State of Virginia - VA

The Commonwealth of Virginia (named after Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the Virgin Queen) is one of the original thirteen colonies of the United States that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. It is located in the Southern United States and is one of four states that use the name commonwealth. Virginia was the first part of the Americas to be continuously inhabited by English colonists from its founding as a European colony up to the American Revolution. It included area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. The charter granted lands stretching from approximately the 34th parallel (North Carolina) north to approximately the 45th parallel (New York)and from the Atlantic Ocean westward.

Virginia is known as the "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and Woodrow Wilson), more than any other state. Four of the first five presidents were from Virginia, and seven of the first twelve. The most recent Virginian president was Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president. Virginia has also been known as the "Mother of States", because portions of the original Colony subsequently became Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and West Virginia as well as some portions of Ohio.

Geography
Map of Virginia Virginia - topographic mapSee also: List of Virginia counties, List of Virginia county seats, List of Virginia rivers, Lost Counties, Cities and Towns of Virginia, and Climate of Virginia
Virginia is a Commonwealth and is bordered by West Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia (across the Potomac River) to the north; by Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south; and by Kentucky and West Virginia to the west.

The Chesapeake Bay divides the commonwealth, with Virginia's Eastern Shore, a part of the Delmarva Peninsula, completely separate (an exclave) from the rest of the Commonwealth.

Geographically, Virginia is divided into the following five regions:

Ridge and Valley—between the Appalachian Plateau and Allegheny Plateau to the west and the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east. Sometimes referred to as Valley and Ridge.
Shenandoah Valley—located within the Ridge and Valley Region; it is referred to geographically—and culturally— as its own region.
Blue Ridge Mountains—between the Ridge and Valley Region to the west and the Piedmont region to the east.
Piedmont—between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and the Tidewater region to the east.
Tidewater—between the fall line to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east; it includes the Eastern Shore.
Virginia's long east-west axis means that metropolitan northern Virginia lies as close to New York City and New England as to its own rural western panhandle. Conversely, Lee County, at the tip of the panhandle, is closer to eight other state capitals than it is to Richmond, Virginia's own capital.

Virginia has a number of National Park Service units, including one national park, the Shenandoah National Park. For a list of all areas managed by the National Park Service within Virginia, see: List of areas in the National Park System of the United States in Virginia.

For Virginia state parks, see: List of Virginia state parks.

Climate
The climate is generally considered mild compared to other areas of the United States. It is generally considered a humid, subtropical region.

However, significant variations occur because of the state's significant relief. Elevations in Virginia vary from sea level to the 1746 m Mount Rogers), with major gradations occurring at the edges of the Atlantic Ocean, the end of the Piedmont, and the Blue Ridge and Allegheny chains of the Appalachian Mountains. The usually moderating influence of the ocean from the east, powered by the Gulf Stream, is interspersed with brief moments of danger due to the potential for hurricanes near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. On the other hand, cold air masses arrive over the mountains, especially in winter, leading to significant snowfalls. The interaction of these elements with the state's topography create micro-climates in the Shenandoah Valley, the mountainous southwest, and the coastal plains that are slightly but noticeably distinct from each other.[1] An additional element in recent years is the expansion of the southern suburbs of Washington into Northern Virginia, creating an urban heat island due to the increased energy output of the city. However, aside from the urban stations, no global warming effects have been noted by Virginia weather stations.[2]

Severe weather is occasionally a concern in Virginia. As mentioned above, hurricanes make the coastal area of Virginia somewhat vulnerable, although it is rare for a major hurricane to threaten the Virginia coast as hurricanes this far north tend to become somewhat weakened. More often, Virginia is struck with the remnants of systems which hit further south bringing torrential rain to the state. Thunderstorms are an occasional concern with the state averaging anywhere from 30-50 days of thunderstorm activity annually, with the highest area of occurrence going towards the west. Conversely, eastern Virginia has a higher rate of tornadoes, and the state averages around 10 tornadoes per year.

