Goochland County, Virginia

Goochland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its southern border is formed by the James River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 21,717.[3] Its county seat is Goochland.[4]

Goochland County
U.S. county
Goochland County Courthouse
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 37°43′N 77°56′W
Country United States
State Virginia
Founded1728[1]
Named forSir William Gooch
SeatGoochland
Area
 • Total290 sq mi (800 km2)
 • Land281 sq mi (730 km2)
 • Water8 sq mi (20 km2)  2.9%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total21,717
 • Estimate 
(2018)[2]
23,244
 • Density75/sq mi (29/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district7th
Websitewww.co.goochland.va.us

Goochland County is included in the Greater Richmond Region.

History
Dover Mills, depicted in 1865

Native Americans

Native Americans had lived along the waterways for several thousand years. Siouan-speaking tribes were the historic peoples encountered by English colonists. Their numbers were sharply reduced by European infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, which caused widespread social disruption.

Portions of the historic Three Chopt Trail, a Native American trail, run through a large portion of the county. The trail was marked by three hatchet chops in trees to show the way. The modern-day U.S. Route 250 roughly follows this route from Richmond to Charlottesville.

Henrico Shire

In 1634, the colonial government organized the territory of Virginia into eight shires, to be governed as shires in England. Henrico was one of these shires.[5]

Formation of Goochland County

Among the earliest European settlers in this area of the Piedmont were several hundred French Huguenot religious refugees, who were given land in 1700 and 1701 by the Crown and colonial authorities about 20 miles above the falls of the James River. They settled the villages collectively known as Manakin-Sabot in this area. Soon they moved out to farms and plantations they developed. In neighboring Powhatan County, to the south across the James, they settled Manakin Town, but by 1750 had mostly moved out to farms.[6]

Goochland was founded in 1728 as the first county formed from Henrico shire, followed by Chesterfield County in 1749. Goochland originally included all of the land from Tuckahoe Creek, on both sides of the James River, west as far as the Blue Ridge Mountains.[1]

The county was named for Sir William Gooch, 1st Baronet,[7] the royal lieutenant governor from 1727 to 1749. The nominal governor, the Earl of Albemarle, had remained in England. As acting royal governor, Gooch promoted settlement of the Virginia backcountry as a means to insulate the Virginia colony from Native American and New France settlements in the Ohio Country.[8]

As the colonists moved into the Piedmont west of Richmond, they first developed tobacco plantations like those of the Tidewater. After the Revolution, tobacco did not yield as high profits as markets changed. In Goochland, as in other areas of Virginia, many planters switched to growing wheat and mixed crops. This reduced their need for labor. In the early nineteenth century, some planters sold slaves in the domestic slave trade, as demand was high in the developing Deep South where cotton plantations were developed.

Goochland Courthouse

The first court was held in May 1728. The exact location of this first court is unknown, but researchers believe that the first courthouse was constructed in old Goochland County between 1730 and 1737, perhaps at Scottsville—an old county seat located today at what is the intersection of three counties. When the vast county was divided in 1744, old Albemarle County retained the original county seat. The location of the second Goochland County courthouse had to be moved east.[5] In the early 19th century, the courthouse was moved to its current location along Rt. 6 in central Goochland. The Goochland County Court Square was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.[9]

Revolutionary War

During the early part of 1781, Lord Cornwallis marched his sizable army through the boundaries of Goochland. They occupied and thoroughly destroyed Elkhill, a small estate of Thomas Jefferson, slaughtering the livestock for food, burning barns and fences, and finally burning down the house. They took 27 slaves as prisoners of war, and 24 died of disease in the camp.[10]

One point along the James River came to be known as Cornwallis Hill. It is said that the British general, who paused here on his way to Yorktown, where he would be defeated and surrender, remarked that this spot with its magnificent vista of the James River Valley would make an ideal site for a house.[11]

General Lafayette, a French hero of the Revolution, returned to the United States for a grand tour in 1824 and 1825. On November 2, 1824, General Lafayette "left Richmond on his way to Monticello to visit Mr. Jefferson." [5] On the way, Gen. Lafayette stopped at Powell's Tavern in Goochland. ("I spent some time at the Tavern and there was much celebration at his arrival.") While there, the general met with American officers and many citizens of the county.

Civil War

The county was a site of a battle late in the war. When the war broke out, James Pleasants, a native of Goochland County and descendant of the 22nd governor of the state, insisted he replace his uncle in the Goochland Light Dragoons (known during the war as Co. F, 4th Virginia Cavalry). In 1861, he was allowed to take his uncle's place. In the winter of 1864, any troops who were close to home were allowed to return to recruit more soldiers.

