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class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#List_of_colleges_and_universities"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>List of colleges and universities</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-List_of_colleges_and_universities-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Appalachian_Regional_Commission" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Appalachian_Regional_Commission"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Appalachian Regional Commission</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Appalachian_Regional_Commission-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" 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searchaux" style="display:none">Mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Southwest_Virginia" title="Special:EditPage/Southwest Virginia">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22Southwest+Virginia%22">"Southwest Virginia"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22Southwest+Virginia%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Southwest+Virginia%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22Southwest+Virginia%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Southwest+Virginia%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Southwest+Virginia%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">November 2006</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Southwest-_Location.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Southwest-_Location.svg/300px-Southwest-_Location.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="130" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Southwest-_Location.svg/450px-Southwest-_Location.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/Southwest-_Location.svg/600px-Southwest-_Location.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="792" data-file-height="344" /></a><figcaption>Southwest Virginia at its greatest geographical definition</figcaption></figure> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">This article is about the region of Virginia. For the adjacent region of West Virginia, see <a href="/wiki/Southern_West_Virginia" title="Southern West Virginia">Southern West Virginia</a>.</div> <p><b>Southwest Virginia</b>, often abbreviated as <b>SWVA</b>, is a mountainous <a href="/wiki/Region" title="Region">region</a> of <a href="/wiki/Virginia" title="Virginia">Virginia</a> in the westernmost part of the <a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_(U.S._state)" title="Commonwealth (U.S. state)">commonwealth</a>. Located within the broader region of <a href="/wiki/Western_Virginia" title="Western Virginia">western Virginia</a>, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all Virginia counties on the <a href="/wiki/Appalachian_Plateau" title="Appalachian Plateau">Appalachian Plateau</a>, all Virginia counties west of the <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Continental_Divide" title="Eastern Continental Divide">Eastern Continental Divide</a>, or at its greatest expanse, as far east as <a href="/wiki/Blacksburg,_Virginia" title="Blacksburg, Virginia">Blacksburg</a> and <a href="/wiki/Roanoke,_Virginia" title="Roanoke, Virginia">Roanoke</a>. Another geographic categorization of the region places it as those counties within the <a href="/wiki/Tennessee_River" title="Tennessee River">Tennessee River</a> <a href="/wiki/Drainage_basin" title="Drainage basin">watershed</a>. Regardless of how borders are drawn, Southwest Virginia differs from the rest of the commonwealth in that its culture is more closely associated with <a href="/wiki/Appalachia" title="Appalachia">Appalachia</a> than the other regions of Virginia. Historically, the region has been and remains a <a href="/wiki/Rural_area" title="Rural area">rural area</a>, but in the 20th century, <a href="/wiki/Coal_mining" title="Coal mining">coal mining</a> became an important part of its economy. With the decline in the number of coal jobs and the decline of tobacco as a <a href="/wiki/Cash_crop" title="Cash crop">cash crop</a>, Southwest Virginia is increasingly turning to tourism as a source of economic development. Collectively, Southwest Virginia's craft, music, agritourism and outdoor recreation are referred to as the region's "creative economy."<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Counties that have been included in the definition of Southwest Virginia include: <a href="/wiki/Alleghany_County,_Virginia" title="Alleghany County, Virginia">Alleghany County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bedford_County,_Virginia" title="Bedford County, Virginia">Bedford County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bland_County,_Virginia" title="Bland County, Virginia">Bland County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Botetourt_County,_Virginia" title="Botetourt County, Virginia">Botetourt County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Buchanan_County,_Virginia" title="Buchanan County, Virginia">Buchanan County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Carroll_County,_Virginia" title="Carroll County, Virginia">Carroll County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Craig_County,_Virginia" title="Craig County, Virginia">Craig County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Dickenson_County,_Virginia" title="Dickenson County, Virginia">Dickenson County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Floyd_County,_Virginia" title="Floyd County, Virginia">Floyd County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Franklin_County,_Virginia" title="Franklin County, Virginia">Franklin County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Giles_County,_Virginia" title="Giles County, Virginia">Giles County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grayson_County,_Virginia" title="Grayson County, Virginia">Grayson County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Henry_County,_Virginia" title="Henry County, Virginia">Henry County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lee_County,_Virginia" title="Lee County, Virginia">Lee County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Montgomery_County,_Virginia" title="Montgomery County, Virginia">Montgomery County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Patrick_County,_Virginia" title="Patrick County, Virginia">Patrick County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Pulaski_County,_Virginia" title="Pulaski County, Virginia">Pulaski County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Roanoke_County,_Virginia" title="Roanoke