Grayson County, Virginia facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grayson County
U.S. county
Present-day Grayson County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1793
Named for	William Grayson
Seat	Independence
Largest town	Independence
Area
• Total	446 sq mi (1,160 km2)
• Land	442 sq mi (1,140 km2)
• Water	3.8 sq mi (10 km2)  0.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	15,333
• Density	34.38/sq mi (13.274/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	9th

Grayson County is a county located in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,333. Its county seat is Independence. Mount Rogers, the state's highest peak at 5,729 feet (1,746 m), is in Grayson County.

History

Grayson County was founded in 1793 from part of Wythe County. It was named for William Grayson, delegate to the Continental Congress from 1784 to 1787 and one of the first two U.S. Senators from Virginia. The first courthouse was built in Greensville, later called Oldtown, constructed in 1794 and rebuilt beginning in 1832. In 1842, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the division of Grayson County, the northeastern portion becoming Carroll County.

During the American Civil War, little fighting occurred within Grayson County. However, the "Grayson Dare Devils" (Company F, 4th Regiment of the Stonewall Brigade) were recruited from the Elk Creek Valley of Grayson County shortly after Virginia seceded and sustained significant losses as the First Battle of Manassas. The Grayson Cavalry was Company C of the 8th Virginia Cavalry, which served until the war's end. Company D of the 50th Virginia Infantry was recruited in the Mouth of Wilson Community and they were known as the "Wilson Rifles."

The county seat since shortly before the American Civil War has been Independence, Virginia, since the former county seat had been centrally located until Carroll County split off (and Oldtown now is a district within Grayson county). The Old Grayson County Courthouse and Clerk's Office renovated circa 1834 still exists but is now located near what since 1953 is the independent city of Galax, Virginia. Even by 1890 the nearest railroad to Grayson county was nine miles from the county line, a Norfolk and Western Railway stop called "Rural Retreat." Textile and then furniture factories arrived in Galax (which was planned as a town near the old village of Blair on a plateau beginning in 1903 and renamed after a plant harvested from the surrounding mountains). Also, the New River was dammed at Fries to power a cotton mill, which also led to more direct service by the Norfolk and Western to Troutdale (which later faltered). Whitetop City and Fairwood also virtually disappeared during the Great Depression.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 446 square miles (1,160 km²), of which 442 square miles (1,140 km²) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²) (0.8%) is water. Grayson County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.

The southernmost point in Virginia lies in Grayson County. Additionally, it is the only county in Virginia containing an Oceanic climate.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

• Blue Ridge Parkway (part)
• Jefferson National Forest (part)
• Mount Rogers National Recreation Area (part)

Major highways

• US 21
• US 58
• US 221
• SR 16
• SR 89
• SR 93
• SR 94
• SR 274

Demographics

2020 census

Economy

Grayson is economically isolated, without an Interstate Highway and surrounded by mountains. It struggled to attract and retain business; a situation made much worse beginning in 2009 with the recession. 20,000 acres are being exploited for growing industrial Christmas trees; migrant laborer workers are transported to complete the risky jobs replacing local for hire signs/opportunities. Losses of jobs in the furniture and textile sectors resulted in an unemployment rate of 14.6%. As part of the reformation of county government beginning in 2009, the new but idle River North Correctional Center was activated by the state brought in several hundred jobs. County government efforts were successful in retaining Core Fitness' Nautilus facility as the largest employer in the county and integrating local businesses as part of their supply chain. Independence Lumber suffered significant losses in a fire in November 2012 which forced it to relocate operations to North Carolina. Efforts by the county led to the company rebuilding and reopening its facility in 2014 with 125 jobs. By 2014 a focus on job creation brought additional business operations and 300 more jobs to the county and resulted in an unemployment rate of only 6.9%. By April 2019, the unemployment rate had plummeted to just 2.6%.

Education

Public high school

• Grayson County High School, Independence

Private high school

• Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson

Culture

Located in the Appalachian region of the United States, Grayson County has long been famous for its traditional, or "old-time" music and musicians. Although the entire Appalachian region is known for its music, the region around Mount Airy, North Carolina and Galax, Virginia is one of the areas where this music has remained strongest, even among young people. The Old Fiddler's Convention, one of the most prominent traditional music contests in the United States, has been held annually in Galax since 1935. Grayson County is also the home of other fiddlers' conventions and old time and bluegrass festivals such as the Grayson County Fiddlers Convention, Fries Fiddlers Convention, and the Wayne C. Henderson Guitar Festival. The Whitetop Mountain Band, The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters, The Wolfe Brothers String Band, and the Konnarock Critters are among many of the best known old time bands of the area.

Communities

Towns

• Fries
• Independence
• Troutdale

Census-designated places

• Baywood
• Hilltown (partly in Carroll County)
• Stevens Creek

Other unincorporated communities

Notable people

• John Calhoun Dickenson (1815-1890), planter and politician
• Henry Whitter (1892–1941), early country musician
• Wade Ward (1892–1971), old-time country music banjo player and fiddler
• Estil C. Ball (1913–1978), singer-songwriter, fingerstyle guitarist, and country, gospel and folk musician
• Wayne Henderson, guitar maker and fingerstyle guitar player
• Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, former editor of Reader's Digest

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Grayson (Virginia) para niños