At the same time, the young Union Colonel Ulric Dahlgren had a plan to infiltrate central Virginia, break out nearly 12,000 Union prisoners from Belle Isle in Richmond, the Confederate capital, and destroy the city. On March 1, 1864, Dahlgren's forces reached the plantations of Sabot Hill, Dover, and Eastwood in eastern Goochland.[5]

On Pleasants's first night home, Dahlgren's raiders stole his horses but did not search the property. When Pleasants found out what happened, he grabbed his carbine and started off on foot after the raiders. Hearing a noise, he hid in the woods, and ordered a single Union cavalryman to surrender. Pleasants mounted the man's horse, and forced the soldier to walk in front of him to search for more soldiers. Within a short amount of time, Pleasants had captured several Union prisoners and took them as prisoners back to Bowles' store. In all, he captured 15 Union soldiers, recovered 16 horses, and shot one officer who refused to surrender to him.[5]

Eastwood was occupied by Plumer Hobson and his wife, the daughter of Brigadier General Henry A. Wise, the last governor of Virginia before the war. On the previous night General Wise had arrived at Eastwood. When a Union detail arrived at Eastwood looking for him, his daughter said that he was in Charleston, South Carolina. Instead, he was already riding rapidly southeast to Richmond to warn the troops of the Union raiders.[5] Dahlgren went to Sabot Hill, the home of James Seddon and his wife. She answered the door and invited the officer in for some wine and Southern hospitality; she knew that Wise was on his way to Richmond and wanted to delay Dahlgren. Ultimately, due to the quick thinking by the families in Goochland, Wise was able to warn forces in Richmond, who defeated Dahlgren's raid.[5]

Convict lease program

After Reconstruction, Goochland County leased convicts as laborers to build roads in 1878. The state's practice of convict leasing was effectively a means of keeping African Americans in near-slavery conditions. The legislature passed a variety of minor nuisance laws, with penalties of fees, which they knew the cash-poor sharecroppers could not readily pay.[12] When convicted of minor offenses and unable to pay the fine, black men were jailed and leased out as convicts. They suffered frequent abuse under this system, as the state exercised little supervision of conditions.

Monument

As part of their effort at commemoration after the war, the Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned a monument to the Confederate dead, to be erected on the green of the Goochland Courthouse. It was unveiled on June 22, 1918. Among those in attendance was Robert E. Lee, a grandson of General Robert E. Lee.

Churches

In 1720, there were two parishes in Henrico County, St. James and Henrico. When Goochland County was formed, St. James Parish fell within the boundaries on both sides of the James River and westward. When Albemarle County was formed from Goochland in 1744, the Parish was divided into three. St. Anne's Parish covered Albemarle, St. James Southam Parish covered the south side of the river (now Powhatan County), and St. James Northam Parish covered the rest of Goochland.[5]

In St. James Northam Parish there were three early churches, all Anglican (and Episcopal after the church was disestablished after the Revolution): Dover Episcopal, Beaverdam Episcopal, and Lickinghole Episcopal. Dover was the first, being built in 1724; it closed sometime after the Revolutionary War. Its location and closing date are unknown. Beaverdam was located near what is now Whitehall Road, but its exact location is also unknown.

One notable church is Byrd Presbyterian Church. The congregation has some members descended from the original worshippers who were organized in 1748 at Tucker Woodson's farm by Samuel Davies, a theologian. He later served as president of Princeton University. By 1759 the group had constructed its own building on Byrd Creek. In 1838 descendants of the original congregation built a new church and began worshiping here; this church is still in use. It retains many of its original architectural features, including its slate roof and interior window valances. The cemetery has been preserved since it was established in 1838.

One of the first independent black congregations founded after the Civil War was what is now called Second Union Baptist Church, founded in 1865 near Fife/Bula northwest of Richmond. Most freedmen left white Baptist churches to found their own, and soon set up state associations with the aid of organizers from free states. Today the numerous churches in the county include several Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and non-denominational Christian churches.

Historic homes
  • Tuckahoe Plantation – One of the older James River plantation mansions in the county, it has grounds that include a private schoolhouse where Thomas Jefferson and his Randolph cousins were educated.[13]
  • Sabot Hill – Built in 1855, it was owned by James A. Seddon, the Secretary of War for the Confederate States of America (CSA) during the Civil War. The large home was damaged in Dahlgren's Raid.
  • Woodlawn – This is a Georgian Colonial-style home built prior to 1760 by Josiah Leake. In 1834 it was purchased by Colonel Thomas Taylor, a hero of the Mexican–American War.
  • Clover Forest Plantation – The land was first patented in 1714. The central core of the home was nt built until 1807–1811, by Captain Thomas Pemberton of the Continental Dragoons. He was later a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. It has had several owners since then.[14]

Other historic homes and mansions in Goochland can be found through the Goochland County Historical Society (see links below).

