PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA

'Petersburg' is an independent city in Virginia, United States. The population was 33,740 at the 2000 census. It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Petersburg (along with Colonial Heights) with neighboring Dinwiddie County for statistical purposes.

Contents

History

Founding and early history

Civil War

Postbellum history

Location

Industry and revitalization

Geography

Demographics

Famous residents of Petersburg

See also

External links

History

Founding and early history

At the time the English arrived in Virginia in the early 1600s, the site was occupied by a significant Powhatan settlement, shown on Captain John Smith's map as 'Appamatuck', and was the seat of a sub-tribe of Native Americans of the same name, governed by a "queen" who was affliated with Chief Powhatan and the Powhatan Confederacy.
Petersburg grew from the former Fort Henry, established on the south bank of the Appomatox in 1645. The city developed rapidly, and the Virginia General Assembly formally organized it in 1784. The Battle of Petersburg in 1781 was a part of the British attempt to regain control of Virginia.
The Port of Petersburg became renowned as a commercial center for transporting and processing cotton, tobacco and metal, produced and shipped from the region. As travel technology developed, Petersburg became established as a railroad center, with links completed to Richmond to the north, Farmville and Lynchburg to the west, and Weldon, North Carolina to the south. The last major line was to the east, when the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was completed in 1858.
Paved streets began to appear in 1813, soon followed by a canal bypassing the Appomattox falls; railroad lines linking it to all points of the compass came next, gaslights were introduced in 1851, and a new municipal water system was installed by 1857. All these civic improvements helped attract and hold a substantial business community, based on manufacture of tobacco products, but also including cotton and flour mills and banking.

Civil War

Petersburg's 1860 population was 18,266, half of whom were black, and nearly a third of them were free blacks. Petersburg had the highest percentage of free men and women in the slave holding states of the Confederacy and the Union. Ninety percent of the white half were native Virginians, whose devotion to the cause during the War of 1812 inspired the nickname "Cockade City" in honor of the rosette they wore on their caps. When the Civil War came in 1861, Petersburg's men again responded, and they provided the South several infantry companies and artillery units, as well as three troops of cavalry.
In 1864, Petersburg came to be of importance in the American Civil War during the Overland Campaign of Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Because of the railroads, Petersburg was the lifeline to Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy. After the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant stayed east of Richmond and headed south to Petersburg. Grant decided to cut off the rail lines into Petersburg, and thus Richmond's supplies. On June 9, troops under William F. "Baldy" Smith, of the 18th Corps, attacked the Dimmock Line, a set of defensive breastworks originally constructed in 1861 and 1862 to protect Petersburg against the Army of the Potomac under General George McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign.
The Confederate troops at this time numbered around 2,000. The lines could have easily been taken, but with the memory of Cold Harbor still fresh, Generals Smith and Hancock were reticent to attack a fortified line. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, commanding the troops at this time, alerted Lee that he was facing the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg. Lee later arrived, and the 292-day Siege of Petersburg began.
On the Eastern Front, the trench lines were very close together. One soldier in the 48th Pennsylvania, a coal miner in his civilian life, remarked aloud "We could blow that battery into oblivion if we could dig a mine underneath it." Colonel Henry Pleasants, division commander, took this idea seriously and moved it up the chain of command. The plan was given the go ahead. On July 31, the mine was exploded. Due to poor Union leadership and the timely arrival of Confederate General William Mahone, the Union lost the Battle of the Crater, suffering over 4,000 casualties. This famous battle is portrayed in the motion picture Cold Mountain.
The Siege of Petersburg ended in early April 1865, and preceded Robert E. Lee's surrender and the end of the war. Confederate General Ambrose P. (A.P.) Hill died on the last day the Confederates occupied the Petersburg trenches. The extended network of fortified entrenchments around Petersburg established a precedent in warfare that would be magnified in Europe during World War I.

Postbellum history

The city was ringed with a series of fortifications during the years of "Reconstruction" following the war; many of these have been preserved in Pamplin Park. As reconstruction policies were instituted after slavery during the 1870s John Mercer Langston was elected to the United States Congress.
In 1874 during Reconstruction, James M. Wilkerson, Sr. founded a business named the Wilkerson Undertaking Company, which is currently operating as the James M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc. [1]. It is one of the oldest black-owned firms in the United States. Central State (psychiatric) Hospital and Fort Lee, housing the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Center and School, are also located nearby.
The Petersburg area is home to Virginia State University, founded in 1882 (in Ettrick), one of the first fully state-supported four-year institutions of higher learning for African-Americans.
Following school integration in the 1960s, many white families moved to suburban Colonial Heights, Virginia.
As of 2007, Petersburg is an evolving small city, yet still suffers from the effects of the war and siege now more than 140 years in the past. The former downtown area, once vibrant near the north end of Sycamore Street, is now having a rebirth. Many restaurants, speciality shops, and up-scale apartments and condos have been developed, with more underway. Recently, this area has been featured in ''Southern Living'' magazine, and also on HGTV's "What You Get For The Money". The area has also become a booming arts center, with both an area Arts League as well as a Performing Arts Center and restaurant, the Sycamore Rouge. The city also celebrates a "Friday of the Arts" on the second Friday of each month in which many locations feature local artwork and live music.
Wellotson Holdings, LLC, a small investment firm based in Fruit Heights, Utah has purchased many buildings in the area and has renovated several into stores, restaurants, and a large antique mall, called The Oak Antique Mall. Wellotson Holdings is currently renovating many other buildings in Old Towne for both housing and commercial development.

