Mecklenburg County, Virginia

Mecklenburg County, Virginia
Seal
Location in the state of Virginia
Virginia's location in the U.S.
Founded	1765
Seat	Boydton
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	679 sq mi (1,759 km²) 624 sq mi (1,616 km²) 55 sq mi (142 km²), 8.15%
Population  -  Density	32,727 52/sq mi (20/km²)
Website	www.mecklenburgva.com

Mecklenburg County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 32,727^[1]. Its county seat is Boydton^[2].

History

Mecklenburg County was established in 1765 from Lunenburg County.

Government

Mecklenburg County is governed by a 9-member Board of Supervisors. They serve as the legislating and policy body for the county enacting laws, ordinances, and taxes . They appoint a County Administrator to conduct day-to-day operations. H. Wayne Carter, III is the current County Administrator, Judy P. Sheffield is the current Assistant County Administrator.

The board members are:

• District 1 - W.P Hudgins, Sr.,
• District 2 - Glanzy M. Spain,Jr.,
• District 3 - Evans D. Tanner, Jr.,
• District 4 - Claudia Lundy
• District 5 - Glenn E. Barbour-Chair,
• District 6 - William E. Blalock,
• District 7 - James D. Jennings,
• District 8 - L. Orell Lenhart,
• District 9 - Greg V. Gordon-Vice Chair

Constitutional officers

Under the Virginia Constitution, each county and city within the state must install Constitutional Officers. Counties under the Traditional Form of Government must install all five officers. The majority of Virginia counties operate under the Traditional Form. Counties with the County Executive Form, Urban County Executive, or County Manager Plan of Government usually install just three (Clerk, Commonwealth Attorney, and Sheriff) opting for a Director of Finance appointed by the Board to take the place of the Commissioner of Revenue and Treasurer. Examples are (Fairfax, Henrico and Prince William Counties). These officers are heads of their respective departments. They consist of:

• Clerk of Circuit Court - responsible for all circuit court records civil and criminal, along with all deeds, wills, plats and other records.
• Commonwealth's Attorney - responsible to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in Mecklenburg County Court in all cases, chief law enforcement officer for the jurisdiction.
• Commissioner of Revenue - chief assessor of all real estate and personal property within the county and recommends a tax rate to the Board of Supervisors and maintains accurate real estate records for the Land Book.
• Treasurer - manages all finances within the county,helps prepare the budget for submission to the Board, and is responsible for the collection of all taxes.
• Sheriff - Supervisor of law enforcement for the county.

Officers

• Clerk of Court - Edward E. Coleman, Jr.
• Commonwealth Attorney - Nora J. Miller
• Commissioner of Revenue - Joseph E.(Ed) Taylor
• Treasurer - Sandra P. Langford
• Sheriff - Danny R. Fox

Education

The county's education department is called the Mecklenburg County Public Schools. It is currently managed by the Board of Education. It seats Dr. James Thornton as the County Schools Superintendent.

Government and infrastructure

County departments and department heads

Listed below are the County facilities, the department housed in that facility and its head.

