Editing Scottsville, Virginia

{{distinguish|Scottsburg, Virginia}}
{{distinguish|text=Scottville in Powhatan County, a former name for [[Powhatan, Virginia]]}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Scottsville, Virginia
| settlement_type    = [[Town]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_skyline      = Valleystreet.JPG
| imagesize          = 250px
| image_caption      = Valley Street, Scottsville, Virginia
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = Seal of Scottsville, Virginia.png

<!-- Maps -->| 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|Counties]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Albemarle County, Virginia|Albemarle]], [[Fluvanna County, Virginia|Fluvanna]]

<!-- 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="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_51.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_sq_mi   = 1.54
| area_land_sq_mi    = 1.52
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.01

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 522
| timezone           = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 279
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 24590
| area_code          = [[Area code 434|434]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = {{FIPS|51|70800}}
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 1500041<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1500041}}</ref>
| website            = [http://www.scottsville.org scottsville.org]
| footnotes          = 
| area_total_km2     = 3.98
| area_land_km2      = 3.94
| area_water_km2     = 0.04
}}
'''Scottsville''' is a town in [[Albemarle County, Virginia|Albemarle]] and [[Fluvanna County, Virginia|Fluvanna]] counties in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Virginia]]. The population was 522 at the 2020 census.<ref>{{Cite web |publisher= US Census Bureau|title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |access-date=January 1, 2025 |website=Census.gov |language=en}}</ref> It is part of the [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] [[Charlottesville metropolitan area|Metropolitan Statistical Area]].

==History==
[[File:Scottsville Hill.jpg|thumb|left|View from hillside of Old Scott's Ferry (circa 1911)]]

The Scottsville Museum<ref>{{cite web|url=https://smuseum.avenue.org/|title=Scottsville Museum Website|access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref> provides online archives.

According to [http://www.scottsville.org/ Scottsville's website], the town "served as Virginia's westernmost center of government and commerce during the 1700s, when rivers were the primary means of travel in the new American wilderness." During the late 18th and the 19th centuries attempts were made to improve navigability along the James, as well as other central Virginian rivers. Part of this was the construction of a canal running roughly parallel with the James west from [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. Scottsville was the largest port town along this route, called the [[James River and Kanawha Canal]]. The ultimate goal of this project was to connect the [[Atlantic]] with the [[Ohio River]] via the [[Kanawha River]]. These aims were not achieved, due to interruption by the [[American Civil War]] and the efficiency of the railroads. It did however succeed in making Scottsville a busy, prominent town. In fact, thanks to a wagon road connecting [[Staunton, Virginia|Staunton]] to Scottsville, all of the agricultural wealth of the [[Shenandoah Valley]] poured into town en route to Richmond and the sea, thereby making Scottsville the largest [[grain trade|grain market]] in the state. Trade was disrupted when Union soldiers broke the canal works in the area. Then the train came, the tracks being laid directly on the towpath of the old canal, a monument to its demise. Eventually, the train too stopped taking passengers, leaving Scottsville a sleepy country town on a coal line.

Located near Scottsville, the [[Hatton Ferry]] serves as a seasonal crossing of the James River and has been the location of a ferry since the late 1870s.

Scottsville was the birthplace of [[Thomas Staples Martin]], who served five terms as a Democrat in the [[United States Senate]] representing Virginia.<ref>[http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=2006_08/uvaBook/tei/b004865476.xml;chunk.id=d15;toc.depth=1;toc.id=;brand=default;query=Johnston,%20Frances%20Benjamin# Hon. Thomas Staples Martin, History of Virginia, University of Virginia Library]</ref> Born at Scottsville in 1847, Martin served in the Confederate Army, then went on to practice law.<ref>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000200 Martin, Thomas Staples, 1847&ndash;1919, Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress]</ref>

The [[Scottsville Historic District]], [[Cliffside (Scottsville, Virginia)|Cliffside]], [[High Meadows]], [[Mount Ida (Scottsville, Virginia)|Mount Ida]], and [[Mount Walla]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

