Lexington, Virginia

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Lexington, Virginia

Lexington is an independent city

Independent city

An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity.Independent cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other nation-state....
within the confines of Rockbridge County

Rockbridge County, Virginia

Rockbridge County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth " — of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 20,808....
in the Commonwealth

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
of Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....
. The population was 6,867 at the 2000 census. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke, Virginia

For the metropolitan area, see Roanoke, VA MSA.Roanoke is an independent city located in the Roanoke Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of Virginia....
. It was first settled in 1777.

It is home to the Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Lexington, Virginia, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location....
(W&L) and Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest State university system military academy and one of six Senior Military College in the United States....
(VMI). It is the county seat

County seat

A county seat or parish seat is a term for an administrative center for a county or civil parish, primarily used in the United States. In the Northeast United States, the statutory term often is shire town, but colloquially county seat is the term in use there....
of Rockbridge County

Rockbridge County, Virginia

Rockbridge County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth " — of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 20,808....
. The Bureau of Economic Analysis

Bureau of Economic Analysis

The Bureau of Economic Analysis is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides important economy of the United States statistics including the gross domestic product of the United States....
combines the city of Lexington (along with nearby Buena Vista

Buena Vista, Virginia

Buena Vista is an independent city located within the confines of Rockbridge County, Virginia in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 6,349 at the United States Census 2000....
) with Rockbridge County for statistical purposes.

Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
General David Hunter

David Hunter

David Hunter was a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President of the United States Abraham Lincoln....
led a raid on Virginia Military Institute during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
.

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Encyclopedia

Lexington is an independent city

Independent city

Rockbridge County, Virginia

Rockbridge County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth " — of Virginia. As of the United States Census, 2000, the population was 20,808....
in the Commonwealth

U.S. state

Virginia

West Virginia

Roanoke, Virginia

Washington and Lee University

Virginia Military Institute

County seat

Rockbridge County, Virginia

Bureau of Economic Analysis

Buena Vista, Virginia

Union

Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
General David Hunter

David Hunter

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
. Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
and Stonewall Jackson are buried here. So too was Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury

Matthew Fontaine Maury

Matthew Fontaine Maury , USN was an United States astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator....
until he was removed to Richmond, Virginia the following spring. It is also the site of the only house Jackson ever owned, now open to the public as a museum.

Sam Houston

Sam Houston

Samuel Houston was a 19th century United States statesman, politician, and soldier. Born on Timber Ridge, just north of Lexington, Virginia in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, Houston was a key figure in the history of Texas, including periods as President of the Republic of Texas, United States Senate for Te...
, 19th century statesman, politician and soldier, and, as of 2008, the only person in U.S. history to have been the governor of two different states — Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
and Texas

Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
— was born near here. At the Sam Houston Wayside is a 38,000 pound

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a Units of measurement of massused in the Imperial unit, United States customary units and other systems of measurement....
piece of Texas pink granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of Intrusion , felsic, igneous rock rock . Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as Porphyry ....
commemorating Houston's birthplace.

Economy

Today, Lexington's primary economic activity stems from higher education

Higher education

Higher education refers to a level of education that is provided by university, vocational university, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, Institute of technology and other collegiate level institutions, such as Vocational school, trade schools and career colleges, that award academic degrees or professional certifications....
and tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from...
. Located at the intersection of historic U.S. Route 11

U.S. Route 11

U.S. Route 11 is a north-south United States highway extending 1,645 miles across the eastern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S....
and U.S. Route 60 and more modern highways, Interstate 64 and Interstate 81

Interstate 81

Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canada?United States border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401 , the main freeway connecting Windsor, Ontario-Detro...
, Lexington is host to Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University

Virginia Military Institute

American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, Lexington attracts visitors from around the country. Items of interest in Lexington include the Stonewall Jackson House

Stonewall Jackson House

The Stonewall Jackson House is a 19th century house located at 8 East Washington Street in Lexington, Virginia. Constructed in 1802, by Cornelius Dorman....
, Lee Chapel

Lee Chapel

Lee Chapel is a National Historic Landmark in Lexington, Virginia, on the campus of Washington & Lee University. It was constructed during 1867-68 at the request of Robert E....
, and the downtown historic district.

