Norton, Virginia

History

The settlement was originally known as "Prince's Flats," but in a bid to convince the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to build a depot there, the town was renamed after the then-current head of the railroad, Eckstein Norton. Norton was located on the Wilderness Trail, which had been blazed by Daniel Boone, and later extensively mapped and settled by Christopher Gist. The settlement developed as a central hub for the timber trade until the coal boom of the 1830-40s.

The Hotel Norton is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Norton is located along the Powell and Guest Rivers. The entire area of Norton lies within the confines of Wise County but is not a part of the county.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.5 sqmi, virtually all of which is land.

Major highways

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 census

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 can be of any race.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,904 people, 1,730 households, and 1,067 families residing in the city. The population density was 518.5 /mi2. There were 1,946 housing units at an average density of 258.4 /mi2. The racial makeup of the city was 91.57% White, 6.15% Black, 0.08% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.

There were 1,730 households, out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 15.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.8 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,788, and the median income for a family was $30,889. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $23,229 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,024. About 19.1% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.7% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The city of Norton is located in the 9th congressional district, currently served by Morgan Griffith. For state government, Norton lies in the 1st House district (Terry Kilgore) and the 38th Senate district (Travis Hackworth, previously Ben Chafin, who died from COVID-19 complications).

Since 2004, Norton has reliably voted for the Republican candidate for president. Although John McCain beat Barack Obama in Norton by just a single vote in 2008, the Republican margins increased thereafter, reaching forty percent margins beginning in 2016.

In 2021, Norton voted for Glenn Youngkin over Terry McAuliffe at a greater than forty-five percent margin.

Education

Norton City Schools is the school division of the city, operating John I. Burton High School and Norton Elementary and Middle School.

Notable people

• Dock Boggs – musician and songwriter
• James L. Camblos (1888–1970) – mayor of Norton, state delegate
• Vernon Crawford "Jack" Cooke – bluegrass musician
• Jacob Cress – furniture maker

References

References

1. "City Council". City of Norton.
2. "Norton History {{!}} Norton, VA". City of Norton.
3. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
4. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
5. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
6. "Norton city, Norton city, Virginia".
7. "Evolution of Norton".
8. Te nnis, Joe. (2004). "Southwest Virginia Crossroads: An Almanac of Place Names and Places to See". The Overmountain Press.
9. {{NRISref
10. "Census of Population and Housing from 1790". [[US Census Bureau]].
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
13. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
14. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Norton city, Virginia".
15. "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Norton city, Virginia".
16. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
17. David Leip. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". Uselectionatlas.org.
18. "H. Morgan Griffith (Virginia (VA)), 117th Congress Profile".
19. (2021-01-02). "Virginia state Sen. Ben Chafin dies from COVID-19 complications".
20. "Virginia House of Delegates Member Listings".
21. "Senate of Virginia".
22. (1970-07-16). "Camblos". The Post.
23. "Jacob Cress / American Art". Americanart.si.edu.