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Greensville County is a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
located in the
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,391. Its
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
is Emporia.


History

Greensville County was established in 1781 from Brunswick County. The county is probably named for Sir
Richard Grenville Sir Richard Grenville (15 June 1542 – 10 September 1591), also spelt Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville was lord of the manors of Stowe, Cornwall and Bideford, Devon. He subsequently ...
, leader of the settlement on
Roanoke Island Roanoke Island () is an island in Dare County, bordered by the Outer Banks of North Carolina, United States. It was named after the historical Roanoke, a Carolina Algonquian people who inhabited the area in the 16th century at the time of Engl ...
, 1585. There is also belief that it may be named after
Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...
, a major general of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
and one of
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
's brightest officers. An early chapter of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.& ...
was formed in Greensville County and Emporia (the county seat) in May 1940, under the leadership of dentist Dr. F. A. Sealy, of Boydton, Virginia and president of the
Mecklenburg County, Virginia Mecklenburg County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,319. Its county seat is Boydton. History Mecklenburg County was organized on March 1, 1765, having split from Lunenburg County in ...
branch. However he died in 1943, as efforts to desegregate the county's schools began with the assistance of attorneys Oliver Hill. After service in World War II, Hill's colleague Samuel W. Tucker moved to Emporia, married a schoolteacher and became the county's only African American attorney, as well as a leader in desegregating schools across Virginia.


Geography

According to the
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. The
Meherrin River The Meherrin River is a long 6th order tributary to the Chowan River that joins in Hertford County, North Carolina. A twenty-foot-high dam on the river creates a reservoir in Emporia. For most of its length, the Meherrin is not large enough f ...
forms the boundary between Greensville County and
Southampton County Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland. History In the early 17th centu ...
.


Adjacent counties / independent city

*
Brunswick County, Virginia Brunswick County is a United States county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. This rural county is known as one of the claimants to be the namesake of Brunswick stew. Brunswick County was created in 1720 from parts o ...
– west *
Dinwiddie County, Virginia Dinwiddie County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,947. Its county seat is Dinwiddie. Dinwiddie County is part of the Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The f ...
– north *
Sussex County, Virginia Sussex County is a rural county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,829. Its county seat is Sussex. It was formed in 1754 from Surry County. The county is named after the county of Sussex ...
– northeast *
Southampton County, Virginia Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland. History In the early 17th century ...
– east *
Northampton County, North Carolina Northampton County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,471. Its county seat is Jackson. Northampton County is part of the Roanoke Rapids, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, ...
– south *
Emporia, Virginia Emporia is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surrounded by Greensville County, United States. Emporia and a predecessor town have been the county seat of Greensville County since 1791. As of the 2020 census, the population ...
– surrounded by Greensville County


Major highways

* , the major north–south
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
on the Eastern Seaboard enters Greensville County from
North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
. Access to the county is available at Exits 4, 8, 11 (if you include Emporia) 12, and 13 before the road crosses the Greensville- Sussex County Line. * , the principal west–east route through southern Virginia at large, including Greensville County. The road connects the
Cumberland Gap The Cumberland Gap is a pass through the long ridge of the Cumberland Mountains, within the Appalachian Mountains, near the junction of the U.S. states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. It is famous in American colonial history for its r ...
area of Tennessee to the
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...
area, entering the county from Brunswick County and leaving at
Southampton County Southampton County is a county located on the southern border of the Commonwealth of Virginia. North Carolina is to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,996. Its county seat is Courtland. History In the early 17th centu ...
. A Business Route of US 58 exists within Emporia. * , the principal south–north route Greensville County and Emporia until it was supplanted by I-95. A spur of
US Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, makin ...
, it enters Greensville County from North Carolina, serves as a major boulevard in Historic Emporia, and leaves at Sussex County south of Jarratt. * , a state spur route running northwest of US 301 from through Jarratt both in Greensville and Sussex Counties. * , a state route briefly entering Greensville County from North Carolina, only to cross into Southampton County at the bridge over the
Meherrin River The Meherrin River is a long 6th order tributary to the Chowan River that joins in Hertford County, North Carolina. A twenty-foot-high dam on the river creates a reservoir in Emporia. For most of its length, the Meherrin is not large enough f ...
.


Demographics


2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''


2010 Census

As of the
2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...
, there were 12,243 people living in the county. 59.8% were Black or African American, 38.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% of some other race and 0.8% of two or more races. 1.4% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). As of the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2000, there were 11,560 people, 3,375 households, and 2,396 families living in the county. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 39 people per square mile (15/km2). There were 3,765 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 59.75%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 38.94%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 0.10% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 0.47% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.32% from two or more races. 0.93% of the population were
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race. There were 3,375 households, out of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.80% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
living together, 16.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 18.20% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 38.70% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 160.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 177.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,002, and the median income for a family was $38,810. Males had a median income of $24,919 versus $19,849 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the county was $14,632. 14.70% of the population and 12.40% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 17.00% are under the age of 18 and 18.60% are 65 or older.


Government and infrastructure

Virginia Department of Corrections The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) is the government agency responsible for community corrections and operating prisons and correctional facilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The agency is fully accredited b ...
operates the
Greensville Correctional Center Greensville Correctional Center is a prison facility located in unincorporated Greensville County, Virginia, near Jarratt. The prison, on a plot of land, is operated by the Virginia Department of Corrections. "901 Corrections Way Jarratt, VA 238 ...
in
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Greensville County, near Jarratt. The facility houses the commonwealth's former
execution chamber An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death r ...
.Virginia Death Row/Execution Facts
" My FOX DC. Tuesday November 10, 2009. Retrieved on August 22, 2010. Greensville County has supported the Democratic nominee in every election since 1912, with the exception of 1972 when it backed
Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
during his landslide victory over
George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pr ...
. Its residents did not cast a single vote for
Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential el ...
in 1936, making the county one of four in which Landon was locked out.


Communities

Although Emporia lies within the boundaries of Greensville County and serves as the county seat, it is an
independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...
and thus not part of the county. But although they are separate, they do share the same public school system


Town

* Jarratt


Unincorporated communities

* Brink * Durand * Low Ground *
Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. Illumination The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...
*
Purdy Purdy may refer to: People Surname *Al Purdy (1918–2000), Canadian poet * Amy Purdy (born 1979), American actress, model and Paralympic snowboarder * Ashley Purdy, Black Veil Brides bassist * Bill Purdy (born 1946), American rower *Brock Purdy ( ...
*
Radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rat ...
* Skippers


Education

Greensville County Public Schools operates public schools for the whole county.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places in Greensville County, Virginia


References


External links


Official website
{{authority control Virginia counties 1780 establishments in Virginia Populated places established in 1780 Black Belt (U.S. region) Majority-minority counties and independent cities in Virginia