Martinsville, Virginia

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Martinsville
Martinsville, Table of Historic Landmarks
Martinsville, Table of Historic Landmarks
Location in Virginia
Martinsville, Virginia
Martinsville
Martinsville
Basic data
State : United States
State : Virginia
Coordinates : 36 ° 41 ′  N , 79 ° 52 ′  W Coordinates: 36 ° 41 ′  N , 79 ° 52 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 15,416 (as of: 2000)
Population density : 542.8 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 28.5 km 2  (approx. 11 mi 2 ) of
which 28.4 km 2  (approx. 11 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 310 m
Postcodes : 24112-24115
Area code : +1 276
FIPS : 51-49784
GNIS ID : 1498514
Website : www.ci.martinsville.va.us
Mayor : Kathy Lawson

Martinsville is an independent city in Virginia , USA with a population of 15,416. Although the city is independent, it is often counted as part of Henry County .

geography

The city has an area of ​​28.5 km², of which 28.4 km² is land and 0.1 km² (0.45%) is water.

history

Martinsville was founded by Joseph Martin, a general of the American Revolutionary War . Martin owned a property called Scuffle Hill on the Smith River on what is now the southern city limits. Furniture making was the town's main industry for a century, and there are still furniture makers in the area today. The booming industry resulted in Martinsville being declared an independent city in 1928, although it still retained county seat status . Shortly after the Second World War, the chemical company DuPont built a production facility.

In 1949, seven young black men - called the Martinsville Seven - were charged with raping a white woman and sentenced to death. The conviction was made by an all-male and all-white jury , and no trial lasted longer than a day. The men were executed in Richmond in February 1951 .

DuPont later built a large manufacturing facility for nylon , a material essential to the war effort that made the city a potential target for strategic bombing during the Cold War . With this nylon production, the textile industry in the region began to grow by leaps and bounds. The global economic conditions and new trade agreements at the beginning of the 1990s meant that the textile and furniture industry could no longer be sustained economically. Many companies went out of business and laid off thousands of workers. The city is currently repositioning itself to become a center for technology development and manufacturing.

Given the administration's inability to fund certain services, the city may decide to change its legal status from city to town in the near future .

schools

The Martinsville public school system includes a high school , a middle school , two elementary schools, and a preschool . The only high school in town is Martinsville High School with approximately 900 students.

In addition, there is a private PS-12 school in Martinsville, the Carlisle School . It has about 400 students, about 100 of whom are high school students.

sons and daughters of the town

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Report on the Martinsville Seven at www.crmvet.org
  2. ↑ George Hairston Jamerson , valor.militarytimes.com
  3. ↑ Man of Honor: Four-Star Gen. Dennis L. Via , questia.com
  4. ↑ Mike Neill , baseball-reference.com