Editing Giles County, Virginia

{{short description|County in Virginia, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county               = Giles County
 | state                = Virginia 
 | seal                 = giles Seal.gif
 | founded              = 1806
 | named for            = [[William Branch Giles]]
 | seat wl              = Pearisburg 
 | largest city wl      = Pearisburg 
 | city type            = town
 | area_total_sq_mi     = 360
 | area_land_sq_mi      = 356 
 | area_water_sq_mi     = 4.6 
 | area percentage      = 1.3 
 | population_as_of     = 2020
 | population_total     = 16787 
 | pop_est_footnotes    = 
 | pop_est_as_of        = 
 | population_est       = 
 | population_density_sq_mi = auto 
 | web                  = www.VirginiasMtnPlayground.com
 | time zone            = Eastern
 | district             = 9th
 | ex image             = Giles County Courthouse - Front View.jpg
 | ex image cap         = [[Giles County Courthouse]]
 | ex image size        = 150px
 | logo                 = 
}}

'''Giles County''' is a [[county (United States)|county]] located in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Virginia]] on the [[West Virginia]] state line. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 16,787.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Giles County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US51071|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=January 30, 2022}}</ref> Its [[county seat]] is [[Pearisburg, Virginia|Pearisburg]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=June 7, 2011 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=May 31, 2011 }}</ref>

Giles County is included in the [[Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area]].

Giles County is the location of [[Mountain Lake (Virginia)|Mountain Lake]], one of only two natural fresh water lakes in Virginia. The lake drains into Little Stony Creek, which passes over a waterfall known as The Cascades before reaching the [[New River (Kanawha River)|New River]].

==History==
[[File:William Branch Giles.jpg|thumb|left|William Branch Giles, for whom the county was named]]
Giles County was established in 1806 from [[Montgomery County, Virginia|Montgomery]], [[Monroe County, West Virginia|Monroe]], [[Wythe County, Virginia|Wythe]], and [[Tazewell County, Virginia|Tazewell]] counties. The county is named for [[William Branch Giles]]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9V1IAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA137 | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=137}}</ref> who was born in [[Amelia County, Virginia|Amelia County]] in 1762. Giles became a lawyer and from there was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]] where he served from 1790 to 1815. He also served in the [[Virginia General Assembly]] from 1816 to 1822. In 1827, he was elected Governor. In all, he served his nation and state around a total of forty years.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau|U.S. Census Bureau]], the county has a total area of {{convert|360|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|356|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|4.6|sqmi}} (1.3%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> Giles County is one of the 423 counties served by the [[Appalachian Regional Commission]],<ref name="ARC">{{cite web |title=About the Appalachian Region |url=https://www.arc.gov/about-the-appalachian-region/ |publisher=Appalachian Regional Commission |access-date=21 June 2024}}</ref> and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book ''[[American Nations|American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America]]''.<ref name="NYT_CW">{{cite news |last1=Woodard |first1=Colin |title=The Maps That Show That City vs. Country Is Not Our Political Fault Line |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/opinion/urban-rural-united-states-regions-midterms.html |work=New York Times |date=July 30, 2018 |access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref>

It is the site of two of the highest [[mountain peaks of Virginia]].

===Adjacent counties===
* [[Summers County, West Virginia]] – north
* [[Monroe County, West Virginia]] – north
* [[Craig County, Virginia|Craig County]] – east
* [[Montgomery County, Virginia|Montgomery County]] – southeast
* [[Pulaski County, Virginia|Pulaski County]] – south
* [[Bland County, Virginia|Bland County]] – west
* [[Mercer County, West Virginia]] – northwest

===National protected area===
* [[Jefferson National Forest]] (part)

===Major highways===
* {{Jct|state=VA|I|73}} (future)
* {{Jct|state=VA|US|219|name1=Federal Street}}
* {{Jct|state=VA|US|460|name1=Virginia Avenue}}
* {{Jct|state=VA|SR|42|name1=Virginia State Route 42}} (disconnected; one piece comes in from Bland County to VA 100 while the other goes from U.S. 460 into Craig County)
* {{Jct|state=VA|SR|61|name1=[[Wolf Creek (New River tributary)|Wolf Creek]] Highway outside of Narrows}}
* {{Jct|state=VA|SR|100|name1=Virginia State Route 100}}

===Railroads===
* [[Norfolk Southern]] (Virginia Division)