History
Main article: History of Virginia

Native Americans
At the time of the English colonization of Virginia, Native American people living in what now is Virginia were the Cherokee, Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Meherrin, Monacan, Nansemond, Nottaway, Pamunkey, Pohick, Powhatan, Rappahannock, Saponi, and Tuscarora. The natives are often divided into three groups. The largest group are known as the Algonquian who numbered over 10,000. The other groups are the Iroquoian (numbering 2,500) and the Siouan. [1]

Spanish Failure
A Spanish party had come to the Chesapeake Bay around 1560 and captured a teenage Powhatan boy; he was baptized and renamed Don Luis de Velasco. Don Luis was educated in Mexico and Spain, and then brought back to Virginia ten years afterward to establish a Jesuit Mission named "Jacan". Don Luis fled, returning to his people, and the Powhatans took their revenge on the Spanish by killing the missionaries.[3]

In the early part of 1572, the Spanish returned and tried to fortify "Jacan" on the James River, while sending a gunboat out to retaliate and look for survivors. The Powhatan Indians burned "Jacan" down and forced out the rest of the Spanish. They failed to settle the region, largely because Powhatan Indians resisted the Spanish culture and their religious beliefs.[4]

Virginia Colony: 1607–1776
Sketch of Jamestown c.1608At the end of the 16th century, when England began to colonize North America, Queen Elizabeth I of England (who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married) gave the name "Virginia" to the whole area explored by the 1584 expedition of Sir Walter Raleigh along the coast of North America. The name eventually applied to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine. The London Virginia Company became incorporated as a joint stock company by a proprietary charter drawn up on April 10, 1606. The charter granted lands stretching from approximately the 34th parallel (North Carolina) north to approximately the 45th parallel (New York) and from the Atlantic Ocean westward. It swiftly financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World, which was at Jamestown, named in honor of King James I, in the Virginia Colony, in 1607. The settlement was founded by Captain Christopher Newport and Captain John Smith. Its Second Charter was officially ratified on May 23, 1609. The Virginia Company was also left in control of Bermuda from 1609, when its flagship was wrecked there en route to Jamestown. Its Royal Charter was extended to include the Islands of Bermuda, alias The Somers Isles (sometimes known as Virgineola), in 1612. Bermuda remained part of Virginia until 1614, when its administration was handed to the Crown (although a spin-off of the Virginia Company, the Somers Isles Company, would oversee it from 1615 to 1684).

Jamestown was the original capital of the Virginia Colony, and remained so until the State House burned (not the first time) in 1698. After the fire, the colonial capital was moved to nearby Middle Plantation, which was renamed Williamsburg in honor of William of Orange, King William III. Virginia was given its nickname, "The Old Dominion", by King Charles II of England at the time of The Restoration, because it had remained loyal to the crown during the English Civil War.

An independent commonwealth
Patrick Henry's speech on the Virginia Resolves.In 1780, during the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of then-Governor Thomas Jefferson, who was afraid that Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to a British attack. In the autumn of 1781, American troops trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula in the famous Battle of Yorktown. This prompted a British surrender on October 19, 1781, formally ending the war and securing the former colonies' independence, even though sporadic fighting continued for two years.

Patrick Henry served as the first Governor of Virginia, from 1776 to 1779, and again from 1784 to 1786. On June 12, 1776, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights written by George Mason, a document that influenced the Bill of Rights added later to the United States Constitution. On June 29, 1776, the convention adopted a constitution that established Virginia as a commonwealth independent of the British Empire. In 1790, both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, but in an Act of the U.S. Congress dated July 9, 1846, the area south of the Potomac that had been ceded by Virginia was retroceded to Virginia effective 1847, and is now Arlington County and part of the City of Alexandria.

American Civil War
Virginia is one of the states that seceded from the Union (on April 17, 1861) and operated independently until it joined the Confederacy during the Civil War when it turned over its military on June 8 and ratified the Constitution of the Confederate States on June 19. When it did, some counties were separated as Kanawha (later renamed West Virginia), an act which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 1870. More battles were fought on Virginia soil than anywhere else in America during the Civil War. The city of Richmond served as the capital of the Confederacy during the war. Virginia formally rejoined the Union on January 26, 1870, after a period of post-war military rule.

