Editing Waverly, Virginia

{{other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Waverly, Virginia
|settlement_type          = [[Town]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Waverly VA.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Downtown Waverly
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

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

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

<!-- 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         = 3.08
|area_land_sq_mi          = 3.08
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 1955
|population_density_sq_mi = auto

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset = &minus;5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
| utc_offset_DST = &minus;4
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_ft             = 112
|coordinates              = {{coord|37|2|2|N|77|5|43|W|region:US-VA_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]s
|postal_code              = 23890-23891
|area_code                = [[Area code 804|804]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 51-83600<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>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 1500286<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  = {{Official website|http://waverlyva.org/}}
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
|area_total_km2 = 7.99
|area_land_km2 = 7.99
|area_water_km2 = 0.00
|population_density_km2 = 
}}

'''Waverly''' is an [[incorporated town]] in [[Sussex County, Virginia|Sussex County]], [[Virginia]], United States. Per the [[2020 United States Census|2020 census]], the population was 1,955.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Waverley town, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US5183600|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=December 25, 2022}}</ref>

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2007}}
Popular legend has it that [[William Mahone]] (1826–1895), builder of the [[Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad]] (now [[Norfolk Southern]]), and his cultured wife, [[Otelia Butler Mahone]] (1837–1911), traveled along the newly completed Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad naming stations. Otelia was reading ''[[Ivanhoe]]'', a book written by Sir [[Walter Scott]]. From his historical Scottish novels, Otelia chose the place names of Waverly, as well as [[Windsor, Virginia|Windsor]] and [[Wakefield, Virginia|Wakefield]]. She tapped the Scottish Clan "McIvor" for the name of [[Ivor, Virginia|Ivor]], a small town in neighboring [[Southampton County, Virginia|Southampton County]]. When they could not agree, it is said that they invented a new name in honor of their dispute, which is how the tiny community of [[Disputanta, Virginia|Disputanta]] a few miles west of Waverly was named. The N&P railroad was completed in 1858.

William Mahone became a [[Major General]] in the [[Confederate Army]] during the [[American Civil War]], and later, a Senator in the [[United States Congress]]. A large portion of [[U.S. Route 460 in Virginia|U.S. Route 460]] between [[Petersburg, Virginia|Petersburg]] and [[Suffolk, Virginia|Suffolk]] is named in his honor.

Waverly is the second largest of the towns Gen. Mahone founded. Waverly has supplied the most state senators and delegate members to the [[Virginia General Assembly]] of any Virginia town under 3,000 people. They are [[Junius Edgar West]], Delegate (1910–1912) and Senator (1912–1918); Thomas H. Howerton, Delegate (1912–1914); William O. Rogers, Senator (1924–1934); [[Garland Gray|Garland "Peck" Gray]], Senator (1942–1945 and 1948–1971); and [[Elmon T. Gray]], Senator (1971–1992).

The [[Miles B. Carpenter House]], [[Hunting Quarter]], and [[Waverly Downtown Historic District]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

One of the last [[Lynching in the United States|lynching]]s in Virginia happened in Waverly in 1925, when a black man was arrested for allegedly attacking a married white woman and stealing a pistol belonging to her husband. An armed mob of approximately 500 descended on the jail, seized the man, and then strung him up a tree, shot him, and burned him.<ref name="richmond.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/memories-of-lynching-linger-in-waverly/article_fdd4a998-fee4-5339-8b4c-7790f0ce7e49.html|title=Memories of 1925 lynching linger in Waverly|first=Frank|last=Green|work=Richmond Times-Dispatch|date=March 2, 2014 }}</ref> The following day, Governor [[Elbert Lee Trinkle|E. Lee Trinkle]] arrived in Waverly and admonished citizens.<ref name="richmond.com"/> Negative publicity surrounding the event and the lynching of another black man in [[Wytheville, Virginia]] in 1926, led to anti-lynching legislation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Antilynching_Law_of_1928|title = Anti-Lynching Law of 1928 – Encyclopedia Virginia}}</ref>