County, Virginia">Roanoke County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rockbridge_County,_Virginia" title="Rockbridge County, Virginia">Rockbridge County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Russell_County,_Virginia" title="Russell County, Virginia">Russell County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scott_County,_Virginia" title="Scott County, Virginia">Scott County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Smyth_County,_Virginia" title="Smyth County, Virginia">Smyth County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tazewell_County,_Virginia" title="Tazewell County, Virginia">Tazewell County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Washington_County,_Virginia" title="Washington County, Virginia">Washington County</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wise_County,_Virginia" title="Wise County, Virginia">Wise County</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Wythe_County,_Virginia" title="Wythe County, Virginia">Wythe County</a>. </p><p>Unlike other states in the U.S., Virginia draws a sharp distinction between <a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Virginia#Independent_cities" title="Administrative divisions of Virginia">cities</a> and other incorporated communities, all of which are designated as <a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Virginia#Towns" title="Administrative divisions of Virginia">towns</a>. Under state law, all municipalities incorporated as cities are <a href="/wiki/Independent_city_(United_States)" title="Independent city (United States)">independent</a> of any county. By contrast, places incorporated as towns are included within counties. Independent cities in Southwest Virginia include <a href="/wiki/Bristol,_Virginia" title="Bristol, Virginia">Bristol</a>, <a href="/wiki/Buena_Vista,_Virginia" title="Buena Vista, Virginia">Buena Vista</a>, <a href="/wiki/Covington,_Virginia" title="Covington, Virginia">Covington</a>, <a href="/wiki/Galax,_Virginia" title="Galax, Virginia">Galax</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lexington,_Virginia" title="Lexington, Virginia">Lexington</a>, <a href="/wiki/Martinsville,_Virginia" title="Martinsville, Virginia">Martinsville</a>, <a href="/wiki/Norton,_Virginia" title="Norton, Virginia">Norton</a>, <a href="/wiki/Radford,_Virginia" title="Radford, Virginia">Radford</a>, <a href="/wiki/Roanoke,_Virginia" title="Roanoke, Virginia">Roanoke</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Salem,_Virginia" title="Salem, Virginia">Salem</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Culture">Culture</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Culture"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The culture of Southwest Virginia is more consistent with the wider Appalachian region than with the rest of the state of Virginia. This is due in large part to the geographical diversity of the state, with the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains dominating the region. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1251242444"><table class="box-Unreferenced_section plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Unreferenced" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>does not <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources" title="Wikipedia:Citing sources">cite</a> any <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">sources</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Southwest_Virginia" title="Special:EditPage/Southwest Virginia">improve this section</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Burden_of_evidence" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">removed</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">February 2017</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Southwest Virginia was among the last parts of the state to be settled by Europeans, in a flow of migrations that consisted mainly of <a href="/wiki/English_people" title="English people">English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Germans" title="Germans">German</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Scotch-Irish_American" class="mw-redirect" title="Scotch-Irish American">Scots-Irish</a> and Irish immigrants. A major route of migration to the region was the <a href="/wiki/Great_Wagon_Road" title="Great Wagon Road">Great Wagon Road</a> through the <a href="/wiki/Great_Appalachian_Valley" title="Great Appalachian Valley">Great Appalachian Valley</a>. At present-day Roanoke there was an important fork in the wagon road, with one branch passing through the Blue Ridge and into the <a href="/wiki/Piedmont_(United_States)" title="Piedmont (United States)">Piedmont</a> region, and the other branch, called the <a href="/wiki/Wilderness_Road" title="Wilderness Road">Wilderness Road</a>, continuing southwest to Tennessee and Kentucky. Much of the area was protected by a series of forts constructed around the time of <a href="/wiki/Lord_Dunmore%27s_War" title="Lord Dunmore's War">Lord Dunmore's War</a>, some of which later became the seats of future counties. </p><p>The first major industry in Southwest Virginia — which laid the foundation for the regionally important town of Abingdon — was <a href="/wiki/Salt_industry" class="mw-redirect" title="Salt industry">salt</a>. In Saltville (a small town now located on the Smyth-Washington county line), salt was (and still is) produced by using water to extract salt from the ground. </p><p>Many of the present day counties were formed from larger counties which were broken up as the populations in the region continued to grow. Southwest Virginia is also the result of parts of Virginia which broke off or revolted, such as <a href="/wiki/Kentucky" title="Kentucky">Kentucky</a> and <a href="/wiki/West_Virginia" title="West Virginia">West Virginia</a>. During the <a href="/wiki/American_Revolution" title="American Revolution">American Revolution</a>, residents from southwest Virginia were among those who participated in the <a href="/wiki/Battle_of_King%27s_Mountain" class="mw-redirect" title="Battle of King's Mountain">Battle of King's Mountain</a>, which occurred in <a href="/wiki/South_Carolina" title="South Carolina">South Carolina</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">Civil War</a>, Southwest Virginia was deeply divided between sentiment for the <a href="/wiki/Union_(American_Civil_War)" title="Union (American Civil War)">Union</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederacy</a> and was subject to <a href="/wiki/Guerilla_warfare" class="mw-redirect" title="Guerilla warfare">guerilla warfare</a>. The only major battles to occur in the area were the Smyth County <a href="/w/index.php?title=Battles_of_Saltville_and_of_Marion_(disambiguation)&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Battles of Saltville and of Marion (disambiguation) (page does not exist)">Battle of Saltville and of Marion</a>, while many skirmishes occurred throughout much of the region. In 1864, Union General <a href="/wiki/George_Stoneman" title="George Stoneman">George Stoneman</a> led a devastating raid into Southwest Virginia, destroying the <a href="/wiki/Saltworks" class="mw-redirect" title="Saltworks">saltworks</a> in <a href="/wiki/Saltville,_Virginia" title="Saltville, Virginia">Saltville</a> and burning all that he thought useful to the Confederates. At the time, the saltworks were considered a very important strategic target.