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1810= 3745
|1820= 4521
|1830= 5274
|1840= 5307
|1850= 6570
|1860= 6883
|1870= 5875
|1880= 8794
|1890= 9090
|1900= 10793
|1910= 11623
|1920= 11901
|1930= 12804
|1940= 14635
|1950= 18956
|1960= 17219
|1970= 16741
|1980= 17810
|1990= 16366
|2000= 16657
|2010= 17286
|2020= 16787
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing from 1790-2000|publisher=[[US Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 24, 2022}}</ref><br />1790–1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/va190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref><br />1990–2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref> 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2/> 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2/>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Giles County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Giles County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51071&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Giles County, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=0500000US51071&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|16,580
|15,673
|95.92%
|93.36%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|259
|238
|1.50%
|1.42%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|19
|28
|0.11%
|0.17%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|54
|69
|0.31%
|0.41%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Some Other Race]] alone (NH)
|7
|19
|0.04%
|0.11%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed Race/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|158
|516
|0.91%
|3.07%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|209
|244
|1.21%
|1.45%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''17,286'''
|'''16,787'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR8">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=August 24, 2014 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2010, there were 17,286 people, 7,215 households, and 4,899 families residing in the county. The [[population density]] was {{convert|48|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|}}. There were 8,319 housing units at an average density of {{convert|23|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup of the county was 96.74% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 1.51% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.12% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.32% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.36% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.95% from two or more races. 1.21% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 7,215 households, out of which 29.27% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.46% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.49% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 27.86% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.56% 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 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.70% under the age of 18, 4.89% from 20 to 24, 23.85% from 25 to 44, 29.43% from 45 to 64, and 18.03% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.14 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.55 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $45,231, and the median income for a family was $53,750. Males had a median income of $41,521 versus $36,886 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the county was $23,766. About 6.60% of families (2000 census) and 12.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]]<ref name="efg">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/interactive/#view=StateAndCounty&utilBtn=&yLB=0&stLB=47&cLB=0&dLB=0&gLB=0&usSts_cbSelected=false&usTot_cbSelected=false&stateTot_cbSelected=true&pLB=4&multiYearSelected=false&multiYearAlertFlag=false&prStateFlag=false&invalidSDYearsFlag=false|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=September 1, 2014|title=Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates}}</ref>(2012), including 17.70% of those under age 18 (2012)and 10.50% of those age 65 or over (2000 census).

==Government==
===Board of Supervisors===
* At-Large District: Paul W. "Chappy" Baker (I)
* At-Large District: Richard "Ricky" McCoy (I)
* Central District: Jeffrey Morris (I)
* Eastern District: Perry Martin (I)
* Western District: John Lawson (I)

===Constitutional officers===
* Clerk of the Circuit Court: Sherry E Gautier (I)
* Commissioner of the Revenue: Lisa Corell (I)
* Commonwealth's Attorney: Robert M. Lilly, Jr. (I)
* Sheriff: W. Morgan Millirons (I)
* Treasurer: Angela L. Higginbotham (I)

Giles is represented by Democrat [[John S. Edwards (Virginia politician)|John S. Edwards]] in the Virginia Senate, Republican Jason Ballard in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican [[Morgan Griffith|H. Morgan Griffith]] in the U.S. House of Representatives.

===Law enforcement ===

The Giles County Sheriff's Department patrols and investigates crimes in the county. It also serves process, provides security for the county court, and operates the county's [[E-911]] service.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sheriff|url=https://virginiasmtnplayground.com/sheriff/ |access-date=October 22, 2022|work=Virginia's Mountain Playground |language=en-US}}</ref> Since the establishment of the Sheriff's Office, 1 officer has died in the line of duty, in 1954.<ref>[http://www.odmp.org/agency/1430-giles-county-sheriffs-office-virginia Officer Down Memorial page]</ref>

=== Presidential election results ===
{{PresHead|place=Giles County, Virginia|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=December 9, 2020}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|7,102|2,069|92|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,876|2,156|144|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,910|1,950|352|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|4,660|2,730|168|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,462|3,192|141|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|4,320|3,047|131|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|3,574|3,004|242|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|2,566|3,196|964|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|3,023|3,346|1,263|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,490|3,042|116|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|4,340|3,047|73|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|2,978|3,627|335|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|2,731|3,779|229|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|3,671|1,869|166|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,722|2,045|1,510|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,952|3,133|82|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|2,030|2,214|83|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|2,270|2,016|93|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|1,935|1,717|3|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|1,448|1,529|138|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|1,203|1,703|4|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|1,024|1,716|4|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,047|1,547|2|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,016|1,754|32|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|1,313|1,293|0|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|852|1,319|59|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|877|1,104|6|Virginia}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|596|839|5|Virginia}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|267|725|254|Virginia}}

