Yorktown

 

historic town (1990 pop. 270), seat of York co., SE Va., on the York River 10 mi (16 km) from its mouth on Chesapeake Bay; settled 1631, laid out 1691. It is included in the Colonial National Historical Park (see National Parks and Monuments, table). The town, once an important tobacco port, reached its zenith c.1750. The Yorktown campaign (1781) brought to a close the American Revolution; the battlefield surrounds the town. In the Civil War, Yorktown was besieged (Apr.–May, 1862) by McClellan in the Peninsular campaign, and the city was taken by Union troops on May 4. Places of interest in Yorktown include the customhouse (c.1706; restored 1929); Grace Church (1697); the Moore House (c.1725), in which the terms of Cornwallis's surrender were negotiated; and the Yorktown Monument (1881), commemorating the victory of 1781.

Bibliography

See B. Davis, The Campaign That Won America: The Story of Yorktown (1970).

Yorktown, Virginia
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Location of Yorktown, Virginia
Coordinates: 37°14′4″N 76°30′35″W / 37.23444, -76.50972
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	York
Area
- CDP	sq mi (km²)
- Land	sq mi ( km²)
- Water	sq mi ( km²)
Elevation	ft ( m)
Population (2000)
- CDP
- Density	/sq mi (/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	23690-23693
Area code(s)	757
FIPS code	51-882402
GNIS feature ID	15000813

Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia, United States. The population was 203 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of York County⁶, one of the 8 original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1634.

It is most famous as the site of the surrender of General Cornwallis to General George Washington in 1781. Although the war would last for another year, this British defeat at Yorktown did effectively end the American Revolutionary War. Yorktown also figured prominently in the American Civil War (1861-1865), serving as a major port to supply both northern and southern towns, depending upon who held Yorktown at the time.

Today, Yorktown is part of an important national resource known as the Historic Triangle of Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg, and is the eastern terminus of the Colonial Parkway. Yorktown is also the eastern terminus of the TransAmerica Trail, a bicycle touring route created by the Adventure Cycling Association.

History

Geography makes Yorktown a strategic place in control of the river of Virginia and access to the Chesapeake Bay.

Yorktown was named for York, a city in Northern England, and was founded in 1691 as a port for shipping tobacco to Europe.

Yorktown was the base of British General Charles Cornwallis during the 1781 siege of Yorktown, the last major battle of the American Revolutionary War. Nine buildings still survive from this period, as well as many of the earthworks dug by the besieging American and French forces. There is also a memorial to the French war dead of the battle.

Yorktown was also used as the base for the Federal Army of the Potomac under General George B. McClellan in the 1862 Peninsular Campaign.

Geography

Yorktown is situated along the York River in southeastern Virginia. Yorktown has several distinct areas. Yorktown Village or Historic Yorktown is set on the York River, near the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge that spans said river to reach Gloucester Point. Historic Yorktown is comprised first of a small strip along the beach of the York River, Water Street, which contains several small restaurants, a park, a hotel, a pier, and as of May 2005 completed a building project that has small shops and restaurants. Next, Main Street sits above Water Street on a bluff, around which the architecture is almost exclusively original. The old court house, several small shops, the Nelson house, as well as the Yorktown Monument sit along this road. Around the center of the town are residential streets. Also, architecturally of note is Grace Episcopal Church, situated on Church St. near the old courthouse of Yorktown. Shops and eateries making up the "Riverwalk" section on the waterfront opened in May 2005. Colonial National Historical Park, which contains Yorktown National Battlefield and Yorktown National Cemetery, is located on the outskirts of the town. President's Park is a new attraction displaying large outdoor statues of the heads of each American President accompanied by biographical plaques.

U.S. Highway 17 or George Washington Memorial Highway is the primary thoroughfare of Yorktown, and cuts past Yorktown by way of the Coleman Bridge. York County has grown rapidly, and in 15 years has grown from a small road going through mostly wooded areas to a heavily traveled route on which numerous strip malls and commercial areas are situated. Most of the residential areas of York County branch off of Route 17. Almost all of the recent growth of York County has occurred on or near Route 17, rather than near Yorktown, which at this point is becoming much more of a historical colonial village, much like Williamsburg, Virginia, under the guidance of the National Park Service.

Currently two military installations are located in York County:

• Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, which serves as the point at which United States Navy vessels load and unload ordnance. There have been reports of nuclear weapons stored there.
• United States Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, which serves as a training school for the United States Coast Guard.

Yorktown is also close to Naval Station Norfolk at Norfolk, Virginia and the shipyards at Newport News, Virginia.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 203 people, 117 households, and 45 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 122.5/km² (314.9/mi²). There were 129 housing units at an average density of 77.8/km² (200.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 99.995% White, and 0.004% from two or more races.

There were 117 households out of which 8.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.5% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.7% were non-families. 53.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.74 and the average family size was 2.63.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 9.4% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $30,804, and the median income for a family was $74,000. Males had a median income of $26,964 versus $16,923 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $24,748. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.

External links

Coordinates: 37.234352° N 76.509844° W

• York County Virginia Local Government
• Williamsburg Area Convention and Visitors Bureau - The Official Website
• Virginia is For Lovers - Official State Tourism Office Website
• The Duke of York Hotel - Riverfront Lodgings in Historic Yorktown

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