia
*
John Jameson, Colonel in the
American Revolutionary War
*
Ann Jarvis, for whom
Mother's Day was established by her daughter
Anna Jarvis
Anna Maria Jarvis (May 1, 1864 – November 24, 1948) was the founder of Mother's Day in the United States. Her mother had frequently expressed a desire for the establishment of such a holiday, and after her mother's death, Jarvis led the moveme ...
*
Keith Jennings, former
NBA point guard,
Golden State Warriors
*
William Morgan, whose 1826 disappearance in New York state sparked a powerful anti-
Freemasonry movement
*
Waller T. Patton, Confederate colonel during the American Civil War, great-uncle of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
General
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
*
John Pendleton, American diplomat
*
Eppa Rixey,
major league pitcher and member of the
Baseball Hall of Fame
*
D. French Slaughter, Jr., former U.S. Congressman
*
Jeannette Walls, author of ''
The Glass Castle''
*
J. Loren Wince, lead singer/songwriter for the band
Hurt
Notable events
* Culpeper was the location of the main encampment for the
Army of the Potomac during the winter of 1863-64 during the Civil War. It was from Culpeper that General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
began the
Overland Campaign against General
Robert E. Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia.
* During the presidential election campaign of 1960, vice presidential nominee
Lyndon B. Johnson began his
whistle-stop campaign of the South by giving a speech at Culpeper. As the train was pulling away from the station, Johnson yelled out a phrase that would become a battle cry of the campaign: "What did
Dick Nixon ever do for Culpeper?!"
* In 1967, it was the site of a one-day standoff between members of the
American Nazi Party and police and military personnel over the group's attempt to bury their leader
George Lincoln Rockwell in the local
National Cemetery.
* In 1995, former "Superman" actor
Christopher Reeve lost his balance during a horse competition and became paralyzed.
* Culpeper was featured in the nineteenth episode of the Small Town News Podcast, an improv comedy podcast that takes listeners on a fun and silly virtual trip to a small town in America each week, in which the hosts improvise scenes inspired by local newspaper stories.
References
External links
Town of Culpeper official websiteVisitor InformationCulpeper Regional Hospital
Culpeper Chamber of CommerceCulpeper County Public Schools
{{authority control
Towns in Culpeper County, Virginia
Micropolitan areas of Virginia
Towns in Virginia
County seats in Virginia
Populated places established in 1759
1759 establishments in Virginia