Craig County, Virginia

Craig County
Craig County
County
	Craig County Courthouse in New Castle
	Seal Logo
	Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
	Virginia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 37°29′N 80°13′W / 37.49°N 80.22°W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1851
Named for	Robert Craig
Seat	New Castle
Largest town	New Castle
Area
• Total	331 sq mi (860 km2)
• Land	330 sq mi (900 km2)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (3 km2) 0.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	4,892
• Density	15/sq mi (5.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	9th
Website	www.craigcountyva.gov

Craig County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,892.^[1] Its county seat is New Castle.^[2]

Craig County is part of the Roanoke, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Nestled in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, Craig County was named for Robert Craig, a 19th-century Virginia congressman.^[3] The initial outpost in the area was called "Craig's Camp," and it is claimed that George Washington visited it in 1756 during his travels to the frontier.^[4] Formed from parts of Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles, and Monroe (in present-day West Virginia) counties in 1851, Craig was later enlarged with several subsequent additions from neighboring counties.^[5]

The secluded, mountainous New Castle community, the county seat, has one of the commonwealth's antebellum court complexes, including a porticoed courthouse built in 1852.^[6] Craig Healing Springs, a collection of well-preserved early-20th-century resort buildings representative of the architecture of Virginia's more modest mountain spas, is located here.^[7]^[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 330.6 square miles (856.3 km²), of which 329.5 square miles (853.4 km²) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) (0.3%) is water.^[9] Most of the county is national forest.

Adjacent counties

Alleghany County – north
Botetourt County – east
Roanoke County – southeast
Montgomery County – south
Giles County – southwest
Monroe County, West Virginia – west

National protected area

Jefferson National Forest (part)

Major highways

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1860	3,553	—
1870	2,942	−17.2%
1880	3,794	29.0%
1890	3,835	1.1%
1900	4,293	11.9%
1910	4,711	9.7%
1920	4,100	−13.0%
1930	3,562	−13.1%
1940	3,769	5.8%
1950	3,452	−8.4%
1960	3,356	−2.8%
1970	3,524	5.0%
1980	3,948	12.0%
1990	4,372	10.7%
2000	5,091	16.4%
2010	5,190	1.9%
2020	4,892	−5.7%
U.S. Decennial Census^[10] 1790–1960^[11] 1900–1990^[12] 1990–2000^[13] 2010^[14] 2020^[15]

2020 census

**Craig County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition**
*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 may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010^[14]	Pop 2020^[15]	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	5,103	4,631	98.32%	94.66%
Black or African American alone (NH)	5	11	0.10%	0.22%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	6	5	0.12%	0.10%
Asian alone (NH)	8	11	0.15%	0.22%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	0	3	0.00%	0.06%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	1	12	0.02%	0.25%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	31	166	0.60%	3.39%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	36	53	0.69%	1.08%
Total	5,190	4,892	100.00%	100.00%

2000 Census

As of the census^[16] of 2000, there were 5,091 people, 2,060 households, and 1,507 families residing in the county. The population density was 15 people per square mile (5.8 people/km²). There were 2,554 housing units at an average density of 8 units per square mile (3.1 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.94% White, 0.20% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. 0.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,060 households, out of which 30.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were married couples living together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 29.70% from 25 to 44, 26.70% from 45 to 64, and 13.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 103.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,314, and the median income for a family was $41,750. Males had a median income of $26,713 versus $21,337 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,322. About 6.60% of families and 10.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.90% of those under age 18 and 10.50% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Board of Supervisors

Craig City District: Rusty Zimmerman (Vice Chair)
Craig Creek District: Lindsey Dunne
New Castle District: Jesse Spence (chair)
Potts Mountain District: Carl Bailey
Simmonsville District: Kathi Toelke^[17]

Constitutional officers

Clerk of the Circuit Court: Sharon P. Oliver (I)
Commissioner of the Revenue: Elizabeth Huffman (I)
Commonwealth's Attorney: Matthew Dunne (R)
Sheriff: Trevor Craddock (R)
Treasurer: Jackie Parsons (I)^[18]

Craig County is represented by Republican Stephen D. "Steve" Newman in the Virginia Senate, Republican Joe McNamara in the Virginia House of Delegates, and Republican H. Morgan Griffith in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Craig County, Virginia^[19]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,536	80.03%	587	18.52%	46	1.45%
2016	2,140	76.68%	541	19.38%	110	3.94%
2012	1,757	65.88%	830	31.12%	80	3.00%
2008	1,695	64.67%	877	33.46%	49	1.87%
2004	1,706	65.09%	901	34.38%	14	0.53%
2000	1,580	63.38%	851	34.14%	62	2.49%
1996	979	45.35%	895	41.45%	285	13.20%
1992	1,008	43.88%	965	42.01%	324	14.11%
1988	1,112	55.46%	864	43.09%	29	1.45%
1984	1,173	57.70%	845	41.56%	15	0.74%
1980	768	43.17%	946	53.18%	65	3.65%
1976	546	32.75%	1,103	66.17%	18	1.08%
1972	774	63.44%	425	34.84%	21	1.72%
1968	581	46.18%	419	33.31%	258	20.51%
1964	477	38.34%	767	61.66%	0	0.00%
1960	433	44.78%	534	55.22%	0	0.00%
1956	485	48.84%	501	50.45%	7	0.70%
1952	425	46.45%	490	53.55%	0	0.00%
1948	317	39.82%	456	57.29%	23	2.89%
1944	327	36.66%	564	63.23%	1	0.11%
1940	299	31.24%	656	68.55%	2	0.21%
1936	395	37.65%	653	62.25%	1	0.10%
1932	302	31.26%	649	67.18%	15	1.55%
1928	451	47.98%	489	52.02%	0	0.00%
1924	300	36.01%	512	61.46%	21	2.52%
1920	315	45.06%	381	54.51%	3	0.43%
1916	200	35.03%	369	64.62%	2	0.35%
1912	62	11.19%	337	60.83%	155	27.98%