Demographics
Historical populations
Census
year Population

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1790 691,737
1800 807,557
1810 877,683
1820 938,261
1830 1,044,054
1840 1,025,227
1850 1,119,348
1860 1,219,630
1870 1,225,163
1880 1,512,565
1890 1,655,980
1900 1,854,184
1910 2,061,612
1920 2,309,187
1930 2,421,851
1940 2,677,773
1950 3,318,680
1960 3,966,949
1970 4,648,494
1980 5,346,818
1990 6,187,358
2000 7,078,515
As of 2005, Virginia had an estimated population of 7,567,465, which is an increase of 86,133, or 1.2%, from the prior year and an increase of 488,435, or 6.9%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 231,055 people (that is 531,476 births minus 300,421 deaths) and an increase from net migration of 243,498 people into the commonwealth. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 139,977 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 103,521 people.

As of 2006, 940,899 people in the commonwealth, (8.14% of the population), was born outside the US, and 99,104 were born in a different state.

Virginia Population Density Map
Ethnicity and ancestry
Demographics of Virginia (csv)
By race White Black AIAN Asian NHPI
AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native - NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
2000 (total population) 75.70% 20.54% 0.76% 4.32% 0.15%
2000 (hispanic only) 4.17% 0.42% 0.09% 0.07% 0.02%
2005 (total population) 74.94% 20.65% 0.74% 5.20% 0.16%
2005 (hispanic only) 5.44% 0.46% 0.10% 0.09% 0.03%
Growth 2000-2005 (total population) 5.84% 7.49% 4.61% 28.64% 17.09%
Growth 2000-2005 (non-hispanic only) 3.87% 7.27% 2.22% 28.47% 15.73%
Growth 2000-2005 (hispanic only) 39.60% 18.30% 22.10% 38.58% 24.16%

The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African American (19.6%), German (11.7%), American (11.2%), English (11.1%), Irish (9.8%).

Historically, as the largest and wealthiest colony and state and the birthplace of Southern and American culture, a large proportion (about half) of Virginia's population was made up of black slaves who worked its tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. Initially, these slaves came from West Central Africa, primarily Angola. During the eighteenth century, however, about half of them derived from various ethnicities located in the Niger Delta region of modern day Nigeria. The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the urban North reduced Virginia's black population to about 20%.

Today, blacks are concentrated in the eastern and southern tidewater and piedmont regions where plantation agriculture was most dominant. The western mountains are populated primarily by people of British and American ancestry. People of German descent are present in sizable numbers in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. And because of recent immigration, there is a rapidly growing population of Hispanics (particularly Central Americans) and Asians in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. Also, the Norfork–Virginia Beach area is home to over 80,000 Filipinos and over 100,000 Vietnamese residents, along with several hundred Hmong.

6.5% of Virginia's population were reported as under 5 years old, 24.6% under 18, and 11.2% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 51% of the population.

Religion
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The religious affiliations of the people of Virginia are:

Christian – 84%
Protestant – 69%
Baptist – 32%
Methodist – 8%
Episcopal – 3%
Presbyterian – 3%
Other Protestant or general Protestant – 23%
Roman Catholic – 14%
Other Christian – 1%
Other Religions – 2%
Non-Religious – 12%
Virginia is prominently Protestant; Baptists account as the largest single group with 32.1% of the population being members. Roman Catholics are the second biggest group, and also the third fastest growing. Islam, the second fastest growing group, accounts for 0.99% of the 2% "Other Religions" shown above. Buddhism and Hinduism combined form the fastest group, and largest of the "Other Religions" shown above, accounting for 1.00% of that statistic shown above. About 50.0% of the non-Christian faiths come from India, 3.70% come from the Middle East, 5.50% come from China, 2.20% from Guyana, 0.1% come from Sri Lanka, and 37.9% come from other nations.

Economy
According to the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, Virginia’s gross state product was $326.6 billion. The per capita personal income was $35,477 in 2004.

In 2006 Forbes Magazine voted Virginia the number one state in the USA with the best economy for business.

Virginia's economy is well balanced with diverse sources of income. From the Hampton Roads area to Richmond and down to Lee County in the southwest it includes military installations, cattle, tobacco and peanut farming in Southside Virginia. Northern Virginia (once the dairy capital of Virginia) hosts software, communications, consulting, defense contracting, diplomats, and considerable components of the professional government sector.

