Editing Glasgow, Virginia

{{other uses|Glasgow (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Glasgow, Virginia
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = McCullough Street in Glasgow.jpg
|imagesize                = 250px
|image_caption            = McCullough Street in the [[Glasgow Historic District|historic district]]
|image_flag               = Flag of Glasgow, Virginia.png
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = VAMap-doton-Glasgow.PNG
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Glasgow, Virginia
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = [[United States]]
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Virginia]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Virginia|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Rockbridge County, Virginia|Rockbridge]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref  = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_51.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 19, 2024}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.53
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.53
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.01
|area_total_km2           = 3.97
|area_land_km2            = 3.95
|area_water_km2           = 0.01

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="Census 2020">{{Cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=160XX00US5131136 |title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Glasgow town, Virginia |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=March 19, 2024}}</ref>
|population_total         = 1052
|population_density_sq_mi = 689.4
|population_density_km2   = 266.2

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = -5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_ft             = 738
|coordinates              = {{coord|37|37|59|N|79|27|6|W|region:US-VA|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 24555
|area_code                = [[Area code 540|540]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 51-31136<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1494956<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
|website                  = [http://www.glasgowvirginia.org/ Official website]
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est           = 
}}
'''Glasgow''' is a town in [[Rockbridge County, Virginia|Rockbridge County]], [[Virginia]], [[United States]], at the confluence of the [[James River (Virginia)|James]] and [[Maury River|Maury]] Rivers. The population was 1,052 at the 2020 census.<ref name="Census 2020"/>

Glasgow has had issues with flooding, notably during [[Hurricane Camille]] in 1969. As a result of flooding concerns, the Balcony Falls Dam (just east of the confluence of the James and Maury rivers) was removed in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glasgowvirginia.org/History_Article_s_Page.html|title=History Article's Page|website=glasgowvirginia.org|access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref> From 2001 to 2007, the town was known for having at least a dozen fiberglass dinosaur figures along the roadside.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Town That Time Forgot (Gone), Glasgow, Virginia|url=https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9211|access-date=2020-08-23|website=RoadsideAmerica.com|language=en}}</ref>

==History==

German explorer [[John Peter Salling]] and his brother Adam were the first Europeans to settle in what is known today as Glasgow around 1741. In December 1742, the [[Battle of Galudoghson]] between Iroquois warriors and a company of Virginia militia took place near the confluence of the James River and the Maury River. The militia captain, John McDowell, was killed, along with eight militia soldiers.<ref name = "Draper">[https://books.google.com/books/about/Action_at_the_Galudoghson_December_14_17.html?id=jCMqguvM_qQC Draper, Lyman C. ''Action at the Galudoghson December 14, 1742; Colonel James Patton, Captain John McDowell and the First Battle with the Indians in the Valley of Virginia; with an Appendix Containing Early Accounts of the Battle.'' Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, 1995]</ref> Between 1760 and 1768, John Paxton II acquired most of the Salling property. Robert, Joseph, and Arthur Glasgow settled in the area in 1768. Glasgow was named after Joseph Glasgow, son of Arthur. Joseph and his wife, Nancy Ellis McCullough, built their home, known as Union Ridge, in 1823.

In 1854 Frank Padgett, a Black slave, drowned while attempting to rescue passengers stranded on a canal boat by the swollen James River. A granite obelisk monument commemorating his death stands in Glasgow's Centennial Park.<ref>[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=49859 Historical marker: "Frank Padget Water Tragedy," Historical Marker Database, April 22, 2022]</ref><ref>[https://appetite4history.com/2017/02/22/frank-padget-hero-batteauman/ Sandi Esposito, "Frank Padget: Hero Batteauman," appetite4history.com, February 22, 2017]</ref>

Glasgow was established on March 5, 1890, when the Rockbridge Company held a drawing of lots. At that time only two houses, Union Ridge and the Salling home, stood in Glasgow, which then had a population of only 20 people. By 1892, the town had paved roads, streetlamps, telephone service and a 200-room hotel, the Rockbridge Hotel. [[Panic of 1893|The panic of 1893]], however, led to an economic collapse that put the Rockbridge Company out of business. The hotel was abandoned and torn down around 1906. The Virginia Electrical Power Company (VEPCO, now [[Dominion Energy]]) built a [[hydroelectric plant]] at Balcony Falls in 1915. The plant was in operation until 1969. Citing evidence that the devastating [[Hurricane Camille#Virginia|flood of 1969]] would not have been as bad if the dam were not there, citizens of Glasgow petitioned to have the dam removed in 1974.<ref>[https://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Portals/31/NAO-2016-00134_Project%20Description.pdf?ver=er76LgHtUrHFAk5oA0NJTQ%3D%3D "Maury River Stream Restoration II at Echols Farms, Glasgow, VA," USACE Norfolk District Regulatory/WVRS, June 27, 2016]</ref> Flooding has affected the city numerous times in its history. Since the earliest recorded flood in 1877, the city was flooded in 1936, 1950, 1969, 1972, 1985, and 1995, with the floods of 1936, 1969 and 1985 being the worst.<ref>[https://glasgowvirginia.org/history "The History of Glasgow," Glasgow town website]</ref>

==Geography==
Glasgow is located at {{coord|37.633093|-79.451542|type:city_region:US|format=dms|display=inline}} (37.633093, -79.451542).<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=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> Glasgow is about 6 miles east of the community of [[Natural Bridge, Virginia|Natural Bridge]], the site of the [[Natural Bridge (Virginia)|historic land bridge of the same name]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 1.5&nbsp;square miles (4.0&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), all of it land.

===Climate===
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.  According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Glasgow has a [[humid subtropical climate]], abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=573344&cityname=Glasgow,+Virginia,+United+States+of+America&units=|title=Glasgow, Virginia Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)|website=Weatherbase|access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref> On July 15, 1954, Balcony Falls recorded a maximum temperature of {{convert|110|°F|0}}, which is the highest temperature ever recorded in the state of [[Virginia]].<ref name = SCEC>{{cite web |url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/scec/records/all/tmax |title = State Climate Extremes Committee }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1910= 407
|1920= 376
|1930= 507
|1940= 938
|1950= 810
|1960= 1091
|1970= 1304
|1980= 1259
|1990= 1140
|2000= 1046
|2010= 1133
|2020= 1052
|estyear= 
|estimate= 
|estref= 
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 1,046 people, 450 households, and 296 families living in the town. The [[population density]] was 691.9 people per square mile (267.5/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 494 housing units at an average density of 326.7 per square mile (126.3/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 80.50% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 16.16% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.48% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.38% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 2.49% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 450 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,819, and the median income for a family was $37,292. Males had a median income of $28,235 versus $21,422 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $14,093. About 8.9% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://glasgowvirginia.org/ Town of Glasgow official website]

{{Virginia towns}}
{{Rockbridge County, Virginia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Rockbridge County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Populated places on the James River (Virginia)]]