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Warrenton, Virginia

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Warrenton, Virginia
Town
Town of Warrenton
Downtown Warrenton at Christmastime: Between the Fauquier Bank and the John Barton Payne Building
Downtown Warrenton at Christmastime: Between the Fauquier Bank and the John Barton Payne Building
Official seal of Warrenton, Virginia
Seal
Location in Virginia
Location in Virginia
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountyFauquier
Founded1810
Government
 • MayorGeorge B. Fitch
Area
 • Total4.2 sq mi (11.0 km2)
 • Land4.2 sq mi (11.0 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
643 ft (196 m)
Population
 (2010 US Census)
 • Total9,611
 • Density1,574.8/sq mi (608.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
20186-20188
Area code540
FIPS code51-83136Template:GR
GNIS feature ID1500278Template:GR
Websitehttp://www.warrentonva.gov/

Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. In 2011, Fauquier County was number eight on the U.S. Census Bureau list of highest-income counties in the United States. Population was 6,670 at the 2000 census, and 9,611 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fauquier CountyTemplate:GR. Public schools in the town include Fauquier High School, Warrenton Middle School, Taylor Middle School, and two elementary schools. There are two private schools in Warrenton: Highland School and St. John The Evangelist's Catholic School. Warrenton is at a junction of U.S. Route 15, U.S. Route 17, U.S. Route 29, and U.S. Route 211. The town is in the Piedmont region of Virginia, near the Blue Ridge Mountains. The well-known Airlie Conference Center is on the northeast boundary of Warrenton, and the historic Vint Hill Farms military facility is several miles east. Fauquier Hospital is also located in the town. Surrounded by Virginia wine and horse country makes Warrenton a popular destination outside of Washington D.C.

Like many incorporated towns in Virginia, the town of Warrenton has government and taxation separate from the county. The town and the county do share some services, such as schools and the county landfill.[1]

History

Street scene, Warrenton, Virginia, ca. 1862.

The settlement which would grow into the Town of Warrenton began as a cross roads at the junction of the Falmouth-Winchester and Alexandria-Culpeper roads.,[2] where a trading post called the Red Store was located. In the 1790s, a courthouse was built in the area, and the location was known as Fauquier Courthouse.[3]

The Town of Warrenton was incorporated on January 5, 1810,[4] and named for General Joseph Warren, a Revolutionary War hero. Richard Henry Lee donated the land for the county seat. John S. Horner, Secretary of Wisconsin Territory and Acting Governor of Michigan Territory, was born in Warrenton. John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was from nearby Germantown, Virginia modern-day Midland.

Colonel John S. Mosby made raids in the town during the Civil War and later made his home and practiced law in Warrenton. The Warren Green Hotel building hosted many famous people including Marquis de Lafayette, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, President Theodore Roosevelt, and divorcée Wallis Simpson.[5] General McClellan bade farewell to his officers November 11, 1862 from the steps of the Hotel.[5] It now hosts some offices of the Fauquier County Government.

Arthur Jordan, an African-American man, was lynched by a mob of approximately 75 masked white men in the early hours of January 19, 1880. Jordan had been accused of miscegenation and bigamy for eloping with the daughter of his white employer, Nathan Corder. A group of local men hunted the pair down in Maryland, returned them, and delivered Mr. Jordan to the town jail. During the night, the lynch mob gained access to the jail and dragged Jordan to the nearby town cemetery, where he was hanged from a small locust tree.[6][7]

In 1909, a fire destroyed almost half the structures in the town, and was halted with the use of dynamite to create a firebreak to stop the flames from spreading.[3]

In 1951, the federal government established the Warrenton Training Center just outside of Warrenton. The center is a secret Central Intelligence Agency communications facility, which also houses an underground relocation bunker containing communications infrastructure to support continuity of government in the event of a nuclear attack on Washington, DC.[8][9][10]

A bypass route around the town was built in the early 1960s, which attracted restaurants, gas stations, and shopping centers, but also drew businesses away from the center of town.[4]

In 2007, Mayor George B. Fitch proposed providing all of the town's energy by processing methane from a local landfill.[11]

The Warrenton Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Other listings include Brentmoor, Dakota, Hopefield, Loretta, Monterosa, North Wales, The Oaks, the Old Fauquier County Jail, and Yorkshire House.[12]

Geography

Warrenton is located at 38°43′06″N 77°47′50″W / 38.71833°N 77.79722°W / 38.71833; -77.79722 (38.718307, -77.797085),Template:GR along U.S. Route 29 about 10 miles (16 km) west of Gainesville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11.0 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 6,670 people, 2,683 households, and 1,591 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,574.8 people per square mile (607.4/km²). There were 2,856 housing units at an average density of 674.3 per square mile (260.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 80.04% White, 16.49% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.25% of the population.

There were 2,683 households out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.6% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 84.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $50,760, and the median income for a family was $59,744. Males had a median income of $40,405 versus $31,689 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,552. About 6.7% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.

Notable natives and residents

Shopping center and housing complex on the outskirts of town, along U.S. Route 29 Business

References

  1. ^ "Tax Information" on the Warrenton, Virginia website
  2. ^ "History" Town of Warrenton. Accessed April 17, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "What you should know about Fauquier History: Town of Warrenton" Fauquier Historical Society. Accessed April 17, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "Warrenton Historic District Design Guidelines" Town of Warrenton. Accessed April 17, 2010.
  5. ^ a b [1]
  6. ^ "Crime and Its Results," New York Times, 20 January, 1880
  7. ^ The Mirror (Leesburg, VA), 22 January, 1880, as cited in reference to Gustavus Richard Brown Horner, The Horner Papers (University of Virginia Library: Special Collections)
  8. ^ "Warrenton Training Center: Current Site Information". Environmental Protection Agency. May 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
  9. ^ Pincus, Walter (September 24, 1994). "CIA: Ames Betrayed 55 Operations; Inspector General's Draft Report Blames Supervisors for Failure to Plug Leak". Washington Post. p. A1.
  10. ^ "Bunkers Beyond the Beltway: The Federal Government Backup System". The Lay of the Land. Center for Land Use Interpretation. Spring 2002. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  11. ^ "Grand-Thinking Va. Mayor Seeks Town's Energy Independence." Washington Post. March 12, 2007.
  12. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
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