Wise (Virginia)
| Wise | |||
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 Wise County Courthouse in Wise (built 1896) ( National Register of Historic Places since 1981) |
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| Location in Virginia | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1874 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | Virginia | ||
| County : | Wise County | ||
| Coordinates : | 36 ° 59 ′ N , 82 ° 35 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 ) | ||
| Residents : | 3,255 (as of: 2000) | ||
| Population density : | 406.9 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 8.0 km 2 (approx. 3 mi 2 ) of which 8.0 km 2 (approx. 3 mi 2 ) is land |
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| Height : | 747 m | ||
| Postal code : | 24293 | ||
| Area code : | +1 276 | ||
| FIPS : | 51-87072 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 1498553 | ||
| Website : | www.townofwise.org | ||
| Mayor : | Clifton Carson | ||
Wise (since 1924; previously Big Glades , Gladesville or Gladeville ) is a place in Wise County in the US state of Virginia . It is the main town and administrative seat (so-called County Seat ) of Wise County.
Three buildings in the town - all located on Main Street - were listed on the National Register of Historic Places : the Wise County Courthouse in 1981, the Colonial Hotel in 1991, and the EM Fulton House ( 05001581 ) in 2006.
Wise is home to the University of Virginia's College at Wise , the only branch college of the University of Virginia . In addition, the place has four schools, including three public schools (Wise Primary School, LF Addington Middle School and JJ Kelly High School) and a Christian private school (Wise County Christian School).
Wise is twin town of the Turkish city Çeşme (west of İzmir ).
history
In the borderland in southwest Virginia, the place Big Glades (English for: large clearings ) had developed, probably named after the clearings in the vicinity. A post office was opened in 1850. The oldest documents about a school in the village come from 1855, when a one- room wooden hut ( log cabin ) was used as a school.
In 1856, a new county was created in southwest Virginia and named "Wise County" after the newly incumbent Governor of Virginia, Henry A. Wise. The main town and administrative seat (so-called County Seat ) had changing names, from "Big Glades" to "Gladesville" to "Gladeville"; under the latter name was finally officially in 1874 to a (small) town by the ( incorporated ). Only in 1924 would the place be renamed "Wise".
The town was damaged during the American Civil War : in 1864, among other things, a small courthouse in Wise County was destroyed by Union troops. The significantly larger new building was not built until 1896 and today not only houses the court, but also serves as the county's most important administrative building.
After 1880, Wise County's coal industry found its way. As coal mining developed in the northwest of the city, the place became a trading center ( Beaty's Store was founded in 1870); Wise should reach its peak with the coal "boom" in the 1970s.
In 1882 Gladeville College was built, offering students classes for all classes, from elementary to college level. In 1906 the "college" was transformed into Wise High School, the first high school in Wise County. Over the years, small rural schools - there were 106 school buildings in Wise County in 1928 - have been grouped into larger units. As part of school building activities in Wise County in the 1950s, the JJ Kelly High School was built in Wise. In the 1960s, racial segregation was abandoned in schools. In 1968 the Wise Primary School moved into its current building (extension from 2000). In a new, even stronger phase of school construction and expansion in the county in the 1970s, the LF Addington Middle School was built.
As early as 1954, the state Clinch Valley College was opened in Wise with the support of the University of Virginia ; the small college became the only branch of the University of Virginia. It is the only state four-year college in Virginia west of Radford . In 1999 the college was renamed the University of Virginia's College at Wise .
population
The population is 95.24% white according to the United States Census Bureau (2000). In that year, 26.3% of 1,424 households in Wise had children under the age of 18 and 47% were married couples. The households averaged 2.17 people and earned $ 28,531 US dollars . 19.7% of the population were under 18 years old, 11.3% between 18 and 24, 30.7% between 25 and 44, 23.4% between 56 and 64 and 15% 65 years or older.
Probably the most famous person who produced Wise is the actor George C. Scott , who was born and raised in Wise. Also born here was Raymond Allen Davis , a CIA operative convicted of two murders in Pakistan.
Personalities
- George C. Scott (1927–1999), film, television and stage actor as well as director and producer
Individual evidence
- ↑ Big Glades. private website, text apparently by Vickie Sturgill Stevens (English; accessed March 18, 2011)
- ↑ a b c E. L. "Buck" Henson ( undated ). A Brief History of Wise, Virginia. Printed on www.wisecounty.org (English; accessed March 18, 2011)
- ^ Brenda B. Lee (2004). A Historical Snapshot of Education in Wise County Schools. (PDF; 34 kB) at www.wise.k12.va.us (accessed March 18, 2011)