Surry County | |
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 Seal | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofVirginia | |
 Virginia's location within theU.S. | |
| Coordinates:37°07′01″N76°53′18″W / 37.11691°N 76.88831°W /37.11691; -76.88831 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Virginia |
| Founded | 1652 |
| Named after | Surrey |
| Seat | Surry |
| Largest town | Claremont |
| Area | |
• Total | 310 sq mi (800 km2) |
| • Land | 279 sq mi (720 km2) |
| • Water | 31 sq mi (80 km2) 10.1% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 6,561 |
| • Density | 23.5/sq mi (9.08/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Website | www |
Surry County is acounty in the southeastern part of theCommonwealth of Virginia. As of the2020 census, the population was 6,561.[1]
In 1652, Surry County was formed from the portion ofJames City County south of theJames River. For more than 350 years it has depended on an agricultural economy.[citation needed] The county has 19 sites listed on theNational Register, including a landmark occupied in 1676 known asBacon's Castle andChippokes Plantation (now a state park). TheJamestown Ferry provides easy access to Virginia'sHistoric Triangle, featuringJamestown,Williamsburg, andYorktown, linked by theNational Park Service'sColonial Parkway.[citation needed]
The county is known for farming, curing Virginia Hams, and harvesting lumber, notablyVirginia pine.
During the times of theVirginia Colony, Surry County was formed in 1652 from a portion ofJames City County (one of the original 8 counties formed in 1634) south of theJames River. It was named for the English county ofSurrey. Surry County initially consisted of two parishes of theChurch of England: Lawne's Creek and Southwark.
Nearby, in 1665,Arthur Allen built aJacobean brick house. A decade later it became known asBacon's Castle because it was occupied as a fort or "castle" duringBacon's Rebellion against the Royal Governor, SirWilliam Berkeley. (Nathaniel Bacon never lived at Bacon's Castle, but rather atCurles Neck Plantation inHenrico County, about 30 miles upriver on the James River's northern bank).
The first town,Cobham, was established in 1691 at the mouth of Gray's Creek, where it flows into the James River. NeighboringSussex County was formed from the southwestern end of Surry County in 1754. After theAmerican Revolutionary War, during which theBritish Legion looted the county, Surry County became part of the new Commonwealth of Virginia, one of the first 13 United States.
During theAmerican Civil War, theConfederate Army included the Surry Light Artillery and the Surry Cavalry.
In 1873, a New Jersey timberman, David Steele, with financing from Baltimore interests, began a lumber business in Surry County but went bankrupt a decade later. Baltimore investors Waters and Company incorporated the Surry Lumber Company in 1885. In 1886 it incorporated the Surry, Sussex, and Southampton Railway, which delivered lumber to Scotland wharf on the James River (now the Jamestown Ferry terminal). The company (headquartered atSedley, Virginia) and SS&S railroad grew, reaching their heyday around 1920. But the company did not replant after it cut the old-growth pine, and found further logging in the area difficult after 1925.
In 1927, it closed its mills inDendron, Virginia, causing considerable economic distress in the county. The railway went bankrupt in 1930. Gray Lumber Company ofWaverly, Virginia, which replanted its timber cuts, bought 15,000 acres from the Surry Lumber Company in 1941, and other companies soon bought the rest of the company's acreage.[2]
The Temperance, Industrial and Collegiate Institute, a school for black Americans, was located in Surry County from 1892 to 1928. A Virginia State Historic Marker is located at the site of the former campus inClaremont, and a memorial to the school's founder, John Jefferson Smallwood, is located at the Abundant Life Church Cemetery inSpring Grove.[3]
As part of Virginia's "Massive Resistance" to integration followingBrown v. Board of Education, Surry County closed its white public schools so no black students could attend. Foundation's School, a private, whites-only school was established. Grants and other provisions were made to provide public support for private education for the white students affected.[4]
The two-unitSurry Nuclear Power Plant was commissioned in 1972 and 1973 and is expected to remain active until 2053.
State Route 31 andState Route 40 bisect the county. Its major artery is the historic path along the south bank of the James River now known asState Route 10 betweenPrince George County andIsle of Wight County.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 310 square miles (800 km2), of which 279 square miles (720 km2) is land and 31 square miles (80 km2) (10.1%) is water.[5]
Education in Surry County is run bySurry County Public Schools. It currently has three schools (Surry Elementary, Luther P. Jackson Middle, and Surry County High School), all located inDendron.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1790 | 6,227 | — | |
| 1800 | 6,535 | 4.9% | |
| 1810 | 6,855 | 4.9% | |
| 1820 | 6,594 | −3.8% | |
| 1830 | 7,109 | 7.8% | |
| 1840 | 6,480 | −8.8% | |
| 1850 | 5,679 | −12.4% | |
| 1860 | 6,133 | 8.0% | |
| 1870 | 5,585 | −8.9% | |
| 1880 | 7,391 | 32.3% | |
| 1890 | 8,256 | 11.7% | |
| 1900 | 8,469 | 2.6% | |
| 1910 | 9,715 | 14.7% | |
| 1920 | 9,305 | −4.2% | |
| 1930 | 7,096 | −23.7% | |
| 1940 | 6,193 | −12.7% | |
| 1950 | 6,220 | 0.4% | |
| 1960 | 6,220 | 0.0% | |
| 1970 | 5,882 | −5.4% | |
| 1980 | 6,046 | 2.8% | |
| 1990 | 6,145 | 1.6% | |
| 2000 | 6,829 | 11.1% | |
| 2010 | 7,058 | 3.4% | |
| 2020 | 6,561 | −7.0% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[10] | |||
| Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2010[11] | Pop 2020[10] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 3,583 | 3,459 | 50.77% | 52.72% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 3,240 | 2,687 | 45.91% | 40.95% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 21 | 17 | 0.30% | 0.26% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 23 | 14 | 0.33% | 0.21% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 2 | 10 | 0.03% | 0.15% |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 4 | 15 | 0.06% | 0.23% |
| Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) | 99 | 210 | 1.40% | 3.20% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 86 | 149 | 1.22% | 2.27% |
| Total | 7,058 | 6,561 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
As of the census[12] of 2010, there were 7,058 people, 2,619 households, and 1,917 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 24 people per square mile (9.3 people/km2). There were 3,294 housing units at an average density of 12 units per square mile (4.6 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 51.3%White, 46.1%Black orAfrican American, 0.3%Native American, 0.3%Asian, 0.0%Pacific Islander, 0.3% fromother races, and 1.7% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race.
