Route 1 in downtown South Hill
South Hill is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 4,403. Located on major Interstate and national
highways, it has a small hospital (serving patients from several rural counties), a tobacco market, and many small hotels such as
Holiday Inn, Fairfield Inn, Hampton Inn, Best Western, etc. Lake Gaston, a large reservoir
popular with boaters and fishermen, is a short distance to the southwest.
Geography
South Hill is located at 36°43′36″N, 78°7′50″W (36.726759,
-78.130597)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area
of 16.4 km² (6.3 mi²). 16.4 km² (6.3 mi²) of it is
land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.47%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 4,403 people, 1,809 households, and 1,190 families residing
in the town. The population density was 269.0/km² (696.2/mi²). There were 1,988
housing units at an average density of 121.5/km² (314.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 58.37% White, 39.43% African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.57% of the population.
There were 1,809 households out of which 27.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 18.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were
non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from
45 to 64, and 19.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 77.6 males.
For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 70.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $31,078, and the median income for a family was $38,156. Males had a median
income of $30,128 versus $21,996 for females. The per capita income for the town was
$19,319. About 14.3% of families and 18.8% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 30.9% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.
Election returns have shown that citizens favored Republican candidates (more often at 60% or above) for all levels of
governments (other than local) since 1996.[1]. In the 2006 election cycle however, donations from residents to Democratic and Republican
candidates and organizations were almost evenly divided.[2]
Local government
South Hill is governed by a weak mayoral system with an eight member town
council and a mayor.
'Weak' is not a derogatory term here. In this form of the mayor-council government, the council possess both legislative and
executive authority. The council may appoint officials and must approve of mayoral nominations. The council also exercises
primary control over the municipal budget. It comes from the belief that if politicians have few powers and many checks, then
they can do relatively little damage." This form of government is most commonly used in small towns like South Hill.
Members of the South Hill town council:
Chad J. Barbour
M.B. Bracey
Johnny M. Cook, Jr.
John H. Crowder, Jr.
William T. Doyle, Sr.
William R. Gregory
J. Woodrow Kidd
C. Leroy Sasser
Mayor: Earl O. Horne
The daily operation of South Hill is overseen by a town manager, Kim Callis.
The town council and mayor seats are non-partisan, and elections are held every four years.
External links
Coordinates:
36.726759° N 78.130597°
W
References
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