Virginia (state)

F

Government Service

Civilian and military employment, mostly with the federal government, is an essential part of the Virginia economy. The cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park and the counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren are all part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, and many of the working population in this section are employed by the federal government. The Pentagon, which houses the Department of Defense, is located in Virginia and is the leading federal employer in the northern part of the state. There are also important military bases in Virginia, particularly the massive complex of army, navy , and air force bases in the vicinity of Norfolk.

G

Transportation and Trade

Most of the principal interstate highways in Virginia cross in Richmond near the center of the state. Interstate 95 acts as the chief north-south corridor, while Interstate 81 traverses the western edge of the state. The chief east-west route is Interstate 64. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, opened in 1964, connects the Eastern Shore with the rest of Virginia.

The Hampton Roads area, which includes Norfolk, Newport News, and Portsmouth, is a leading seaport of the United States, especially for exports. Virginia’s leading exports are manufactured goods, including transportation equipment, computers and electronics, and chemicals.

IV

The People of Virginia

A

Population Patterns

According to the 2000 national census, Virginia’s population was 7,078,515, ranking it 12th among the states. The population increased during the 1990s by 891,157, an increase of 14.4 percent during the decade.

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In 2000, 73 percent of the population lived in urban areas, compared to 47 percent in 1950. After 1940 there was a tremendous expansion of civilian and military employees in the federal government, so that by the 1980s the metropolitan corridor from Washington, D.C., south to Richmond and east to Newport News and Norfolk contained about one-half of the state’s total population. Virginia has three major metropolitan areas in its metropolitan corridor: Northern Virginia (the Virginia portion of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area); Richmond-Petersburg metropolitan area with 1,194,008 inhabitants in 2006; and the Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport News metropolitan area (also known as Hampton Roads) with 1,647,346 residents. Virginia’s other metropolitan areas include Roanoke (295,050), Lynchburg (239,510), Charlottesville (190,278), Danville (107,087), and Bristol, the Virginia portion of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol metropolitan area that spreads into Tennessee. Virginia’s population density in 2006 was 75 persons per sq km (193 per sq mi).

Virginia’s first inhabitants were several Native American tribes belonging to three language groups, Algonquian, Iroquoian, and Siouan. The Native American population was probably less than 20,000 when European explorers and colonists arrived in the late 1500s and early 1600s. These settlers were mainly English, but in the 18th century, German and Scotch-Irish settlers entered from Pennsylvania. In 1619 the first Africans were landed in Virginia to be indentured servants, but their status soon deteriorated into slavery, and the black population began to grow rapidly late in the century, when the large-scale slave trade began.

At the time of the 2000 federal census whites constituted 72.3 percent of the population, blacks 19.6 percent, Asians 3.7 percent, Native Americans 0.3 percent, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders 0.1 percent, and those of mixed heritage or not reporting race 4 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 4.7 percent of Virginia’s people.

B

Principal Cities

Nine of the ten largest cities in Virginia are situated on the Eastern Seaboard or on the Fall Line. Virginia Beach, which fronts both Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast corner of the state, is one of the most popular resort destinations on the East Coast, as well as Virginia’s largest city. Its population in 2006 was 435,619. Norfolk, once the state’s largest city but now in second position, has 229,112 inhabitants; nearby Portsmouth has 101,377 residents. Norfolk and Portsmouth are important trading centers. Their economy is based on maritime activities, notably foreign commerce. The Naval Base at Norfolk and the Naval Shipyard at Portsmouth employ thousands of civilians and military personnel. Neighboring Chesapeake, with a population of 220,560, is also part of this growing metropolitan area.

Richmond, with a population of 192,913, is situated on the Fall Line. It is the state capital and a center of cigarette manufacturing, banking and insurance, and of both retail and wholesale trade. There are also manufacturers of chemicals, paper, and clothing in the city. Alexandria, with 136,974 inhabitants, is part of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Newport News, with a population of 178,281 in 2006, and neighboring Hampton, with 145,017 inhabitants, are on the northern shore of Hampton Roads. They also serve as the hub of a large metropolitan area based on maritime activities. In Newport News is a shipyard that builds naval ships, including aircraft carriers, and ocean liners. Hampton is important for its aviation activities such as Langley Air Force Base and a National Aeronautics and Space Administration facility.

Roanoke, with 91,552 inhabitants, is the only large city in western Virginia. Its economy rests on the manufacture and repair of rail equipment, the production of clothing, textiles, and furniture, and services such as health care and banking. Lynchburg, with a population of 67,720, is a former tobacco-marketing center for the central Piedmont, but it is now more important as the site of light industries, including food processing and electronics. Some urbanized Virginia counties also have large populations, notably Fairfax (1998 estimate, 929,239), Prince William (259,827), Henrico (246,052), Chesterfield (245,915), and Arlington (177,275).

C

Religion

The first English settlers in Virginia designated the Church of England as the colony’s established church. Dissenters in the colony, including Puritans and Quakers (see Society of Friends), did not accept the established church. In the early 1700s, German settlers brought with them the Mennonite, River Brethren, Amish, and Lutheran faiths. In the 1740s a religious revival began, and the Presbyterians and other groups, particularly in what is now West Virginia, propagated fundamentalist beliefs. In 1786 the Virginia assembly passed legislation separating church and state. During the 19th century both the Baptist and the Methodist denominations grew.

The church membership of Virginia is predominantly Protestant, and the largest denomination is the Baptists. Virginia also has many Roman Catholics. Two of Virginia’s Christian broadcasters extended their influence nationwide through cable television evangelism. Televangelist Jerry Falwell broadcast from Lynchburg, where he established Liberty University. Pat Robertson based his Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach.

V

Education and Cultural Institutions

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