There were 2,619 households, out of which 30.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 25.20% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.80% from 25 to 44, 25.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 92.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $37,558, and the median income for a family was $41,234. Males had a median income of $31,123 versus $21,143 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $16,682. About 9.70% of families and 10.80% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 14.80% of those age 65 or over.
Blackwater Regional Library is the regional library system that provides services to the citizens of Surry.
Surry County had long been a stronghold for theDemocratic Party, however, it has been shifting toward theRepublican Party. Republican Donald Trump won the county in the2024 presidential election, flipping it. He became the first Republican to do so in a presidential election sinceRichard Nixon in1972.
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 57 | 12.26% | 360 | 77.42% | 48 | 10.32% |
| 1916 | 90 | 17.08% | 430 | 81.59% | 7 | 1.33% |
| 1920 | 92 | 18.70% | 397 | 80.69% | 3 | 0.61% |
| 1924 | 72 | 14.34% | 388 | 77.29% | 42 | 8.37% |
| 1928 | 157 | 22.49% | 541 | 77.51% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 73 | 9.92% | 653 | 88.72% | 10 | 1.36% |
| 1936 | 87 | 10.82% | 715 | 88.93% | 2 | 0.25% |
| 1940 | 120 | 15.42% | 658 | 84.58% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 123 | 16.94% | 602 | 82.92% | 1 | 0.14% |
| 1948 | 134 | 17.31% | 460 | 59.43% | 180 | 23.26% |
| 1952 | 414 | 41.15% | 572 | 56.86% | 20 | 1.99% |
| 1956 | 425 | 32.52% | 616 | 47.13% | 266 | 20.35% |
| 1960 | 397 | 27.51% | 1,003 | 69.51% | 43 | 2.98% |
| 1964 | 1,004 | 46.92% | 1,131 | 52.85% | 5 | 0.23% |
| 1968 | 523 | 22.10% | 1,126 | 47.59% | 717 | 30.30% |
| 1972 | 1,067 | 50.40% | 988 | 46.67% | 62 | 2.93% |
| 1976 | 929 | 32.79% | 1,829 | 64.56% | 75 | 2.65% |
| 1980 | 962 | 34.10% | 1,756 | 62.25% | 103 | 3.65% |
| 1984 | 1,462 | 43.38% | 1,875 | 55.64% | 33 | 0.98% |
| 1988 | 1,246 | 42.98% | 1,602 | 55.26% | 51 | 1.76% |
| 1992 | 1,046 | 31.94% | 1,823 | 55.66% | 406 | 12.40% |
| 1996 | 944 | 32.13% | 1,753 | 59.67% | 241 | 8.20% |
| 2000 | 1,313 | 40.65% | 1,845 | 57.12% | 72 | 2.23% |
| 2004 | 1,543 | 43.81% | 1,954 | 55.48% | 25 | 0.71% |
| 2008 | 1,663 | 38.45% | 2,626 | 60.72% | 36 | 0.83% |
| 2012 | 1,671 | 38.79% | 2,576 | 59.80% | 61 | 1.42% |
| 2016 | 1,819 | 43.02% | 2,272 | 53.74% | 137 | 3.24% |
| 2020 | 2,025 | 45.29% | 2,397 | 53.61% | 49 | 1.10% |
| 2024 | 2,205 | 49.65% | 2,176 | 49.00% | 60 | 1.35% |
Beginning on April 25, 2007, Surry County Sheriff Harold D. Brown and part-time county Commonwealth's Attorney (prosecutor) Gerald G. Poindexter led a high-profiledog fighting investigation. Authorities investigating Davon T. Boddie, 26, on a narcotics issue found evidence of dogfighting activities at home and property in Surry County where he lived. It was owned by his cousin, thenAtlanta Falcons NFL-football playerMichael Vick. Officials confiscated 66 dogs, 55 of which werepit bulls, and other evidence. AnESPN source alleged that Vick was a "heavyweight" in dogfighting and had been known to wager $40,000 on the outcome of a single fight.
By August 20, 2007, all the defendants charged in Federal court, including Vick, had agreed to guilty pleas underplea bargain agreements. They were sentenced to terms ranging from 6 to 23 months, to be served in federal prisons. The abused dogs were placed in foster or adoptive homes.
On February 26, 2009, Vick was approved for release to home confinement. He was released on May 21, 2009, to be confined for the remainder of his 23-month term of imprisonment under home confinement.
Places adjacent to Surry County, Virginia | |
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Municipalities and communities ofSurry County, Virginia,United States | ||
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Note: Cities are independent, not being part of any county | |
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37°07′01″N76°53′18″W / 37.11691°N 76.88831°W /37.11691; -76.88831
