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Vienna, Virginia
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Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 14,453 at the 2000 census and it has grown by about 3% since.
In July 2005, ranked Vienna fourth on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States. In addition to excellent public schools, its assets include a downtown with many small businesses, a Washington Metrorail station with large parking garages (the western terminus of the Orange Line) just south of the town, and a portion of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park hiker/biker trail cutting through the center of the town.
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Encyclopedia
Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 14,453 at the 2000 census and it has grown by about 3% since.
In July 2005, ranked Vienna fourth on its list of the 100 best places to live in the United States. In addition to excellent public schools, its assets include a downtown with many small businesses, a Washington Metrorail station with large parking garages (the western terminus of the Orange Line) just south of the town, and a portion of the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park hiker/biker trail cutting through the center of the town. Tysons Corner is nearby, as is Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.
Geography
Vienna is located at (38.899161, -77.260672).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.4 square miles (11.5 kmē), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,453 people, 5,331 households, and 3,982 families residing in the town. The population density was 3,253.8 per square mile, or 1,256.8 per square kilometer. There were 5,438 housing units at an average density of 1,224.3/sq mi (472.9/kmē). The racial makeup of the town was 81.10% White, 3.44% African American, 0.19% Native American, 9.47% Asian, 2.71% from other races, and 3.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.39% of the population.
There were 5,331 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.2% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.08.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.6% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $85,519, and the median income for a family was $93,043. Males had a median income of $62,733 versus $39,563 for females. The per capita income for the town was $37,753. About 1.3% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.6% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Fairfax County has been perennially rated one of the best public school systems in the country. Vienna is home to two high schools (Oakton and Madison), two middle schools, and six elementary schools. However, of all the schools Vienna students attend, only four elementary schools: Cunningham Park Elementary School, Louise Archer Elementary School, Marshall Road Elementary School, and Vienna Elementary School are actually located in the official town limits.
The music program at James Madison High School boasts an award-winning marching band, "The Pride of Vienna", and color guard, two symphonic bands, jazz band, orchestra, and chorus. Their Varsity Baseball team has won 18 District titles, 5 Region titles, and 3 State titles (1968, 1971, 2002), led by Coach Tom Christie's remarkable 8-year run which produced 11 of the 26 titles (6 district/3 region/2 state). A water tower stating "Home of the Warhawks" can be seen towering over the school. Thoreau Middle School shares a class with Kilmer Middle School (also located in Vienna) and Longfellow Middle School (located in Falls Church). All three schools have accelerated programs for students that are determined to be "Gifted and Talented." Close to Madison sit the six elementary schools: Flint Hill (a private school), Louise Archer (which also has a GT center program), Marshall Road, Vienna Elementary, Wolftrap, and Cunningham Park. Each of these schools feed into Thoreau, Kilmer or Longfellow, and then James Madison High School, Oakton High School (just outside Vienna on the border with Oakton, with a Vienna address), George C. Marshall High School (in the Falls Church area of Fairfax County), or McLean High School. Residents of Vienna that live along the town's border with Great Falls, VA also feed into Langley High School via Cooper Middle School. Because of the large influx of new residents in the last decade, the classes of '09, '10, and '11 at these regional high schools are expected to be the largest over the next ten years.
Vienna Little League, the Greater Vienna Babe Ruth League, Vienna Youth, Inc.'s recreational sports leagues and Vienna Youth Soccer (VYS) are the main sources of youth sports for Vienna.
History
The town was originally called Ayr Hill, after the name of the house built by early settler John Hunter, who named it after the place of his birth, Ayr, in Scotland. The name of the town was changed in the 1850s, when a doctor named William Hendrick offered to move there if the town would rename itself after his hometown, Vienna, New York.
On June 17, 1861, four companies of Union troops led by Brigadier General Robert C. Schenck were approaching Vienna from the East by train, when they were ambushed by Confederate troops supported by an artillery battery. The Union forces scattered into the woods, and the locomotive made a hasty retreat. Eight Union soldiers were killed and several were wounded.
The First Baptist Church of Vienna was founded in 1867, and the original church structure was built using Union Army barracks lumber obtained through the Freedman's Bureau. This church building was also the town's first black public school. The first white public school was built in 1872. A permanent black elementary school was built, which was later named for its long-time principal, Louise Archer. Fairfax County Schools were completely desegregated by the Fall of 1965.
Notable residents
- Alex Albrecht, former co-star of the G4techTV TV network's The Screen Savers and current co-host of Diggnation.
- David Baldacci, author.
- Steve Buckhantz, television commentator for the Washington Wizards.
- Bill Emerson, hall of fame bluegrass musician. A founding member of the Country Gentlemen.
- Robert Hanssen, treasonous FBI counterspy.
- Lester Kinsolving, radio talk show host and White House correspondent.
- Robert M. McDowell, communications lawyer and FCC commissioner.
- Alfred D. Sieminski, represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district from 1951-1959.
- Nick Sorensen, safety for the Cleveland Browns; attended George C. Marshall High School.
- Frank Wolf, represents Virginia's 10th congressional district.
- Alfred Stone, one of the leading physicists on the Manhattan project.
Points of interest
External links
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