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the late 1800s and early 1900s, extractive industries became important in the region, especially the cutting of <a href="/wiki/Timber" class="mw-redirect" title="Timber">timber</a> and <a href="/wiki/Coal_mining" title="Coal mining">coal mining</a>. The coalfield region has experienced a significant loss of population over the last generation, resulting in shrinking political representation and a variety of local issues, including the need to consolidate schools. </p><p>Manufacturing, which did well during part of the 20th century, has also declined in Southwest Virginia despite local officials' efforts to recruit new industry. Tobacco has declined since the buyout of the federal quota program as well. Since the early 2000s, <a href="/wiki/Natural_gas_extraction" class="mw-redirect" title="Natural gas extraction">natural gas extraction</a> has grown into an important industry, particularly in the coalfield region. Throughout Southwest Virginia, tourism has also begun to take off as an important industry. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Geography">Geography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Geography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Whitetop.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Whitetop.jpg/300px-Whitetop.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="203" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Whitetop.jpg/450px-Whitetop.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Whitetop.jpg/600px-Whitetop.jpg 2x" data-file-width="909" data-file-height="614" /></a><figcaption>The Virginia highlands in Southwest Virginia</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Appalachian_Mountains" title="Appalachian Mountains">Appalachian Mountains</a> have the most direct impact upon the geography of Southwest Virginia and are often credited for isolating its residents from the rest of the commonwealth. Southwest Virginia falls into the <a href="/wiki/Ridge-and-valley_Appalachians" class="mw-redirect" title="Ridge-and-valley Appalachians">ridge and valley</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Mountains" title="Blue Ridge Mountains">Blue Ridge</a> portions of the range. Within the mountains, <a href="/wiki/Coal_field" class="mw-redirect" title="Coal field">coal fields</a> have been one of the sources of the significant economic booms in the region. The major river of the region is the <a href="/wiki/New_River_(Kanawha_River)" class="mw-redirect" title="New River (Kanawha River)">New River</a>, credited as the oldest river in North America. </p><p>Flooding has been epidemic in the more mountainous areas, with major floods occurring about once every other decade with great loss of life and property. Such disasters have encouraged local precautions to prevent future problems, such as the Grundy Flood Control and Redevelopment Project, in <a href="/wiki/Grundy,_Virginia" title="Grundy, Virginia">Grundy, Virginia</a>, a multimillion-dollar effort to protect the town from future flooding.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This federally funded project moved an entire town up off of the river bank and onto a site blasted out of a mountainside. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Cities_and_Towns">Cities and Towns</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Cities and Towns"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Independent Cities in Southwest Virginia </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 10em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bristol,_Virginia" title="Bristol, Virginia">Bristol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buena_Vista,_Virginia" title="Buena Vista, Virginia">Buena Vista</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Covington,_Virginia" title="Covington, Virginia">Covington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Galax,_Virginia" title="Galax, Virginia">Galax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lexington,_Virginia" title="Lexington, Virginia">Lexington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martinsville,_Virginia" title="Martinsville, Virginia">Martinsville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norton,_Virginia" title="Norton, Virginia">Norton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radford,_Virginia" title="Radford, Virginia">Radford</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roanoke,_Virginia" title="Roanoke, Virginia">Roanoke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Salem,_Virginia" title="Salem, Virginia">Salem</a></li></ul></div> <p>Towns in Southwest Virginia </p> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1184024115"><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 10em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Appalachia,_Virginia" title="Appalachia, Virginia">Appalachia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Big_Stone_Gap,_Virginia" title="Big Stone Gap, Virginia">Big Stone Gap</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blacksburg,_Virginia" title="Blacksburg, Virginia">Blacksburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bland,_Virginia" title="Bland, Virginia">Bland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bluefield,_Virginia" title="Bluefield, Virginia">Bluefield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Boones_Mill,_Virginia" title="Boones Mill, Virginia">Boones Mill</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buchanan,_Virginia" title="Buchanan, Virginia">Buchanan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cedar_Bluff,_Virginia" title="Cedar Bluff, Virginia">Cedar Bluff</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chilhowie,_Virginia" title="Chilhowie, Virginia">Chilhowie</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christiansburg,_Virginia" title="Christiansburg, Virginia">Christiansburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Claypool_Hill,_Virginia" title="Claypool