Staunton ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities are separate jurisdictions from the counties that surround them, so the government offices of Augusta County are in Verona, which is contiguous to Staunton. Staunton is a principal city of the Staunton-Stuarts Draft Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2020 population of 125,433. Staunton is known for being the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, and as the home of Mary Baldwin University, historically a women's college. The city is also home to Stuart Hall, a private co-ed preparatory school, as well as the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. It was the first city in the United States with a fully defined city manager system.

History

The area was first settled in 1732 by John Lewis and family. In 1736, William Beverley, a wealthy planter and merchant from Essex County, was granted by the Crown over in what would become Augusta County. Surveyor Thomas Lewis in 1746 laid out the first town plat for Beverley of what was originally called Beverley's Mill Place. Founded in 1747, it was renamed in honor of Lady Rebecca Staunton, wife to Royal Lieutenant-Governor Sir William Gooch. Because the town was located at the geographical center of the colony (which then included West Virginia), Staunton served between 1738 and 1771 as regional capital for much of what was later known as the Northwest Territory, with the westernmost courthouse in British North America prior to the Revolution. By 1760, Staunton was one of the major "remote trading centers in the backcountry" which coordinated the transportation of the vast amounts of grain and tobacco then being produced in response to the change of Britain from a net exporter of produce to an importer. Staunton thus played a crucial role in the mid 18th century expansion of the economies of the American Colonies which, in turn, contributed to the success of the American Revolution. It served as capital of Virginia in June 1781, when state legislators fled Richmond and then Charlottesville to avoid capture by the British.

Like most of colonial Virginia, slavery was present in Staunton. For instance, in 1815, a slave named Henry ran away from John G. Wright's Staunton plantation. Wright placed an ad in the Daily National Intelligencer in Washington, D.C. seeking Henry's return. It notes that Henry was an excellent cook and was widely travelled, having been as far as the West Indies.

The Civil War and immediately prior In August 1855, President Franklin Pierce visited Staunton. He gave a speech at the Virginia Hotel, in which he stated that his "feelings revolted from the idea of a dissolution of the union." He said that "[i]t would be the Iliad of innumerable woes, from the contemplation of which he shrank."

Located along the Valley Pike, Staunton developed as a trade, transportation and industrial center, particularly after the Virginia Central Railroad arrived in 1854. Factories made carriages, wagons, boots and shoes, clothing and blankets. In 1860, the Staunton Military Academy was founded. By 1860, Staunton had at least one pro-Union, pro-slavery (the Staunton Spectator) and at least one pro-secession, pro-slavery newspaper (the Staunton Vindicator). The Spectator ran editorials before the war urging its citizens to vote for union, while the Vindicator ran, e.g., stories reporting on "unruly" slaves mutilating themselves to escape being sold.

On May 23, 1861, shortly after the firing on Fort Sumter began the American Civil War, Virginians voted on whether to ratify articles of secession from the Union and join the Confederate States. The articles were overwhelmingly approved throughout the Commonwealth, even in the majority of the counties that would later become West Virginia. The vote in Staunton was 3,300 in favor of secession, with only 6 opposed. During the war, the town became an important Shenandoah Valley manufacturing center, a staging area, and a supply depot for the Confederacy.

On June 6, 1864, Union Major General David Hunter arrived with 10,000 troops to cut supply, communication and railway lines useful to the Confederacy. The next day, they destroyed the railroad station, warehouses, houses, factories and mills. Union soldiers looted the stores and warehouses and confiscated supplies.

Postbellum Staunton On July 10, 1902, Staunton became an independent city. In 1908, Staunton adopted the city manager form of government. Charles E. Ashburner was hired by Staunton as the nation's first city manager.

On January 26, 1926, Staunton adopted Lady Rebecca Staunton's coat of arms for use as the city's official coat of arms and its flag.

Western State Hospital

Staunton is also home to the former Western State Asylum, a hospital for the mentally ill, which originally began operations in 1828. The hospital was renamed Western State Hospital in 1894.

In its early days, the facility was a resort-style asylum. It had terraced gardens where patients could plant flowers and take walks, roof walks to provide mountain views, and many architectural details to create an atmosphere that would aid in the healing process. However, by the mid 19th Century, this utopian model of care had vanished, replaced by overcrowding in the facility and the warehousing of patients. Techniques such as "ankle and wrist restraints, physical coercion, and straitjackets" were used. After the passage of the Eugenical Sterilization Act of 1924 in Virginia,HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 607 (HJ607ER), "Expressing the General Assembly's regret for Virginia's experience with eugenics", Virginia Legislative Information System patients were forcibly sterilized at Western State until the law authorizing the practice was repealed in the 1970s. Later, electroshock therapy and lobotomies were practiced at the facility.

When Western State vacated the property and moved its adult patients to its present site near Interstate 81, the facility was renamed the Staunton Correctional Center and turned into a medium-security men's penitentiary. The prison closed in 2003, and the site was left vacant for several years. In 2005, the state of Virginia gave the original property to the Staunton Industrial Authority. It is now a condominium complex called The Villages at Staunton.

A separate complex, The DeJarnette State Sanatoruim, was constructed in 1932 and acted as a location for patients with the ability to pay for their treatment. Dr. DeJarnette was the superintendent of the sanatorium from its opening until his retirement in 1947.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , virtually all of which is land. Staunton is located in the Shenandoah Valley in between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains of the Appalachian Mountains. It is drained by Lewis Creek. Lewis Creek flows into the Middle River, which flows into the Shenandoah River, which flows into the Potomac, and eventually to the Chesapeake Bay.

Climate According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Staunton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Staunton city, Virginia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)19,20621,07719,72819,58419,95987.87%86.17%82.71%82.47%77.51%Black or African American alone (NH)2,4433,0723,3052,8592,88211.18%12.56%13.86%12.04%11.19%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)26315141650.12%0.13%0.21%0.17%0.25%Asian alone (NH)481011101823200.22%0.41%0.46%0.77%1.24%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census2311xx0.01%0.01%0.04%Other race alone (NH)181150611550.08%0.04%0.21%0.26%0.60%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census3425031,270xx1.43%2.12%4.93%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1161692655131,0880.53%0.69%1.11%2.16%4.23%Total21,85724,46123,85323,74625,750 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Staunton had a population of 25,750. The median age was 41.2 years, 18.4% of residents were under the age of 18, and 22.1% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 86.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 82.5 males age 18 and over.

97.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 11,374 households in Staunton, of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.6% were married-couple households, 19.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 12,316 housing units, of which 7.6% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%.

+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 20,207 78.5% Black or African American 2,935 11.4% American Indian and Alaska Native 84 0.3% Asian 323 1.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 12 0.0% Some other race 466 1.8% Two or more races 1,723 6.7% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,088 4.2%

2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 23,853 people, 9,676 households, and 5,766 families residing in Staunton. The population density was 1,210.3 people per square mile (467.3/km2). There were 10,427 housing units at an average density of 529.1 per square mile (204.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.29% White, 13.95% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.11% of the population.

There were 9,676 households, out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. Of all households, 34.7% were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.8% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 27.8% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.1 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 87.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,941, and the median income for a family was $44,422. Males had a median income of $30,153 versus $22,079 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,161. About 7.7% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.9% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over. Economy Top employers According to Staunton's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

# Employer # of Employees 1 Western State Hospital500-5992 Staunton City Schools500-5993 Mary Baldwin University250-4994 City of Staunton250-4995 Walmart250-4996 Fisher Auto Parts250-4997 Home Instead Senior Care100-2498 Cadence, Inc.100-3009 VDOT100-24910 Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind100-249

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