==Communities==

===Towns===
After the dissolution of the Town of Glen Lyn in 2024,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hemphill |first1=Michael |title=The Giles County town of Glen Lyn votes itself out of existence |url=https://cardinalnews.org/2024/12/10/the-giles-county-town-of-glen-lyn-votes-itself-out-of-existence/ |website=Cardinal News |access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref> Giles County has four incorporated towns.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Town
! Population<br/>in 2022<ref name="census_csv">{{cite web|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places in Virginia: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022 (SUB-IP-EST2022-POP-51)|url=https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2020-2022/cities/totals/SUB-IP-EST2022-POP-51.xlsx |publisher=United States Census Bureau |date=May 2023 | access-date=February 1, 2024 }}</ref>
|-
|[[Narrows, Virginia|Narrows]]||  style=text-align:right |2,046
|-
|[[Pearisburg, Virginia|Pearisburg]]||  style=text-align:right |2,832
|-
|[[Pembroke, Virginia|Pembroke]]||  style=text-align:right |1,129
|-
|[[Rich Creek, Virginia|Rich Creek]]||  style=text-align:right |735
|}

===Unincorporated communities===
{| border="0"
|-
|valign="top"|
* [[Eggleston, Virginia|Eggleston]]
* [[Glen Lyn, Virginia|Glen Lyn]]
* [[Goldbond, Virginia|Goldbond]]
* [[Hoges Chapel, Virginia|Hoges Chapel]]
* [[Kimballton, Virginia|Kimballton]]
* [[Maybrook, Virginia|Maybrook]]
|valign="top"|
* [[Newport, Giles County, Virginia|Newport]]
* [[Prospectdale, Virginia|Prospectdale]]
* [[Ripplemead, Virginia|Ripplemead]]
* [[Staffordsville, Virginia|Staffordsville]]
* [[Trigg, Virginia|Trigg]]
* [[White Gate, Virginia|White Gate]]
|}

== Education ==
Giles county is home to three public elementary/middle schools, two public high schools, and one technical school:<ref name="xyz">{{cite web|url=http://sbo.gilesk12.org/curenr.pdf |publisher=Giles County |access-date=August 24, 2014 |title=School Data |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826120516/http://sbo.gilesk12.org/curenr.pdf |archive-date=August 26, 2014 }}</ref>
:: Eastern Elementary/Middle School (Pembroke)
:: Macy McClaugherty Elementary/Middle School (Pearisburg)
:: Narrows Elementary/Middle School (Narrows)
:: Giles High School (Pearisburg)
:: [[Narrows High School]] (Narrows)
:: Giles County Technology Center (Pearisburg)
The schools have a combined enrollment of 2425 as of mid 2014.

==In popular culture==
* The county and its [[Giles County Courthouse|courthouse]] are the setting of the 2013 film [[Wish You Well (film)|''Wish You Well'']].

==See also==
* [[Giles County Sheriff's Office (Virginia)|Giles County Sheriff's Office]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Virginia#Giles County|National Register of Historic Places in Giles County, Virginia]]

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* http://gilescounty.org/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206003522/http://www.gilescounty.org/ |date=December 6, 2006 }}
* [http://GilesCounty.net Giles County Web Portal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815010056/http://gilescounty.net/ |date=August 15, 2020 }}

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Giles County,Virginia
|North     = [[Summers County, West Virginia]] and [[Monroe County, West Virginia]]
|Northeast =
|East      = [[Craig County, Virginia|Craig County]]
|Southeast = [[Montgomery County, Virginia|Montgomery County]]
|South     = [[Pulaski County, Virginia|Pulaski County]]
|Southwest =
|West      = [[Bland County, Virginia|Bland County]]
|Northwest = [[Mercer County, West Virginia]]
}}

{{Giles County, Virginia}}
{{Virginia}}

{{coord|37.32|-80.70|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-VA_source:UScensus1990}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:People from Giles County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Giles County, Virginia| ]]
[[Category:Virginia counties]]
[[Category:1806 establishments in Virginia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1806]]
[[Category:Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area]]