Hill, Virginia">Claypool Hill</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clifton_Forge,_Virginia" title="Clifton Forge, Virginia">Clifton Forge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clinchport,_Virginia" title="Clinchport, Virginia">Clinchport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clintwood,_Virginia" title="Clintwood, Virginia">Clintwood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coeburn,_Virginia" title="Coeburn, Virginia">Coeburn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Damascus,_Virginia" title="Damascus, Virginia">Damascus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dublin,_Virginia" title="Dublin, Virginia">Dublin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Duffield,_Virginia" title="Duffield, Virginia">Duffield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dungannon,_Virginia" title="Dungannon, Virginia">Dungannon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fincastle,_Virginia" title="Fincastle, Virginia">Fincastle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Floyd,_Virginia" title="Floyd, Virginia">Floyd</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gate_City,_Virginia" title="Gate City, Virginia">Gate City</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glade_Spring,_Virginia" title="Glade Spring, Virginia">Glade Spring</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glen_Lyn,_Virginia" title="Glen Lyn, Virginia">Glen Lyn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grundy,_Virginia" title="Grundy, Virginia">Grundy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Haysi,_Virginia" title="Haysi, Virginia">Haysi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hillsville,_Virginia" title="Hillsville, Virginia">Hillsville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Honaker,_Virginia" title="Honaker, Virginia">Honaker</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hurley,_Virginia" title="Hurley, Virginia">Hurley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Independence,_Virginia" title="Independence, Virginia">Independence</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jonesville,_Virginia" title="Jonesville, Virginia">Jonesville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lebanon,_Virginia" title="Lebanon, Virginia">Lebanon</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marion,_Virginia" title="Marion, Virginia">Marion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narrows,_Virginia" title="Narrows, Virginia">Narrows</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Castle,_Virginia" title="New Castle, Virginia">New Castle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nickelsville,_Virginia" title="Nickelsville, Virginia">Nickelsville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oakwood,_Virginia" title="Oakwood, Virginia">Oakwood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pearisburg,_Virginia" title="Pearisburg, Virginia">Pearisburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pembroke,_Virginia" title="Pembroke, Virginia">Pembroke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pennington_Gap,_Virginia" title="Pennington Gap, Virginia">Pennington Gap</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pound,_Virginia" title="Pound, Virginia">Pound</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pulaski,_Virginia" title="Pulaski, Virginia">Pulaski</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Raven,_Virginia" title="Raven, Virginia">Raven</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rich_Creek,_Virginia" title="Rich Creek, Virginia">Rich Creek</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Richlands,_Virginia" title="Richlands, Virginia">Richlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rocky_Mount,_Virginia" title="Rocky Mount, Virginia">Rocky Mount</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rose_Hill,_Lee_County,_Virginia" title="Rose Hill, Lee County, Virginia">Rose Hill</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rural_Retreat,_Virginia" title="Rural Retreat, Virginia">Rural Retreat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saltville,_Virginia" title="Saltville, Virginia">Saltville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/St._Charles,_Virginia" title="St. Charles, Virginia">St. Charles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/St._Paul,_Virginia" title="St. Paul, Virginia">St. Paul</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stuart,_Virginia" title="Stuart, Virginia">Stuart</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tazewell,_Virginia" title="Tazewell, Virginia">Tazewell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vansant,_Virginia" title="Vansant, Virginia">Vansant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vinton,_Virginia" title="Vinton, Virginia">Vinton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wise,_Virginia" title="Wise, Virginia">Wise</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wytheville,_Virginia" title="Wytheville, Virginia">Wytheville</a></li></ul></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Political_representation">Political representation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Political representation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Virginia_Congressional_Districts,_118th_Congress.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_118th_Congress.svg/300px-Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_118th_Congress.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="153" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_118th_Congress.svg/450px-Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_118th_Congress.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_118th_Congress.svg/600px-Virginia_Congressional_Districts%2C_118th_Congress.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1064" data-file-height="544" /></a><figcaption>Virginia Congressional Districts as of 2023</figcaption></figure> <p>Southwest Virginia has long been a Republican stronghold, dating back to the Jim Crow era. For twenty years (1903-1923), <a href="/wiki/Virginia%27s_9th_congressional_district" title="Virginia's 9th congressional district">Virginia's 9th congressional district</a> was the only congressional district in Virginia — and one of the few in the entire former Confederacy — to be represented by a Republican. The district alternated between Democratic and Republican representation over the rest of the century. Some of the election results were so close — and questionable — that the district became known as "The Fighting Ninth."