• Goode Bank Building
  • Board of Supervisor's (See Supervisor's List Above)
  • County Administrator's Office- H. Wayne Carter, III (Administrator)
  • Economic Development Director's Office- Angela D. Kellett (Director)
  • Building Inspector's Office- Eddie Harris (Chief Inspector)
  • Zoning Administrator's Office- Robert L. Hendrick (Zoning Administrator
  • Animal Warden's Office- Dave Wilden (Animal Warden)
• Courthouse
  • Circuit Court-The Honorable Leslie M. Osborn (Judge)
  • Circuit Court Clerk's Office- The Honorable E. E. Coleman, Jr. (Clerk)
• Mark I. Burnett Building
  • Commissioner of Revenue's Office- The Honorable Joseph E. Taylor (Commissioner)
    • Real Estate Department-Lisa C. Wagstaff (Chief Deputy Commissioner/Real Estate Assessor)
    • Personal Property Department-The Honorable Joseph E. Taylor (Commissioner)
  • Treasurer's Office- The Honorable Sandra P. Langford (Treasurer)
  • VPI Extension Office- C. Taylor Clarke (Unit Coordinator/ANR Extension Agent)
• Hudgins Court Facility
  • Social Services- Sandra S. Gregory (Director)
  • General District Court- The Honorable Charles Warren (Judge)
    • General District Clerk's Office- Tammy T. Taylor (Clerk)
  • Juvenile & Domestic Court- The Honorable M. Rand (Judge), The Honorable S. Anderson Nelson (Judge)
    • J&D Court Clerk's Office- Rebecca D. Inge (Clerk)
    • J&D Court Service Unit
  • Sheriff's Office- The Honorable Danny R. Fox (Sheriff)
• Old Jail
  • Commonwealth Attorney's Office- The Honorable Nora J. Miller (Commonwealth's Attorney)
• 911 Center
  • 911 Emergency Office and Dispatch- Linda Cage (Director)
• Jail
  • Jail Division of the Sheriff's Office- Roosevelt Terry (Jail Captain)
• Post Office Building
  • Piedmont Court Services- Jackie T. Boxley (Director)
• White Building
  • Voter Registrar- Jason Corwin (General Registrar)

State representation

The Virginia Department of Corrections operates the Mecklenburg Correctional Center in unincorporated Mecklenburg County, near Boydton.^[3] On August 3, 1998, the male death row moved to its current location, the Sussex I State Prison, from the Mecklenburg Correctional Center.^[4]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 679 square miles (1,759 km²), of which 624 square miles (1,616 km²) is land and 55 square miles (143 km²) (8.15%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Lunenburg County - north
• Brunswick County - east
• Warren County, North Carolina - southeast
• Vance County, North Carolina - south
• Granville County, North Carolina - southwest
• Halifax County - west
• Charlotte County - northwest

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1790	14,733		—
1800	17,008		15.4%
1810	18,453		8.5%
1820	19,786		7.2%
1830	20,477		3.5%
1840	20,724		1.2%
1850	20,630		−0.5%
1860	20,096		−2.6%
1870	21,318		6.1%
1880	24,610		15.4%
1890	25,359		3.0%
1900	26,551		4.7%
1910	28,956		9.1%
1920	31,208		7.8%
1930	32,622		4.5%
1940	31,933		−2.1%
1950	33,497		4.9%
1960	31,428		−6.2%
1970	29,426		−6.4%
1980	29,444		0.1%
1990	29,241		−0.7%
2000	32,280		10.4%
2010	32,727		1.4%

As of the census^[5] of 2010, there were 32,727 people, 12,951 households, and 8,962 families residing in the county. The population density was 52 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 17,403 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 59.24% White, 39.08% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 1.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 12,951 households out of which 26.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.00% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.80% were non-families. 27.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.20% 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 2.87.

In the county, the population was spread out with 21.60% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 17.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,380, and the median income for a family was $37,752. Males had a median income of $26,852 versus $19,609 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,171. About 11.60% of families and 15.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.60% of those under age 18 and 17.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

• Boydton
• Brodnax
• Chase City
• Clarksville
• La Crosse
• South Hill

Unincorporated

• Baskerville
• Bracey
• Buffalo Junction
• Nelson
• Shiny Rock
• Skipwith

See also

Virginia portal

• Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Mecklenburg County, Virginia

References

1. ^ [1]. Weldon Cooper Center 2010 Census Count Retrieved September 9, 2011
2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
3. ^ "Mecklenburg Correctional Center (male classification/intake institution)." Virginia Department of Corrections. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.
4. ^ "Virginia Death Row/Execution Facts." My FOX DC. Tuesday November 10, 2009. Retrieved on August 22, 2010.
5. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

Coordinates: 36°41′N 78°22′W / 36.68°N 78.37°W / 36.68; -78.37