Lexington also contains a host of small retail businesses, catering to a unique mixture of tourist and collegiate clientèle. Yet, local residents continue to support and contribute to more important business including the Farmer's Market, the two independent bookstores, the healthy food co-op, Don Tequila, the multiple art galleries, etc.

Lexington has been the site for several movies. Parts of at least six motion pictures were filmed in here. The first was the 1938 movie, Brother Rat
Brother Rat

Brother Rat is a 1938 in film starring Ronald Reagan, Eddie Albert, and Jane Wyman. Don DeFore appeared uncredited in a bit role. The film was directed by William Keighley....
, which starred Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he was an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild , and a spokesman for General Electric ....
. After the movie's release he was made an honorary VMI cadet. The second was the 1958 Mardi Gras, which starred Pat Boone

Pat Boone

Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an United States singer, actor and writer who was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s....
as a VMI cadet and actress Christine Carere

Christine Carère

Christine Car?re was a French film actress. She appeared in 25 films between 1951 in film and 1966 in film....
. The third was Sommersby
Sommersby

Sommersby is a 1993 romance film drama film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Bill Pullman and James Earl Jones....
, starring Richard Gere

Richard Gere

Richard Tiffany Gere is an United States actor. He began acting in the 1970s, and came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol....
, Bill Pullman

Bill Pullman

William James Pullman is an American film, television, and stage actor....
, James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones is an United Statesn actor of theater and screen, well known for his deep bass voice....
, and Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster

Alicia Christian Foster, better known as Jodie Foster , is a two-time Academy Award, BAFTA, and Golden Globe-award winning and Emmy-nominated United States actor, Film director and film producer....
. Filming for parts of several Civil War films also took place in Lexington, including the documentary "Lee Beyond the Battles" and Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals

Gods and Generals is a novel which serves as a prequel to Michael Shaara's 1974 Pulitzer Prize-winning work about the Battle of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels....
. Most recently, in the fall of 2004, director Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg

Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. Forbes magazine places Spielberg's net worth at $3.1 billion....
and Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known by his Stage name Tom Cruise, is an United States actor and film producer. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity in 2006....
filmed scenes for War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (2005 film)

War of the Worlds is a 2005 in film science fiction-disaster film based on H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin....
here, with Dakota Fanning

Dakota Fanning

Hannah Dakota Fanning , better known simply as Dakota Fanning, is an United States actress. Fanning's breakthrough performance was in I Am Sam in 2001....
and Tim Robbins

Tim Robbins

Timothy Francis Robbins is an Academy Award winning United States actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer, Activism and musician. He is the longtime domestic partner of actress Susan Sarandon....
.

The city is also home to a number of independent newspapers. is a weekly community paper; it also produces a free shopper known as The Weekender. , another paper, is noted for printing police

Police

Police are agents or agencies, usually of the executive , empowered to enforce the law and to ensure public and social order through the legitimized use of force....
blotter

Blotter

Blotter can mean several things:-*For blotter acid, see LSD*For a desk blotter, see desk*For an antique blotter associated with a quill pen, see fountain pen and blotting paper....
s and other crime reports. is a newsmagazine

Newsmagazine

A newsmagazine, also spelled news magazine, is usually a weekly magazine featuring articles or segments on current events. News magazines generally go more in-depth into stories than newspapers or television news, trying to give the reader an understanding of the context surrounding important events, rather than just the facts....
that comes out once a month, and has the motto "Independent as a hog on ice."

Geography

Lexington is located at (37.782938, -79.445198).

According to the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.4 km²), all of it land. The Maury River

Maury River

The Maury River is a tributary of the James River , 40 mi long, in southwestern Virginia in the United States. Via the James River, it is part of the drainage basin of Chesapeake Bay....
, a tributary of the James River

James River (Virginia)

The James River in the U.S. state of Virginia is a long river, including its Jackson River source. It drains a Drainage basin comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million people ....
, forms the city's northeastern boundary.