<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The region has close ties with neighboring <a href="/wiki/East_Tennessee" title="East Tennessee">East Tennessee</a>, <a href="/wiki/Western_North_Carolina" title="Western North Carolina">Western North Carolina</a>, <a href="/wiki/Southern_West_Virginia" title="Southern West Virginia">Southern West Virginia</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Kentucky_Coalfield" title="Eastern Kentucky Coalfield">Eastern Kentucky</a>, which are all part of <a href="/wiki/Appalachia" title="Appalachia">Appalachia</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Upland_South" title="Upland South">Upland South</a>. </p><p>Like the rest of the commonwealth, Southwest Virginia is represented by Senators <a href="/wiki/Mark_Warner" title="Mark Warner">Mark Warner</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tim_Kaine" title="Tim Kaine">Tim Kaine</a> in the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate">United States Senate</a>. In the <a href="/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives" title="United States House of Representatives">House of Representatives</a>, by the narrowest and almost to the largest definition of Southwest Virginia, representation falls largely under Representative <a href="/wiki/Morgan_Griffith" title="Morgan Griffith">Morgan Griffith</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Virginia%27s_9th_congressional_district" title="Virginia's 9th congressional district">9th Congressional District</a>. </p><p>In 2010, Griffith defeated long-time representative <a href="/wiki/Rick_Boucher" title="Rick Boucher">Rick Boucher</a>. Boucher had previously been a long term representative of the region in <a href="/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress">Congress</a>, spending more than twenty-four years in office as a <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)" title="Democratic Party (United States)">Democrat</a>. His predecessor was <a href="/wiki/William_C._Wampler" title="William C. Wampler">William C. Wampler</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican</a>, who had served a nearly equally long term of over eighteen years prior to his political defeat by Boucher. Republican <a href="/wiki/Ben_Cline" title="Ben Cline">Ben Cline</a> of Rockbridge County represents the <a href="/wiki/Virginia%27s_6th_congressional_district" title="Virginia's 6th congressional district">6th Congressional District</a> which also covers <a href="/wiki/Lynchburg,_Virginia" title="Lynchburg, Virginia">Lynchburg</a> and much of the <a href="/wiki/Shenandoah_Valley" title="Shenandoah Valley">Shenandoah Valley</a>. Republican <a href="/wiki/Bob_Goodlatte" title="Bob Goodlatte">Bob Goodlatte</a> represented the 6th district for 26 years before retiring in 2019. Since most of Southwest Virginia has experienced little to no population growth in recent decades, the 9th district has begun to encroach into areas previously in the <a href="/wiki/Virginia%27s_5th_congressional_district" title="Virginia's 5th congressional district">5th</a> and 6th districts.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Education">Education</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Education"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Southwest Virginia is home to several institutions of higher education, the largest of which is <a href="/wiki/Virginia_Tech" title="Virginia Tech">Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University</a> (better known as "Virginia Tech"), in <a href="/wiki/Blacksburg,_Virginia" title="Blacksburg, Virginia">Blacksburg</a>. Virginia Tech is the largest research university in the state as well as the largest employer in <a href="/wiki/Montgomery_County,_Virginia" title="Montgomery County, Virginia">Montgomery County</a>. </p><p>There are two medical schools in Blacksburg, and efforts are underway to develop a third in Abingdon. Professional schools—including schools of law and pharmacy—have been developed in recent years in Buchanan County, which is located in Southwest Virginia's coalfield region. There is also an effort within the region to help make higher education more accessible to students graduating from high school, particularly through partnerships between community colleges and other educational institutions. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="List_of_colleges_and_universities">List of colleges and universities</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: List of colleges and universities"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Appalachian_College_of_Pharmacy" title="Appalachian College of Pharmacy">Appalachian College of Pharmacy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bluefield_University" title="Bluefield University">Bluefield University</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Emory_and_Henry_College" class="mw-redirect" title="Emory and Henry College">Emory and Henry College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ferrum_College" title="Ferrum College">Ferrum College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hollins_University" title="Hollins University">Hollins University</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jefferson_College_of_Health_Sciences" title="Jefferson College of Health Sciences">Jefferson College of Health Sciences</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mountain_Empire_Community_College" title="Mountain Empire Community College">Mountain Empire Community College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_River_Community_College" title="New River Community College">New River Community College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patrick_%26_Henry_Community_College" title="Patrick & Henry Community College">Patrick & Henry Community College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radford_University" title="Radford University">Radford University</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roanoke_College" title="Roanoke College">Roanoke College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southwest_Virginia_Community_College" title="Southwest Virginia Community College">Southwest Virginia Community College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southern_Virginia_University" title="Southern Virginia University">Southern Virginia University</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/University_of_Virginia%27s_College_at_Wise" title="University of Virginia's College at Wise">University of Virginia's College at