Coal mining in Virginia dates to Midlothian and Gayton during the 18th and 19th century, and some mines are still active in southwest Virginia. Kaolin clay has also been mined at Willis Mountain and at Bon Air.

Gold mining was once economically significant, and, at its peak, Virginia was the third largest gold-producing state. Though there are no active commercial mines, gold prospecting continues today on an amateur/hobbyist basis. A large diamond was once discovered during a minor excavation in Manchester.

Virginia gold mining
Virginia, arguably the wealthiest southern state before the Civil War, recovered from the Civil War and the Great Depression much faster than the rest of the South. Today, it is still significantly wealthier than the rest of the South, although much of that is from the northern influence around Washington D.C.

Virginia collects personal income tax in five income brackets, ranging from 3.0% to 5.75%. The sales and use tax rate is 4%. The tax rate on food is 1.5%. There is an additional 1% local tax, for a total of a 5% combined sales tax on most Virginia purchases and a combined tax rate of 2.5% on food. Virginia's property tax is set and collected at the local government level and varies throughout the commonwealth. Real estate is taxed at the local level based on 100% of fair market value. Effective true tax rates on real estate vary and are set by locality. Tangible personal property also is taxed at the local level and is based on a percentage or percentages of original cost. Tangible personal property includes, but is not limited to, machinery and equipment, furniture, fixtures, and trucks and automobiles. The Virginia General Assembly exempted intangible personal property from taxation in 1984 by making the tax rate zero. Virginia does not collect inheritance taxes; however, its estate tax is decoupled from the federal estate tax laws, and therefore the Commonwealth imposes its own estate tax.

Transportation
Welcome sign on State Route 32 where Suffolk, Virginia and Gates County, North Carolina meet.Main article: Transportation in Virginia
Virginia is served by a network of Interstate Highways, arterial highways, several limited-access tollways, railroads, ferries, rapid transit, bridges, tunnels and even bridge-tunnels.

In the Hampton Roads area, there are three bridge-tunnel complexes known as the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Two tunnels and numerous bridges span portions of the Elizabeth River. The James River Bridge, opened in 1928, and rebuilt in the 1970s, spans the James River near its mouth and north of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel.

The Springfield Interchange Project is a major effort to help traffic flow at the Interstate 95, 395, and Capital Beltway (495) interchange south of Washington, D.C. Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors, and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. The Washington Metro rapid transit system serves Northern Virginia as far west as Fairfax County.

The Virginia Department of Transportation operates several free ferries throughout Virginia, the most notable being the Jamestown-Scotland ferry which crosses the James River between historic Jamestown and the community of Scotland in Surry County.

Law and government
The current governor of Virginia is Tim Kaine. The Virginia State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson, and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785.

In colonial Virginia, the lower house of the legislature was called the House of Burgesses. Together with the Governor's Council, the House of Burgesses made up the General Assembly. The Governor's Council was composed of 12 men appointed by the British Monarch to advise the Governor. The Council also served as the General Court of the colony, a colonial equivalent of a Supreme Court. Members of the House of Burgesses were chosen by all those who could vote in the colony. Each county chose two people or burgesses to represent it, while the College of William and Mary and the cities of Norfork, Williamsburg, and Jamestown each chose one burgess. The Burgesses met to make laws for the colony and set the direction for its future growth; the Council would then review the laws and either approve or disapprove them. The approval of the Burgesses, the Council, and the governor was needed to pass a law. The idea of electing burgesses was important and new. It gave Virginians a chance to control their own government for the first time. At first, the burgesses were elected by all free men in the colony. Women, indentured servants, and Native Americans could not vote. Later the rules for voting changed, making it necessary for men to own at least fifty acres (200,000 m²) of land in order to vote. Founded in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is still in existence as the oldest legislature in the New World. Today, the General Assembly is made up of the Senate and the House of Delegates.

Like many other states, by the 1850s Virginia featured a state legislature, several executive officers, and an independent judiciary. By the time of the Constitution of 1901, which lasted longer than any other state constitution, the General Assembly continued as the legislature, the Supreme Court of Appeals acted as the judiciary, and the eight elected executive officers were the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the Commonwealth, State Treasurer, Auditor of Public Accounts, Superintendent of Public Instruction and Commissioner of Agriculture and Immigration. The Constitution of 1901 was amended many times, notably in the 1930s and 1950s, before it was abandoned in favor of more modern government, with fewer elected officials, reformed local governments and a more streamlined judiciary.