Location

Located along the eastern seaboard, approximately halfway between New York and Florida, Petersburg is at the juncture of Interstates 95 and 85, just 23 miles south of Virginia's state capital, Richmond. The city is one of 13 jurisdictions that comprise the Richmond-Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Petersburg is a part of the Tri-cities, Virginia regional economy known as the "Appomattox Basin" that includes the counties of Dinwiddie and Prince George, the southern part of Chesterfield County, and the cities of Hopewell and Colonial Heights.

Industry and revitalization

Petersburg has a long history as an industrial center for Virginia. Though tobacco giant Brown & Williamson left the town, firms like Remmie Arnold Pen Co., Seward Trunk Co. and Titmus Optical are well known brand names associated with the town.
Since the departure of Brown & Williamson, Petersburg has invested heavily in historic preservation of architecture, as the city has a large inventory of 18th, 19th and 20th century structures in its historic neighborhoods. Groups like Historic Petersburg Foundation and Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities have worked to restore many of the city's buildings.

Geography

Petersburg is located at (37.21295, -77.400417).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 60.1 km² (23.2 mi²). 59.3 km² (22.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.29%) is water.
Petersburg is located on the Appomattox River at the fall line, which marks the area where an upland region (continental bedrock) and a coastal plain (coastal alluvia) meet. The fall line is typically prominent where a river crosses it's rocky boundary as there are rapids or waterfalls. River boats could not travel any farther inland, making the location the head of navigation. The need of a port and abundant supply of water power causes settlements to develope where a river crosses the fall line.
The most prominent example of fall line settlement was the establishment of the cities along the eastern coast of the United States where the Appalachian Rise and the coastal plains meet.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,740 people, 13,799 households, and 8,513 families residing in the city. The population density was 569.4/km² (1,474.6/mi²). There were 15,955 housing units at an average density of 269.2/km² (697.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 18.52% White, 78.97% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.
In 2005 Petersburg's population was 18.4% non-Hispanic whites. African-Americans were a slightly smaller percentage of the city's total population, now only numbering 78.6% of the total. 0.9% of the population was Asian and 2.1% were Latino.
There were 13,799 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 26.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city, the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,851, and the median income for a family was $33,955. Males had a median income of $27,859 versus $21,882 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,989. About 16.7% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Famous residents of Petersburg

★ Actor Joseph Cotton was born and raised in Petersburg.

★ Former First Lady, Nancy Davis Reagan lived in the city with her step-father and mother, Dr. Eugene and Mrs. Davis, until age 13.

★ Victoria Gray Adams, the first black woman to run for the U. S. Senate from the state of Mississippi as well co-chairwoman with Fannie Lou Hamer found the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party in 1964 lived in Petersburg towards the end of her life.

★ NBA great Moses Malone was born in Petersburg.

★ NBA player Mark West was born in Petersburg.

★ Ricky Smith, general manager of the Houston Texans football team was born in Petersburg.

★ NFL Defensive Player Ricky Hunley was born in Petersburg.

★ Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first President of Liberia lived for a time in Petersburg.

★ Civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Vernon Johns.

★ Actor Afemo Omilami (''Forest Gump'', ''Glory'') was born and raised in Petersburg.

★ Actor Stoney Jackson was born and raised in Petersburg.

★ Rev. Dr. Wyatt T. Walker civil rights activist (a confidant and deputy to Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.) and Pastor of the Historic Gillfield Baptist Church of Petersburg (as well as Senior Pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Harlem.

★ Actor Tico Wells of the ''Cosby Show'' and "Five Heart Beats" (choir boy) was born in Peterburg

★ Actor Blair Underwood was raised in Petersburg.

★ Punk Rocker Dee Dee Ramone was born at Ft. Lee Army base in Petersburg.

★ R&B singer Trey Songz was born in Petersburg.

★ R&B singer Tyra Bolling was born in Petersburg.

★ Keith A. Ridley,IV founder of the Ridley Funeral Estab.Inc(DC) 1993 EBONY MAGAZINE bachelor was born in Petersburg

★ 19th century railroad builder, Confederate General (hero of the Battle of the Crater), and politician William Mahone was once the mayor of Petersburg, where he and his wife Otelia Butler Mahone made their home for many years. One of their prior homes in now part of the Petersburg Public Library, and he is credited with arranging substantial state funding to found the institution which became Virginia State University.

See also

★ Petersburg High School

★ Petersburg (Amtrak station)

External links

★ Official City Government Website

★ Petersburg People's News Community Web-blog