In September 2019, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to adjust the town's boundaries. The adjustment accounts for the expansion of the Scottsville Volunteer Fire Department and for a clarification of a boundary line along the James River.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbc29.com/story/41004818/albemarle-supervisors-sign-off-on-plan-to-adjust-scottsville-borders|title=Albemarle Supervisors Sign Off on Plan to Adjust Scottsville Borders|last=Markham|first=Chris|last2=DeLuca|first2=Pete|date=September 4, 2019|website=www.nbc29.com|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916110536/https://www.nbc29.com/story/41004818/albemarle-supervisors-sign-off-on-plan-to-adjust-scottsville-borders|archive-date=September 16, 2019|access-date=September 5, 2019}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:James River at Scottsville, VA IMG 4186.JPG|thumb|[[James River]] at Scottsville]]

Scottsville is located at {{coord|37.8022|-78.4969|type:city_region:US|format=dms|display=inline}} (37.8022, -78.4969).<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>

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 land.

[[File:2016-06-03 18 35 34 View east along Virginia State Route 6 and south along Virginia State Route 20 (Valley Street) just south of Irish Road in Scottsville, Albemarle County, Virginia.jpg|thumb|View east along SR 6 and south along SR 20 in Scottsville]]

==Transportation==
The main highways serving Scottsville are [[Virginia State Route 6]] and [[Virginia State Route 20]]. SR 6 extends westward towards [[Waynesboro, Virginia|Waynesboro]] and eastward towards [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]]. SR 20 extends northward towards [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]] and southward towards [[Dillwyn, Virginia|Dillwyn]].

==Education==
The Scottsville museum website provides detailed information about and photographs of the school provision in Scottsville.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottsvillemuseum.com/school/home.html|title=Scottsville Museum School page|access-date=March 8, 2024}}</ref>

In the [[Jim Crow]] era, education was racially segregated until the 1960s. Segregated provision was made by Scottsville School and [[Esmont High School]].

Today, education is provided by [[Monticello High School (Virginia)|Monticello High School]], Leslie Walton Middle School and Scottsville Elementary School.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| align = left
| 1870 = 388
| 1880 = 465
| 1890 = 362
| 1900 = 384
| 1910 = 283
| 1920 = 329
| 1930 = 341
| 1940 = 368
| 1950 = 396
| 1960 = 353
| 1970 = 290
| 1980 = 250
| 1990 = 239
| 2000 = 555
| 2010 = 566
| 2020 = 522
| estref = <ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref>
| 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">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 556 people, 256 households, and 145 families living in the town. The [[population density]] was 360.2 people per square mile (139.1/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 300 housing units at an average density of 194.7 per square mile (75.2/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 93.51% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 4.68% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.72% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.36% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 0.72% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.36% of the population.

There were 256 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,903, and the median income for a family was $41,667. Males had a median income of $31,369 versus $22,656 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $17,432. About 11.1% of families and 12.9% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

[[File:Scottsville Aerial View (7797532376).jpg|thumb|Flooding at Scottsville caused by the passage of [[Hurricane Camille]] in 1969]]


==Floods==
Scottsville has not flooded since the levee was constructed in 1985. Since 1870, Scottsville has had twenty-one floods (defined as water levels of twenty feet or more above the average low water level). In 1985, the Army Corps of Engineers built a [[levee]] around the lowest portion of Scottsville, providing protection against further floods. Mayor A. Raymon Thacker spearheaded the movement to build the levee starting after [[Hurricane Agnes]] to prevent any more floods affecting Scottsville. The levee has been very effective preventing numerous floods in the post levee era.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{Commons category|Scottsville, Virginia}}
* [http://www.scottsville.org Town website]
* [http://avenue.org/smuseum Scottsville Museum]
* [http://avenue.org/cbs/ Scottsville's Canal Basin Square Website]

{{Albemarle County, Virginia}}
{{Fluvanna County, Virginia}}
{{Virginia towns}}

{{authority control}}

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