Virginia currently functions under the 1970 Constitution of Virginia. It is the Commonwealth's ninth constitution. Under the Constitution, the government is composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.

The legislative branch or state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, a bicameral body whose 140 members make all laws of the Commonwealth. Members of the Virginia House of Delegates serve two-year terms, while members of the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. The General Assembly also selects the Commonwealth's Auditor of Public Accounts. The statutory law enacted by the General Assembly is codified in the Code of Virginia.

The executive branch comprises the Governor of Virginia, the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, and the Attorney General of Virginia. All three officers are separately elected to four-year terms in years following Presidential elections (1997, 2001, 2005, etc) and take office in January of the following year.

The governor serves as chief executive officer of the Commonwealth and as commander-in-chief of its militia. Virginia law forbids any governor from serving consecutive terms. The lieutenant governor serves as president of the Senate of Virginia and is first in the line of succession to the governor. The attorney general is chief legal advisor to the governor and the General Assembly, chief lawyer of the Commonwealth and the head of the Department of Law. The attorney general is second in the line of succession to the governor. Whenever there is a vacancy in all three executive offices of governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general, then the Speaker of the House of the Virginia House of Delegates becomes governor.

The Office of the Governor's Secretaries helps manage the Governor's Cabinet, comprised of the following individuals, all appointed by the governor:

Governor's Chief of Staff
Secretary of Administration
Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry
Secretary of Commerce and Trade
Secretary of the Commonwealth
Secretary of Education
Secretary of Finance
Secretary of Health and Human Resources
Secretary of Natural Resources
Secretary of Public Safety
Secretary of Technology
Secretary of Transportation
Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness
Counselor to the Governor
The judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Virginia Court of Appeals, the General District Courts and the Circuit Courts. The Virginia Supreme Court, composed of the chief justice and six other judges is the highest court in the Commonwealth (although, as with all the states, the U.S. Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the Virginia Supreme Court involving substantial questions of U.S. Constitution law or constitutional rights). The Chief Justice and the Virginia Supreme Court also serve as the administrative body for the entire Virginia court system.

The 95 counties and the 39 independent cities all have their own governments, usually a county board of supervisors or city council which choose a city manager or county administrator to serve as a professional, non-political chief administrator under the council-manager form of government. There are exceptions, notably Richmond, which has a popularly-elected mayor who serves as chief executive separate from the city council.

Virginia is an alcoholic beverage control state. Distilled spirits, plus wine greater than 14% alcohol by volume, are available for off-premises sale solely in state-owned and -operated retail outlets.

Politics
After William Mahone and the Readjuster Party lost control of Virginia politics around 1883, the Democratic Party held a strong majority position of state and federal offices for over 85 years. Since the implementation of Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy in 1968, Virginia has voted for Republicans for president in every election (making it a "red state" for the past ten consecutive presidential elections), longer than any other state. In 1970, Republican A. Linwood Holton Jr. became the first Republican governor in the 20th century. In the years thereafter, Republicans made substantial gains, and for a time, controlled both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, as well as the Governorship from 1994 until 2002. Recently, however, Democrats have been gaining votes in Virginia. In 2004, John Kerry won 45.48% of the vote in Virginia, the highest percentage of any Democrat since Jimmy Carter. Kerry won Fairfax County, long a Republican stronghold, and fared much better in the rest of Northern Virginia than Al Gore did in 2000. Though Northern Virginia continues to trend Democratic, rural Virginia, once a Democratic stronghold, has been trending Republican, balancing out the state's politics and reflecting the national urban-rural split. However, as the population increases in the Washington D.C. suburbs, so has the number of Democratic voters. In 2005, Tim Kaine won nearly all of Northern Virginia, a feat not even accomplished by Mark Warner four years earlier. It is possible that Virginia will become a more politically competitive state in the future as the number of Democrats in the north begins to counterbalance the number of Republicans elsewhere.

