Totero Town, recreated at Explore Park near Roanoke
Towns and cities don't just happen - there's no magical "poof" and a moment later they are there on the map. There are reasons that they develop, when they do and where they do.
Native American towns were almost always associated with agricultural fields. The basic assumption is that the bands of earliest Virginians travelled constantly from hunting camp to hunting camp, until adopting agriculture. It's logical to assume that the hunting camps became focal points for the plants used by the natives. Discarded seeds would regrow the following year, creating concentrations of the plants preferred by the natives. This pattern may have occurred first in Meso-America, with one particular grass selected over and over again until its small seedhead was converted into corn, and then adopted by tribes to the north and east. Prior to that, however, it's likely that the first Virginians were already concentrating in short-term communities at good fishing and shellfish collecting points in Tidewater.
After Europeans arrived, settlements continued to be dispersed as tobacco plantations for over a century. More than any other factor, transportation triggered the development and growth of most Virginia cities. Where rivers were no longer navigable, Fall Line cities developed. Where rail lines intersected, Manassas and Roanoke developed. Rarely was transportation not an issue in determining where groups of people would congregate, but rarely was it the only factor.
Political decisions have stimulated or hindered urban growth since the first colonists sailed 60 miles upstream beyond Cape Henry, to a deep water anchorage on the north bank of what they named the James River. The Roanoke Colony was located on the coastline in 1585, but 22 years later the English knew to start their settlement far inland - to minimize the dangers from the Spanish and other international enemies. Norfolk was never the state capital, though it had the best harbor for trade and was once the largest city in Virginia. Norfolk was too exposed to international threat, and just 60 years ago enemy warships (German U-boats) were sinking American ships off the coastline of Virginia Beach.
The same security concerns that prevented Norfolk from becoming the capital triggered the move of the capital to Richmond in 1780. That political decision left Williamsburg so economically stagnant that many colonial structures remained intact 150 years later when John D. Rockefeller first began to fund restoration of Colonial Williamsburg.
Today, the issues of sprawl and regional growth remain tightly connected to political decisions on funding highways, rail, and airport transportation improvements. The natural flow of water and trade along the paths of rivers and through mountain gaps can be altered. Since the advent of railroads in particular, transportation networks can overcome physical barriers and steer economic growth away from one city and towards another. Fredericksburg and Norfolk in particular have seen periods of low growth as rival cities intercepted the trade that might have "naturally" flowed to those locations.
When the colonists first settled Virginia, their concept of a government was based on the English pattern. In England the bishops of the Anglican Church had authority over ecclesiastical courts and parishes, providing the church officials some authority over the average English peasant. Each "city" in England had a bishop as well as civil officials, so there were some checks and balances to authority.
In 1619 the first General Assembly consisted of representatives from separate boroughs within the four corporations (Charles City, Elizabeth City, Henrico, and James City). This opened up the possibility that each corporation could have its own bishop and cathedral, but the Bishop of London chose to keep his authority over the entire colony. The Church of England never sent bishops to America; instead, the Bishop of London sent a Commissary as his representative (and not until 1689).
|
The concept of "city" with a bishop was outdated in Virginia by 1634, when the first counties were established, but three of the first eight counties had the term included in their name. This is especially confusing now. Virginia is unique in the United States in treating "cities" as independent political organizations, completely separate from counties.
Towns (such as Dumfries in Prince William County and Blacksburg in Montgomery County) and unincorporated areas with a name on the roadside (such as Centreville, Reston, and Tysons Corner in Fairfax County) are part of a county. Residents of the towns vote for both town and county officials, and pay taxes to both the town and the county. Residents of unicorporated areas elect just county officials, and pay just county taxes. However, cities in Virginia are politically independent from counties. Residents of Manassas will not be able to vote for members of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, and residents of Charlottesville will not be able to vote in elections for the Albemarle County Board, even though the cities are completely surrounded by Prince William and Albemarle counties. A city-county may not be a bad idea, however. Many Virginia cities and counties have arranged to share services such as landfills and jails, but some are spending a great deal of time and money in court disputing who's in charge. Five counties (including Elizabeth City County) have merged with their cities. In the last decade, two cities have relinquished their charters and reverted to being just towns within their surrounding counties. South Boston became a town in Halifax County in 1995, and Clifton Forge became a town in Alleghany County in 2001. |