School buses

In 1973, Wayne Corporation of Richmond, Indiana introduced a safer design in school bus construction, the Lifeguard. Shortly afterward, the manufacturer held a nationwide contest to gain ideas to improve school bus safety, with the grand prize to be the award of a new Lifeguard school bus. Pearl P. Randolph, a member of the Goochland County School Board, created the winning entry.

As a result, the Goochland County Public Schools received the new school bus. Her idea was to install sound baffles in the ceilings of school bus bodies to help reduce driver distraction. Compact forms of such equipment were later developed in the 1980s by Wayne and other bus manufacturers when diesel engines (and their greater noise) became commonplace.

Government

Board of Supervisors
  • District 1: Susan F. Lascolette (R)
  • District 2: Manuel Alvarez Jr. (R)
  • District 3: John Lumpkins Jr.
  • District 4: R.H. "Bob" Minnick (I)
  • District 5: Ken C. Peterson (R)

Constitutional officers
  • Clerk of the Circuit Court: Dale W. Agnew (I)
  • Commissioner of the Revenue: Jennifer Brown (I)
  • Commonwealth's Attorney: D. Michael Caudill (R)
  • Sheriff: Steven N. Creasey (I)
  • Treasurer: Pamela Duncan (R)

Goochland is represented by Republican Mark J. Peake in the Virginia Senate, Republicans John McGuire and R. Lee Ware in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Democrat Abigail Spanberger in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 59.7% 8,384 34.8% 4,889 5.4% 764
2012 63.5% 8,448 35.1% 4,676 1.4% 191
2008 60.8% 7,643 38.3% 4,813 0.8% 106
2004 64.5% 6,668 34.7% 3,583 0.8% 87
2000 61.3% 5,378 36.4% 3,197 2.3% 202
1996 55.5% 4,119 37.5% 2,784 7.0% 522
1992 51.3% 3,834 34.6% 2,589 14.1% 1,056
1988 62.6% 3,765 36.7% 2,209 0.7% 39
1984 60.6% 3,404 38.8% 2,178 0.6% 35
1980 49.7% 2,423 47.0% 2,290 3.4% 164
1976 47.2% 2,104 50.7% 2,259 2.1% 92
1972 61.0% 2,127 36.0% 1,254 3.1% 107
1968 35.1% 1,216 40.1% 1,389 24.7% 856
1964 46.0% 1,241 53.8% 1,452 0.2% 4
1960 48.7% 851 49.3% 862 2.1% 36
1956 50.1% 748 34.0% 508 15.9% 237
1952 46.1% 714 53.0% 820 0.9% 14
1948 25.6% 292 59.9% 683 14.5% 165
1944 24.9% 230 74.7% 691 0.4% 4
1940 17.9% 180 81.7% 820 0.4% 4
1936 26.2% 228 73.3% 638 0.5% 4
1932 20.5% 166 77.7% 629 1.9% 15
1928 42.5% 318 57.5% 431
1924 27.4% 164 65.9% 394 6.7% 40
1920 35.2% 212 63.8% 384 1.0% 6
1916 31.6% 193 67.6% 413 0.8% 5
1912 21.8% 114 61.5% 322 16.8% 88

Economy

West Creek Business Park

Contributors to Goochland's increased growth in the early 2000s was the construction of the West Creek Business Park, as well as the completion of Richmond's semi-circumferential State Route 288. The latter connected the county to the major travel corridors of I-64 and I-95. The industrial park began attracting many businesses, including the corporate headquarters for Farm Bureau of Virginia and Performance Food Group (PFG), as well as Hallmark Youth Care, and CarMax.

Top employers

According to the County's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[16] the top employers in the county are:

# Employer # of employees Community
1 Capital One 5,600 West Creek Business Park
2 CarMax 987 West Creek Business Park
3 Luck Stone 331 Manakin-Sabot
4 Virginia Farm Bureau 300 West Creek Business Park
5 Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond 200 West Creek Business Park
6 Performance Food Group 180 West Creek Business Park
7 Hermitage Country Club 150 Manakin-Sabot
8 Food Lion 110 Manakin-Sabot and Goochland
9 Elk Hill 100 Goochland
10 Tucker Psychiatric Clinic 100 Sandston

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 290 square miles (750 km2), of which 281 square miles (730 km2) is land and 8 square miles (21 km2) (2.9%) is water.[17] Goochland County is drained by the James River.