Demographics

As of the census

Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
of 2000, there were 6,867 people, 2,232 households, and 1,080 families residing in the city. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
was 2,753.8 people per square mile (1,064.8/km²). There were 2,376 housing units at an average density of 952.8/sq mi (368.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.01% White

White American

White American is an umbrella term officially employed by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget and other U.S. government for the classification of United States citizens or resident aliens "having origins in any of the original peoples of Ethnic groups of Europe, the Ethnic groups of the Middle East, or Ethnic gro...
, 10.38% African American

African American

African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the Black people populations of Africa....
, 0.26% Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
, 1.92% Asian

Asian American

Asian Americans are United States of Asian people. They include sub-ethnic groups such as Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Indian Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, Japanese Americans and others whose national origin is from the Asia....
, 0.01% Pacific Islander

Pacific Islander American

Pacific Islander Americans are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest Race counted in the United States Census 2000....
, 0.48% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans are United States of origins in Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain. The group encompasses distinct sub-groups by national origin and race, and there is much diversity of race and ancestry within national origin groups as well....
of any race were 1.59% of the population.

There were 2,232 households out of which 18.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% were married couples

Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 41.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.76.

The age distribution, heavily influenced by the city's two colleges, was 11.0% under the age of 18, 41.4% from 18 to 24, 14.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 123.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.2 males. The unusual sex distribution can be partially explained by the presence of VMI, which did not admit women until 1997 and remains overwhelmingly male today.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,982, and the median income for a family was $58,529. Males had a median income of $35,288 versus $26,094 for females. The per capita income

Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
for the city was $16,497. About 8.4% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. However, traditional poverty statistics can be misleading when applied to communities with a large proportion of students, such as Lexington.

Publications: print and web

(monthly magazine)
(free public web discussion by/for Rockbridge folk)
(weekly newspaper)
(weekly newspaper)
(weekly Web site and cable broadcast by the students at Washington and Lee University)

Points of interest

Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest State university system military academy and one of six Senior Military College in the United States....
The George C. Marshall Foundation
The George C. Marshall Foundation

The George C. Marshall Foundation, located in Lexington, Virginia, is a library, archive, and museum dedicated to honor the memory and work of George Marshall....
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Lexington, Virginia, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location....
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee

Robert Edward Lee , was a career United States United States Army officer , an engineer, and among the most celebrated generals in American history....
grave site, found in Lee Chapel
Lee Chapel

Lee Chapel is a National Historic Landmark in Lexington, Virginia, on the campus of Washington & Lee University. It was constructed during 1867-68 at the request of Robert E....
on the W&L
Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is a private Liberal arts colleges in the United States in Lexington, Virginia, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location....
campus.
Stonewall Jackson grave site
Sam Houston
Sam Houston

Samuel Houston was a 19th century United States statesman, politician, and soldier. Born on Timber Ridge, just north of Lexington, Virginia in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, Houston was a key figure in the history of Texas, including periods as President of the Republic of Texas, United States Senate for Te...
place of birth (Nearby)
Cyrus McCormick
Cyrus McCormick

Cyrus Hall McCormick, Sr. of Rockbridge County, Virginia was an United States inventor and founder of the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which became part of International Harvester in 1902....
place of residence (nearby)
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu

SN is an undergraduate college fraternity with chapters in the United States and Canada. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, Virginia....
Fraternity International Headquarters
Boxerwood Gardens
Boxerwood Gardens

Boxerwood Gardens 15 acres is an arboretum featuring both native and unusual plant specimens, located within a larger preserve at 963 Ross Road, Lexington, Virginia, United States in the Shenandoah Valley....
Natural Bridge (Virginia)
Natural Bridge (Virginia)

Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County, Virginia is a geological formation in which Cedar Creek has carved out a gorge in the mountainous limestone terrain, forming an arch 215 ft high with a span of 90 ft ....
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order

Kappa Alpha Order is an American social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 131 active chapters with more than and 149,000 initiated members....
International Headquarters

External links

Article on Lexington