Bristol, Virginia

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This article is about the southern Virginia city of Bristol. For the northern Virginia town of Bristow, see Bristow, Virginia.

Bristol, Virginia

A sign welcomes visitors to the twin cities of Bristol, Virginia and Bristol, Tennessee.

Seal

Nickname: The Birthplace of Country Music

Motto: A Good Place To Live

Coordinates: 36°35′47″N 82°11′18″W / 36.59639, -82.18833

Government

- Mayor

James "Jim" Rector

Area

- Total

13.2 sq mi (34.1 km²)

- Land

12.9 sq mi (33.4 km²)

- Water

0.3 sq mi (0.7 km²)

Elevation

1,680 ft (512 m)

Population (2000)

- Total

17,367

- Density

1,346.4/sq mi (519.8/km²)

Time zone

Eastern (UTC-5)

- Summer (DST)

EDT (UTC-4)

Area code(s)

276

FIPS code

51-09816^[1]

GNIS feature ID

1492633^[2]

Website: http://www.bristolva.org

State Street separates Virginia (left) and Tennessee (right).

Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, bounded by Washington County, Virginia and Sullivan County, Tennessee.

As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 17,367. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State Street. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bristol, Virginia with Washington County for statistical purposes. Along with Kingsport, Tennessee and Johnson City, Tennessee the Bristols form the Tri-Cities.

Originally named Goodson, it was renamed to Bristol in 1890.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Government
4 Technology
5 Education
- 5.1 Colleges
- 5.2 High schools
6 Culture
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Geography

Bristol is located at 36°36′40″N, 82°10′34″W (36.611116, -82.176193)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.2 square miles (34.1 km²), of which, 12.9 square miles (33.4 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (2.05%) is water. The city is served by I-81, US-58, US-421, and US-11.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 17,367 people, 7,678 households, and 4,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,346.4 people per square mile (519.8/km²). There were 8,469 housing units at an average density of 656.6/sq mi (253.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.54% White, 5.57% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 1.08% from two or more races. 0.97% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,678 households out of which 24.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the city, the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 24.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,389, and the median income for a family was $34,266. Males had a median income of $28,420 versus $20,967 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,311. About 13.2% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.8% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

As of May 2008, the following individuals were major figures in Bristol's government:

Mayor, James "Jim" Rector
City Manager, William "Bill" Dennison
City Attorney, Walt Bressler
City Clerk, Steve Allen
Councilmember, Fred T. Bowman
Councilmember, Ernest Sprouse
Councilmember, James R. Heaney
Councilmember, Guy P. Odum
Sheriff, Jack Weisenburger
Circuit Court Clerk, Terry Rohr
Commissioner of Revenue, Terry Frye
Commonwealth Attorney, Jerry Wolfe
City Treasurer, Wilma Gill
School Boardmember, Ronald Cameron
School Boardmember, Randy White
School Boardmember, Virginia Goodson
School Boardmember, Eric Clark
School Boardmember, Tyrone Foster

[edit] Technology

Despite its relatively small size, Bristol, Virginia boasts one of the most advanced broadband networks in the country. Bristol Virginia Utilities, BVU OptiNet (BVU) started planning a fiber optic deployment in the city in the late 1990s. By the year 2001, BVU had been granted approval by the City Council of Bristol for a full deployment of a Fiber to the premises (FTTP or FTTU, fiber to the user). This project was to offer competition to local incumbents and provide broadband Internet, cable TV, and telephone service to the residents of Bristol. This deployment was one of the first of its kind in the United States and was widely watched by the telecommunications industry. A system known as Passive optical network (PON) was successfully deployed to over 6000 customers in a matter of 2 years.

Today, Bristol Virginia is still one of only a few FTTP deployments in the country with a significant amount of customers online. Bristol’s twin, Bristol, Tennessee, is also deploying an FTTP system similar to its neighbor across the state line.

[edit] Education

In 2007 and 2008, Bristol was named one of the Best 100 Communities for Music Education^[4]^[5]^[6]

[edit] Colleges

Virginia Intermont College

Sullins College

[edit] High schools

Virginia High School

[edit] Culture

[edit] "Birthplace of Country Music"

Bristol is considered to be the "Birthplace of Country Music" according to a resolution passed by the US Congress in 1998 for its contributions to early country music recordings and influence.

In 1927 Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol to attempt to capture the local sound of traditional 'folk' music of the region.

One of these local sounds was created by the Carter family. The Carter Family got their start on July 31, 1927, when A.P. Carter and his family journeyed from Maces Spring, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.

Since 1994 the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance has promoted the city as a destination to learn about the history of the region and its role in the creation of an entire music genre. Currently, the Alliance is organizing the building of a new Cultural Heritage Center to help educate the public about the history of country music in the region.