Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of
Virginia. The population was 6,867 at the 2000
census. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about
50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.
It is home to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Washington and Lee University. It is the county seat
of Rockbridge County6. The Bureau of Economic
Analysis combines the city of Lexington (along with nearby Buena Vista)
with Rockbridge County for statistical purposes.
Stonewall Jackson House, 8 East Washington Street
Union General David Hunter led a raid on Virginia
Military Institute during the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried here. So too was
Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury until he was removed to Richmond, Virginia the
following spring. It is also the site of the only house Jackson ever owned, now open to the public as a museum.
Sam Houston, 19th century statesman, politician and
soldier, and, as of 2005, the only person in U.S. history to have been the governor of two
different states — Tennessee and Texas — was born near here. At
the Sam Houston Wayside is a 38,000 pound piece of Texas pink granite commemorating Houston's birthplace.
Economy
Today, Lexington's primary economic activity stems from higher education and
tourism. Located at the intersection of historic U.S. Route
11 and U.S. Route 60 and more modern highways, Interstate 64 and Interstate 81, Lexington is first and
foremost a small college town, and is host to Virginia Military Institute and Washington
and Lee University. As a Civil War attraction, Lexington attracts visitors
from around the country. Items of interest in Lexington include the Stonewall Jackson
House, Lee Chapel, and the downtown historic district.
A monument in Lexington honors the three fraternities that began in the town.
Lexington's two colleges have been the founding sites of three large national college fraternities; Alpha Tau Omega,
Kappa Alpha Order, and Sigma Nu were all founded by
Lexington students during Reconstruction. A monument now commemorates this so-called
"Lexington Triad".
Lexington also contains a host of small businesses, catering to a unique mixture of tourist and collegiate clientèle.
Lexington was the site for several movies. Parts of at least three motion pictures were filmed in here. The first was the
1938 movie, Brother Rat, which starred Ronald Reagan. After the movie's release he was made an honorary VMI cadet. The second was the
1958 Mardi Gras, which starred Pat Boone as a VMI cadet and actress Christine Carere. The third was
Sommersby, starring Richard Gere,
Bill Pullman, James Earl Jones, and
Jodie Foster. Filming for parts of several Civil War films also took place in Lexington,
including the documentary "Lee Beyond the Battles" and Gods and Generals. Most recently, in the fall of 2004, director
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise filmed scenes for
War of the Worlds here, with Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins.
The city is also home to a number of independent newspapers. The News-Gazette is a weekly community paper; it also
produces a free shopper known as The Weekender. The Rockbridge Weekly, another paper, is noted for printing
police blotters and other crime reports. The Rockbridge Advocate is a
newsmagazine that comes out once a month, and has the motto "Independent as a hog on
ice."
Geography
Lexington is located at 37°46′58″N, 79°26′42″W (37.782938,
-79.445198)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 6.4 km² (2.5 mi²), all land. The
Maury River, a tributary of the James River,
forms the city's northeastern boundary.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 6,867 people, 2,232 households, and 1,080 families residing
in the city. The population density was 1,064.8/km² (2,753.8/mi²). There were 2,376
housing units at an average density of 368.4/km² (952.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.01% White, 10.38% African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population.
There were 2,232 households out of which 18.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were
non-families. 41.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.76.
The age distribution, which is heavily influenced by the city's two colleges, is: 11.0% under the age of 18, 41.4% from 18 to
24, 14.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every
100 females there were 123.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.2 males. The unusual sex distribution
can be partially explained by the presence of VMI, which did not admit women until 1997 and remains
overwhelmingly male today.
The median income for a household in the city was $28,982, and the median income for a family was $58,529. Males had a median
income of $35,288 versus $26,094 for females. The per capita income for the city was
$16,497. About 8.4% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. However, traditional poverty statistics can
be misleading when applied to communities with a large proportion of students, such as Lexington.
Publications: Print and Web
Points of interest
External links
http://www.thenews-gazette.com/
Coordinates:
37.782938° N 79.445198°
W
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