Goochland, VA[18]
Climate chart (explanation)
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
 
 
2.9
 
 
46
24
 
 
2.8
 
 
50
26
 
 
3.7
 
 
59
32
 
 
3.2
 
 
69
42
 
 
4
 
 
77
50
 
 
3.6
 
 
85
60
 
 
4.4
 
 
88
64
 
 
3.8
 
 
87
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3.7
 
 
80
55
 
 
3.5
 
 
70
44
 
 
3.7
 
 
60
35
 
 
3.1
 
 
49
27
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation totals in inches

Adjacent counties

Major highways
  • I-64 - Skirts the northern county line with Louisa County
  • US 250 - Runs parallel to I-64, also skirting the Louisa County line
  • US 522 - Runs through the county, intersecting with SR 6 as well as both US-250 and I-64 in Louisa County
  • SR 6 - Runs along the James River in the southern part of the county
  • SR 45 - Runs north from Cartersville in Cumberland County to SR 6
  • SR 271
  • SR 288 - Runs along the eastern county line from I-64 to Powhatan County

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
17909,053—
18009,6967.1%
181010,2035.2%
182010,007−1.9%
183010,3693.6%
18409,760−5.9%
185010,3526.1%
186010,6562.9%
187010,313−3.2%
188010,292−0.2%
18909,958−3.2%
19009,519−4.4%
19109,237−3.0%
19208,863−4.0%
19307,953−10.3%
19408,4546.3%
19508,9345.7%
19609,2063.0%
197010,0699.4%
198011,76116.8%
199014,16320.4%
200016,86319.1%
201021,71728.8%
Est. 201823,244[19]7.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[20]
1790–1960[21] 1900–1990[22]
1990–2000[23] 2010–2013[3]

As of the census[24] of 2000, there were 16,863 people, 6,158 households, and 4,710 families residing in the county. The population density was 59 people per square mile (23/km²). There were 6,555 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile (9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 72.71% White, 25.64% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 0.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The largest ethnic/ancestry groups in Goochland County are: English (16.3%), "American" (13.0%), German (11.8%), Irish (9.3%), Scots-Irish (4.0%) and Scottish (3.9%).[25]

There were 6,158 households out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.60% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.50% were non-families. 19.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out with 21.30% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 28.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.30 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $56,307, and the median income for a family was $64,685. Males had a median income of $41,663 versus $29,519 for females. The per capita income for the county was $29,105. 6.90% of the population and 4.30% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.70% are under the age of 18 and 8.10% are 65 or older.

Notable people

Communities

No incorporated communities are located in Goochland County. Unincorporated communities include the following:

Census-designated place

Other unincorporated communities
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See also

References
Specific
  1. "Goochland". Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  2. "2018 Poupulation Estimate, Goochland County, VA". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  3. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  4. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  5. Agee, Helene. Facets of Goochland County's History, Richmond, VA: Dietz Press, 1962.
  6. "MANAKIN TOWN / The French Huguenot Settlement in Virginia * 1700-ca. 1750" (includes primary sources), Becoming American: The British Atlantic Colonies, 1690-1763, National Humanities Center, 2009; accessed 11 January 2019
  7. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 139.
  8. "Backcountry Frontier of Colonial Virginia", Encyclopedia Virginia http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Backcountry_Frontier_of_Colonial_Virginia#start_entry Quote: "The major push toward the British occupation of the backcountry began with a series of land orders totaling close to 400,000 acres (160,000 ha) west of the Blue Ridge, issued by Lieutenant Governor William Gooch between 1730 and 1732" ..."Settlement of the valley by British subjects would secure and defend Virginia, not only in conflicts with northern and southern Indians, but also in the imperial struggles that had convulsed the Atlantic world for the previous three decades, during which New France had extended settlements and garrisons from Canada to Louisiana along the broad Ohio and Mississippi river systems."
  9. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  10. Places: "Elkhill", Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia, Monticello, accessed January 10, 2012.
  11. Bullard, Cece. Goochland Yesterday and Today: A Pictorial History, Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company, 1994.
  12. Virginia (1878). Acts Passed at a General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. pp. 436–442.
  13. "Tuckahoe Plantation", Official website.
  14. Elie Weeks, "Clover Forest", Goochland County Historical Society Magazine, 5-A, 1973, pp. 7–13.
  15. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  16. County of Goochland CAFR
  17. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  18. http://www.usa.com/goochland-va-weather.htm#HistoricalTemperature
  19. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  20. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  21. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  22. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  23. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  24. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
  25. Bureau, U.S. Census. "American FactFinder – Results". Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
General

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