On February 24, 2016, an EF1 [[tornado]] moved directly through Waverly, killing three, as verified by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The storm also caused significant damage to the town, destroying mobile homes, and damaging homes, businesses, trees, and power poles and lines.<ref>{{cite web|type=Report|agency=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Wakefield, Virginia|title=Virginia Event Report: EF1 Tornado|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=621853|publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information|year=2016|access-date=May 29, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|type=Report|agency=National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Wakefield, Virginia|title=Virginia Event Report: EF1 Tornado|url=https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=621854|publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information|year=2016|access-date=May 29, 2016}}</ref> This was all part of a [[Tornado outbreak of February 23–24, 2016|massive storm system]] that moved rapidly across the region.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Web|last1=Staff|title=3 killed, significant damage seen after reported tornado hits Waverly|url=http://wtvr.com/2016/02/24/2-killed-in-wavery-tornado/|website=WTVR|date=February 24, 2016|publisher=Tribune Broadcasting|access-date=February 24, 2016}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 3.1&nbsp;square miles (8.0&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), all  land.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 170
|1900= 493
|1910= 1064
|1920= 1306
|1930= 1355
|1940= 1288
|1950= 1502
|1960= 1601
|1970= 1717
|1980= 2284
|1990= 2223
|2000= 2309
|2010= 2149
|2020= 1955
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census by Decade|publisher=[[US Census Bureau]]|access-date=}}</ref><br> 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2/> 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2/>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Waverly town, 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) – Waverly town, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US5183600&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) – Waverly town, Virginia|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US5183600&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|640
|524
|29.78%
|26.80%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|1,390
|1,310
|64.68%
|67.01%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|1
|5
|0.05%
|0.26%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|11
|0
|0.51%
|0.00%
|-
|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|0
|4
|0.00%
|0.20%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|1
|5
|0.05%
|0.26%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|23
|55
|1.07%
|2.81%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|83
|52
|3.86%
|2.66%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''2,149'''
|'''1,955'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|}

===2010 Census===
As of the [[2010 United States Census]], there were 2,149 people living in the town. The racial makeup of the town was 64.7% Black, 29.8% White, 0.0% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.0% from some other race and 1.1% from two or more races. 3.9% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 2,309 people, 880 households, and 570 families living in the town. The [[population density]] was 752.6 people per square mile (290.4/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 960 housing units at an average density of 312.9 per square mile (120.7/km<sup>2</sup>). The racial makeup of the town was 36.73% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 61.76% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.13% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.04% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.48% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.87% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 880 households, out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 20.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,698, and the median income for a family was $39,792. Males had a median income of $27,414 versus $21,279 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $14,848. About 11.7% of families and 15.7% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 21.4% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

==Notable people==
*[[Garland Gray]] (1902–1977), banker, farmer, and sawmill owner who served in the [[Virginia Senate]] from 1940s until the 1970s.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
*[[Elmon T. Gray]] (1925–2011), lumberman, real estate developer, and philanthropist who served in the [[Virginia Senate]] from the 1970s to the 1990s.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}  
*[[Shirley MacLaine]], lived here as a young child when her father, Ira Beaty, was briefly the local school's principal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/shirley-maclaine/biography.html|title=Shirley MacLaine|work=Yahoo Movies|access-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref>
*[[Warren Beatty]], lived here a young child when his father, Ira Beatty, was briefly the local school's principal.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}
*[[Miles B. Carpenter House|Miles B. Carpenter]], Noted American [[folk artist]].{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Virginia}}

==References==
<references />

{{Sussex County, Virginia}}
{{Virginia towns}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Virginia]]
[[Category:Towns in Sussex County, Virginia]]
[[Category:Lynching deaths in Virginia]]
[[Category:Racially motivated violence against African Americans in Virginia]]