Wise</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_College_of_Osteopathic_Medicine" class="mw-redirect" title="Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine">Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Highlands_Community_College" title="Virginia Highlands Community College">Virginia Highlands Community College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia-Maryland_Regional_College_of_Veterinary_Medicine" class="mw-redirect" title="Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine">Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Military_Institute" title="Virginia Military Institute">Virginia Military Institute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Tech" title="Virginia Tech">Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Tech_Carilion_School_of_Medicine_and_Research_Institute" title="Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute">Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Western_Community_College" title="Virginia Western Community College">Virginia Western Community College</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Washington_and_Lee_University" title="Washington and Lee University">Washington and Lee University</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wytheville_Community_College" title="Wytheville Community College">Wytheville Community College</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Appalachian_Regional_Commission">Appalachian Regional Commission</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Appalachian Regional Commission"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Virginia-counties-arc-2003.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Virginia-counties-arc-2003.png" decoding="async" width="344" height="200" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="344" data-file-height="200" /></a><figcaption>Map showing 2001-2003 ARC economic designations for counties and cities in "Appalachian" Virginia.</figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/List_of_Appalachian_Regional_Commission_counties#Virginia" title="List of Appalachian Regional Commission counties">List of Appalachian Regional Commission counties § Virginia</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Appalachian_Regional_Commission" title="Appalachian Regional Commission">Appalachian Regional Commission</a> was formed in 1965 to aid economic development in the <a href="/wiki/Appalachia" title="Appalachia">Appalachian region</a>, which was lagging far behind the rest of the nation on most economic indicators. The Appalachian region currently defined by the Commission includes 420 counties in 13 states, including the westernmost counties and cities in Virginia. The Commission gives each county one of five possible economic designations— distressed, at-risk, transitional, competitive, or attainment— with "distressed" counties being the most economically endangered and "attainment" counties being the most economically prosperous. These designations are based primarily on three indicators— three-year average unemployment rate, market income per capita, and poverty rate. For data collection purposes, independent cities within the designated region are grouped with an adjacent county.<sup id="cite_ref-arcdata_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-arcdata-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 2003, Appalachian Virginia— which included most of Southwestern Virginia— had a three-year average unemployment rate of 5.7%, compared with 3.8% statewide and 5.5% nationwide. In 2002, Appalachian Virginia had a per capita market income of $16,901, compared with $29,279 statewide and $26,420 nationwide. In 2000, Appalachian Virginia had a poverty rate of 15.7%, compared to 9.6% statewide and 12.4% nationwide. Only one Virginia county— <a href="/wiki/Dickenson_County,_Virginia" title="Dickenson County, Virginia">Dickenson</a>— was designated "Distressed," while eight— <a href="/wiki/Buchanan_County,_Virginia" title="Buchanan County, Virginia">Buchanan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Carroll_County,_Virginia" title="Carroll County, Virginia">Carroll</a> (includes <a href="/wiki/Galax,_Virginia" title="Galax, Virginia">Galax</a>), <a href="/wiki/Craig_County,_Virginia" title="Craig County, Virginia">Craig</a>, <a href="/wiki/Grayson_County,_Virginia" title="Grayson County, Virginia">Grayson</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lee_County,_Virginia" title="Lee County, Virginia">Lee</a>, <a href="/wiki/Montgomery_County,_Virginia" title="Montgomery County, Virginia">Montgomery</a> (includes <a href="/wiki/Radford,_Virginia" title="Radford, Virginia">Radford</a>), <a href="/wiki/Smyth_County,_Virginia" title="Smyth County, Virginia">Smyth</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Wise_County,_Virginia" title="Wise County, Virginia">Wise</a> (includes <a href="/wiki/Norton,_Virginia" title="Norton, Virginia">Norton</a>)— were designated "at-risk." <a href="/wiki/Botetourt_County,_Virginia" title="Botetourt County, Virginia">Botetourt County</a> was the only county given the "attainment" designation, and <a href="/wiki/Bath_County,_Virginia" title="Bath County, Virginia">Bath</a> was the only county designated "competitive." Most Appalachian Virginia counties were designated "transitional," meaning they lagged behind the national average on one of the three key indicators. <a href="/wiki/Montgomery_County,_Virginia" title="Montgomery County, Virginia">Montgomery County</a> had Appalachian Virginia's highest poverty rating, with 24.5% of its residents living below the poverty line. <a href="/wiki/Botetourt_County,_Virginia" title="Botetourt County, Virginia">Botetourt</a> had Appalachian Virginia's highest per capita income ($27,835) and lowest unemployment rate (2.7%).<sup id="cite_ref-arcdata_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-arcdata-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Appalachia" title="Appalachia">Appalachia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_Tennessee" title="East Tennessee">East Tennessee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Kentucky_Coalfield" title="Eastern Kentucky Coalfield">Eastern Kentucky Coalfield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southern_West_Virginia" title="Southern West Virginia">Southern West Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tennessee_Valley" title="Tennessee Valley">Tennessee Valley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Appalachian_Regional_Commission_counties#Virginia" title="List of Appalachian Regional Commission counties">List of Appalachian Regional Commission counties § Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Western_North_Carolina" title="Western North Carolina">Western North Carolina</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMayer,_Holzheimer" class="citation web cs1">Mayer, Holzheimer. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Heike-Mayer/publication/265276528_Virginia%27_s_creative_economy/links/5559b2cc08ae980ca6107baf/Virginia-s-creative-economy.pdf">"Virginia's Creative Economy"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Virginia Tech.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Virginia%27s+Creative+Economy&rft.pub=Virginia+Tech&rft.au=Mayer%2C+Holzheimer&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fprofile%2FHeike-Mayer%2Fpublication%2F265276528_Virginia%2527_s_creative_economy%2Flinks%2F5559b2cc08ae980ca6107baf%2FVirginia-s-creative-economy.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASouthwest+Virginia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/overmountain-men-and-battle">"NCpedia | NCpedia"</a>. <i>www.ncpedia.org</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2022-03-14</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=www.ncpedia.org&rft.atitle=NCpedia+%7C+NCpedia&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncpedia.org%2Fanchor%2Fovermountain-men-and-battle&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASouthwest+Virginia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/saltville-during-the-civil-war/">"Saltville during the Civil War – Encyclopedia Virginia"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2022-03-14</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Saltville+during+the+Civil+War+%E2%80%93+Encyclopedia+Virginia&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fencyclopediavirginia.org%2Fentries%2Fsaltville-during-the-civil-war%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASouthwest+Virginia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.boucher.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=596&Itemid=77">Article on Representative Rich Boucher's website on Grundy flood control</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBohlen" class="citation news cs1">Bohlen, Celestine. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1982/11/20/the-fighting-ninth/0b18f0f2-94a6-46e7-9852-0a58fba5a3e9/">"The Fighting Ninth"</a>. <i>Washington Post</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 18,</span> 2020</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Washington+Post&rft.atitle=The+Fighting+Ninth&rft.aulast=Bohlen&rft.aufirst=Celestine&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Farchive%2Flocal%2F1982%2F11%2F20%2Fthe-fighting-ninth%2F0b18f0f2-94a6-46e7-9852-0a58fba5a3e9%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASouthwest+Virginia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://roanoke.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-southwest-virginia-is-further-away-from-richmond-than-you-think/article_63e3adc5-8294-520e-8351-4a44ca99e3c5.html">"Editorial: Southwest Virginia is further away from Richmond than you think"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_Roanoke_Times" title="The Roanoke Times">Roanoke Times</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2021-02-15</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Roanoke+Times&rft.atitle=Editorial%3A+Southwest+Virginia+is+further+away+from+Richmond+than+you+think&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Froanoke.com%2Fopinion%2Feditorials%2Feditorial-southwest-virginia-is-further-away-from-richmond-than-you-think%2Farticle_63e3adc5-8294-520e-8351-4a44ca99e3c5.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASouthwest+Virginia" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-arcdata-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-arcdata_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-arcdata_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=56">Appalachian Regional Commission Online Resource Center</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100111155750/http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeId=56">Archived</a> 2010-01-11 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a>. Retrieved: 15 May 2009.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Southwest_Virginia&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.heartwoodvirginia.org">Southwest Virginia Cultural Gateway Website</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.myswva.org">Southwest Virginia Website</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.virginiaheritage.org/index.htm">Southwest Virginia Heritage site</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.virginiaplaces.org/regions/15southwest.html">Geography of Southwest Virginia</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style 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.navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Commonwealth_of_Virginia" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Virginia" title="Template:Virginia"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Virginia" title="Template talk:Virginia"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Virginia" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Virginia"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Commonwealth_of_Virginia" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_(U.S._state)" title="Commonwealth (U.S. state)">Commonwealth</a> of <a href="/wiki/Virginia" title="Virginia">Virginia</a></div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div><b><a href="/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia" title="Richmond, Virginia">Richmond</a></b> (capital)</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Index_of_Virginia-related_articles" title="Index of Virginia-related articles">Topics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_Virginia" title="Outline of Virginia">Outline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Administrative_divisions_of_Virginia" title="Administrative divisions of Virginia">Administrative divisions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Climate_of_Virginia" title="Climate of Virginia">Climate</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Colony_of_Virginia" title="Colony of Virginia">Colony</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia%27s_congressional_districts" title="Virginia's congressional districts">Congressional districts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_States_congressional_delegations_from_Virginia" title="United States congressional delegations from