Republicans hold both seats in the U.S. Senate, 8 of 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, hold a majority in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Virginia Senate, and Virginia's Lieutenant Governor is a Republican. Republican Robert McDonnell became Attorney General by 360 votes following a limited recount of ballots for that race.
Democrats control the remaining 3 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The newly inaugurated Governor, Tim Kaine, is a Democrat. The Democrats have been gaining seats in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Incumbent Virginia governors cannot run for re-election under the state constitution, and in the November 2005 election to succeed Democratic Governor Mark Warner, Democrat Tim Kaine beat Republican Attorney General Jerry Kilgore (Scott County) and longtime Republican State Senator Russ Potts (Winchester), who ran as an independent. Kaine was inaugurated as governor on January 14, 2006.

Important cities and towns
See also: List of U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in Virginia
Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the commonwealth, with Norfork and Chesapeake second and third, respectively. Norfork forms the urban core of this metropolitan area, which is home to over 1.6 million people. Fairfax County is the most populous county in Virginia. It is currently home to over 1 million people, making the population larger than that of seven states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming).

Under the laws in effect in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as cities are independent of any county. As of 2006, 39 of the 42 independent cities in the United States are in Virginia. For a complete list of Virginia independent cities, see: List of cities in Virginia.

Some other municipalities are incorporated towns, which are not independent of a county but are located within one of the 95 counties in Virginia. For a complete list of Virginia incorporated towns, see: List of towns in Virginia.

Arlington County, which lies across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., is a completely urbanized community; it is much like a city but remains organized as a county, and has no towns within its borders.

There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities (sometimes informally called towns) in Virginia. For a list of important Virginia unincorporated communities, see: List of unincorporated towns in Virginia.

Education

Public, elementary, and secondary schools
See List of school divisions in Virginia

Colleges and universities
For the main article see List of colleges and universities in Virginia

Appalachian School of Law
The Apprentice School
Averett University
Bluefield College
Blue Ridge Community College
Bridgewater College
Christendom College
Christopher Newport University
College of Health Sciences
College of William and Mary
Eastern Mennonite University
Eastern Virginia Medical School
ECPI College of Technology
Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Emory and Henry College
Ferrum College
George Mason University
George Mason University School of Law
George Washington University Virginia Campus
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampton University
Heritage College & Heritage Institute
Hollins University
Institute of Textile Technology
James Madison University
Liberty University
Longwood University
Lynchburg College
Marine Corps University
Mary Baldwin College
Marymount University
Mountain Empire Community College
New River Valley Community College
Norfork State University
Northern Virginia Community College
Old Dominion University
Piedmont Virginia Community College
Radford University
Randolph-Macon College
Randolph-Macon Woman's College
Regent University
Roanoke College
Saint Paul's College
Shenandoah University
Southern Virginia University
Southside Virginia Community College
Southwest Virginia Community College
Sweet Briar College
Thomas Nelson Community College
Tidewater Community College
University of Appalachia College of Pharmacy
University of Mary Washington
University of Northern Virginia
University of Richmond
University of Virginia
University of Virginia's College at Wise
Virginia Commonwealth University
Virginia Highlands Community College
Virginia Intermont College
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine
Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia State University
Virginia Union University
Virginia Wesleyan College
Virginia Western Community College
Washington Bible College and Capital Bible Seminary, Northern Virginia Extension
Washington and Lee University

Professional sports teams
Virginia is by far the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the proximity of Washington, D.C. which has franchises in all four major sports, and the lack of any dominant city or market within the state. An attempt to bring a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads in the 1990s was rejected by the NHL. The Houston Astros were nearly sold and relocated to Northern Virginia in 1996, but Major League Baseball owners stepped in and scuttled the proposed transaction in order to give Houston time to approve a new stadium deal. The team ultimately got its new stadium in Houston and stayed put. A proposal to relocate the Montreal Expos to Norfork was considered by Major League Baseball in 2004. MLB had also considered Northern Virginia as a possible new home for the Expos. However, MLB ultimately settled on the national capital as the Expos' new home. Even though Virginia doesn't have any sports teams people would go to college games instead as an alternative. In a way, the Major teams in D.C. are also considered as Virginia Major Sport teams. There is now current talk of the Florida Marlins relocating to Norfork.

