Culpeper is an incorporated town in Culpeper County , Virginia , United States . The population was 9,664 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Culpeper County [ 3 ] . Culpeper is part of the Culpeper Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Culpeper County . Both the Town of Culpeper and Culpeper County are part of the greater Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area .

 

Geography

Culpeper is located at 38°28'19?N 77°59'57?W ? / ? 38.47194°N 77.99917°W ? / 38.47194; -77.99917 (38.471915, -77.999168) [ 4 ] .

According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 6.8 square miles (17.5 km²), of which, 6.7 square miles (17.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.44%) is water.

[ edit ] History

After forming 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 , who was proprietor of the Northern Neck, a vast domain north of the Rappahannock River stretching from Chesapeake Bay to what is now Hampshire County , West Virginia . The original plan called for ten blocks, which form the core of Culpeper's downtown area today. In 1795, the town received a 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 of Fairfax Court House and Fairfax Station post offices in Fairfax County, was finally resolved when the Virginia Assembly formally renamed the town Culpeper in 1869 (Acts, 1869–1870, chapter 118, page 154). The original town was surveyed by a young George Washington .

During the American Revolutionary War, the Culpeper Minutemen , a pro-Independence militia group, formed in the town of Culpeper, in what was then known as "Clayton's Old Field," near today's Yowell Meadow Park.

During the Civil War , 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 St. (present location of Piedmont Realty) was the frame house where "The Gallant Major" John Pelham died after sustaining a wound at the battle of Kelley's Ford.

Culpeper began to grow dramatically in the 1980s, becoming a " bedroom community " of the more densely populated Northern Virginia and its Washington, DC , suburbs, where a growing number of residents of the town and county of Culpeper once lived and continue to work.

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, some being condemned. [ 5 ] The earthquake also led to the temporary evacuation of the Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation , which at the time was hosting a town hall event for Senator Mark Warner . [ 6 ]

[ edit ] Demographics

As of the census [ 1 ] of 2000, there were 9,664 people, 3,933 households, and 2,442 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,436.2 inhabitants per square mile (554.4/km²). There were 4,139 housing units at an average density of 615.1 per square mile (237.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 78.27% White , 18.15% Black , 0.21% Native American , 1.32% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 1.98% from other races , and 1.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.55% of the population.

There were 3,933 households out of which 32.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.8% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 31.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.97.

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.

According to the 2007 census estimates, Culpeper's population has grown to 13,497. [ 7 ]