Week 9: "We the People..." of Virginia

Northern Virginia in 1948 - before the Beltway, before Tysons Corner developed as an Edge City...
Source: US Geological Survey, 1948 1X2 quadrangle topo map

Objectives for the Class

• The 2010 Census data is coming online. The website remains unstable and is still not user-friendly, so this week we will focus on historical trends more than the latest population changes.
• Population of Virginia
• Battles in Red, Black, and White - Virginia's Racial Integrity Law of 1924
• Encyclopedia of Virginia - Racial Integrity Laws of the 1920s
• Loving Decision: 40 Years of Legal Interracial Unions (Mildred Loving died on May 2, 2008, after this program aired)
• Religion in Virginia
• Catholics in Virginia
• The Brent Family
• if Potomac Creek had been defined as the border between Maryland and Virginia, the Brent family would have been political leaders in a different colony

Jamestown about 1614 - first English town in Virginia
Source: National Park Service - Sidney King collection of paintings created for the 350th Anniversary of Jamestown
• The Capital Cities of Virginia
• Werowocomoco
• Werowocomoco Research Project - Werowocomoco: A Powhatan Place of Power
• Powhatan's Tribal Village Found (CBS News, May 7, 2003)
• Orapakes
• Matchut
• Jamestown - The First English Capital
• Alexandria
• Capitol Timeline
• drag the timeline - where did the General Assembly meet after "that rebel Bacon" torched the State House in 1676?
• Virginia Cities and Towns
• Town and City Boundaries and Annexation

Zoning Map for Old Town Fairfax
(Fairfax County courthouse, in white area, is not in the city. Fairfax City handles planning/zoning for areas within boundaries of city,
but can't control development of county property - so there is no city zoning for county courthouse.)
Source: City of Fairfax
• Why There Are No Towns or Counties in Southeastern Virginia
• How Counties Got Started in Virginia
• Why Virginia's Cities and Towns Are Located Where They Are
• The First European Communities
• "Hundreds" in Early Colonial Virginia
• Initial Urban Centers in Colonial Times
• Tobacco Towns
• The Development of Linear Cities
• River and "Fall Line" Cities
• Port Cities
• Road Cities
• Coal Towns
• look at Virginia's Coal Towns, including links to "The Coal Fields," "Life in the Coal Camps," and "Company Towns"
• The New Requirements for a City: Universities and Airports

Northern Virginia in 1948 - before the Shirley Highway (now -95) was built between the Potomac and Occoquan rivers
Source: US Geological Survey, 1948 1X2 quadrangle topo map

Web Exercise:
On the Historical Census Browser, select a single Virginia county from the 1790 census and follow its population growth - or decline. NOTE: these population statistics may reflect something other than demographic shifts - county boundaries changed throughout the years, especially as cities annexed areas.

Map Exercise:
Using the Virginia Atlas and Gazetteer, determine if any county includes land on both sides of the crest of the Blue Ridge. Compare the use of the Rappahannock/York/James rivers vs. the New/Shenandoah rivers to mark the edges of counties. Why would you think straight survey lines were used more often to mark the boundaries of some counties, but not others? Find the southwestern boundary of Shenandoah County and, using a ruler, extend it across the crest of the Blue Ridge to the eastern side. You're at the headwaters of what river, marking the southwestern edge of what colonial grant?

Video:
Watch "Roanoke" on GMU-TV streaming video.

Site Visit:
Select the nearest elementary and high school to your house, or a pair of schools with which you are familiar. Compare and contrast:
- how close is your house to the closest public elementary vs. high school?
- how easy could you walk or bike to the elementary vs. high school?
- is your house typical or unusual? how many residences are within easy walking/biking distance to the elementary vs. high school?
- for students who live within 1/4 mile of the elementary and high schools, what percentage do you think could walk/bike safely all the way from home to school?
- compare the parking lots for the elementary vs. high school: what percentage (roughly) is dedicated to cars the elementary vs. high school
- if you were on a team with the superintendent for the school system and the principals for the elementary and high schools, plus the mayor/chair of the county supervisors, how could you improve access for pedestrians and bikers? Is it a hopeless exercise and those facilities will always require cars/buses for student access, and all the talk about healthy exercise and reducing carbon footprints is not feasible for schools... or are there at least some small steps that you could take?
- if the elementary and high school were blasted completely by a tornado next week, would you rebuild in the same location... or would you relocate those educational facilities? Why would you use the same location, or why would you move?