Virginia is home to many minor league clubs, especially in baseball and soccer. Virginia has many outstanding golf courses including Upper Cascades, Kingsmill Resortand the new Greg Norman course at Lansdowne Resort. Other favorites include Old Trail GC, Winton Country Club and Devils Knob at Wintergreen Resort. Virginia is also known for two NASCAR Nextel Cup tracks, Richmond and Martinsville. Between the two tracks, Virginia hosts more Nextel Cup events each season then any other state (4 total, 2 at each venue). Also Virginia has two popular college sports teams in the NCAA Division IA,[2] Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and 2006 NCAA Final Four team George Mason University also field successful and popular basketball programs.

Club Sport League
Alexandria United Basketball American Basketball Association
Bluefield Orioles Baseball Appalachian League
Bristol White Sox Baseball Appalachian League
Danville Braves Baseball Appalachian League
Lynchburg Hillcats Baseball Carolina League
Norfork Tides Baseball International League
Potomac Nationals Baseball Carolina League
Pulaski Blue Jays Baseball Appalachian League
Richmond Braves Baseball International League
Salem Avalanche Baseball Carolina League
Winchester Royals Baseball Valley Baseball League
Staunton Braves Baseball Valley Baseball League
Peninsula Pilots Baseball Coastal Plain League
Petersburg Generals Baseball Coastal Plains League
Norfork Admirals Ice hockey American Hockey League
Richmond Renegades Ice hockey Southern Professional Hockey League
Richmond Bandits Indoor football American Indoor Football League
Chesapeake Athletic Soccer Super Y-League
Hampton Roads Piranhas Soccer W-League
Northern Virginia Majestics Soccer W-League
Northern Virginia Royals Soccer USL Second Division
Richmond Kickers Soccer USL First Division
Richmond Kickers Destiny Soccer W-League
Richmond Kickers Future Soccer Premier Development League
Virginia Beach Mariners Soccer USL First Division
Virginia Beach Submariners Soccer Premier Development League
Williamsburg Legacy Soccer Premier Development League

Trivia
When Douglas Wilder was elected governor of Virginia on January 13, 1990, he became the first African-American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since Reconstruction.

Since 1977 (and through 2005), Virginia has elected a Republican as governor whenever a Democrat was in the White House, and a Democrat for governor whenever a Republican was in the White House.

Virginia is one of only two states (the other is New Jersey) which elect their governors in years immediately following U.S. presidential election years.

USS Virginia was named in honor of this state.

The James Reasoner Civil War Series is a 10-volume set of historical novels set in Culpeper, Virginia.

In addition to being the birthplace of 8 US Presidents, Virginia is also the birthplace of Sam Houston, a President of the Republic of Texas

State symbols
State motto: "Sic semper tyrannis." (Thus always to tyrants.)
State bird: Cardinal
State dog: American Foxhound
State nickname: Old Dominion
State flower: Dogwood
State tree: Dogwood
State insect: Tiger swallowtail
State bat: Virginia Big-Eared Bat
State song: none; the former state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginny," was retired in 1997 because some found its lyrics to be racially offensive
State dance: Virginia Reel
State boat: Chesapeake Bay deadrise
State fish: Brook trout
State shell: Oyster
State fossil: Chesapecten jeffersonius
State beverage: Milk

Notes
^ Climate of Virginia.
^ Advisory 01/07: THE HOT GET HOTTER? URBAN WARMING AND AIR QUALITY. University of Virginia Climatology Office.
^ Price, 11
^ Boyer, 39, 41

References
Fiske, John, Old Virginia and Her Neighbours, Cambridge University Press, and Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston & New York, 1897, in two volumes.
Billings, Warren M., A Little Parliament - The Virginia General Assembly in the Seventeenth Century, Library of Virginia &c., Richmond, 2004, ISBN 0-88490-202-1
Price, A. David., "Love & Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and The Start of a New Nation", Vintage Books, A Divsion of Random House, Inc., New York, 2003.
Boyer, S. Paul., Clark Jr., E. Clifford., Kett, Joseph., Salisbury, Neal., Sitkoff, Harvard., and Woloch, Nancy. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People, Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston & New York, 2000, Fourth Edition.

 

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