Virginia">Delegations</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_United_States_senators_from_Virginia" title="List of United States senators from Virginia">Senators</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_United_States_representatives_from_Virginia" title="List of United States representatives from Virginia">Representatives</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Environment_of_Virginia" title="Environment of Virginia">Environment</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_furniture" title="Virginia furniture">Furniture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government_of_Virginia" title="Government of Virginia">Government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_historic_houses_in_Virginia" title="List of historic houses in Virginia">Historic houses</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_National_Historic_Landmarks_in_Virginia" title="List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia">Historic Landmarks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Virginia" title="History of Virginia">History</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Families_of_Virginia" title="First Families of Virginia">First Families</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_Virginia" title="History of slavery in Virginia">Slavery</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homelessness_in_Virginia" class="mw-redirect" title="Homelessness in Virginia">Homelessness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Housing_in_Virginia" title="Housing in Virginia">Housing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_Virginia" title="Law of Virginia">Law</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Virginia" title="Gun laws in Virginia">Gun laws in Virginia</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Virginia" class="mw-redirect" title="LGBT rights in Virginia">LGBT rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Music_of_Virginia" title="Music of Virginia">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_people_from_Virginia" title="List of people from Virginia">People</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Declaration_of_Rights" title="Virginia Declaration of Rights">Rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_Virginia" title="List of rivers of Virginia">Rivers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scouting_in_Virginia" title="Scouting in Virginia">Scouting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_is_for_Lovers" class="mw-redirect" title="Virginia is for Lovers">Slogan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sports_teams_in_Virginia" title="Sports teams in Virginia">Sports teams</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_Fair_of_Virginia" title="State Fair of Virginia">State Fair</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Virginia_state_parks" title="List of Virginia state parks">State parks</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Virginia_state_symbols" title="List of Virginia state symbols">Symbols</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Tourist_attractions_in_Virginia" title="Category:Tourist attractions in Virginia">Tourist attractions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Transportation_in_Virginia" title="Transportation in Virginia">Transportation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Native_American_tribes_in_Virginia" title="Native American tribes in Virginia">Tribes</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Virginia" title="Culture of Virginia">Culture</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abortion_in_Virginia" title="Abortion in Virginia">Abortion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crime_in_Virginia" title="Crime in Virginia">Crime</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_Virginia" title="Demographics of Virginia">Demographics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Virginia" title="Economy of Virginia">Economy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_Virginia" title="Education in Virginia">Education</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_Virginia" title="List of colleges and universities in Virginia">Colleges and universities</a></li></ul></li> <li>Media <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_Virginia" title="List of newspapers in Virginia">Newspapers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_radio_stations_in_Virginia" title="List of radio stations in Virginia">Radio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_Virginia" title="List of television stations in Virginia">TV</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Virginia" title="Politics of Virginia">Politics</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_regions_of_the_United_States#Virginia" title="List of regions of the United States">Regions</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Allegheny_Mountains" title="Allegheny Mountains">Allegheny Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Atlantic_coastal_plain" class="mw-redirect" title="Atlantic coastal plain">Atlantic Coastal Plain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Blue_Ridge_Mountains" title="Blue Ridge Mountains">Blue Ridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chesapeake_Bay" title="Chesapeake Bay">Chesapeake Bay</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cumberland_Mountains" title="Cumberland Mountains">Cumberland Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Delmarva_Peninsula" title="Delmarva Peninsula">Delmarva Peninsula</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eastern_Shore_of_Virginia" title="Eastern Shore of Virginia">Eastern Shore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hampton_Roads" title="Hampton Roads">Hampton Roads</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_Peninsula" title="Middle Peninsula">Middle Peninsula</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Neck" title="Northern Neck">Northern Neck</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Virginia" title="Northern Virginia">Northern Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Piedmont_region_of_Virginia" title="Piedmont region of Virginia">Piedmont</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ridge-and-Valley_Appalachians" title="Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians">Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shenandoah_Valley" title="Shenandoah Valley">Shenandoah Valley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_Hampton_Roads" title="South Hampton Roads">South Hampton Roads</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southside_(Virginia)" title="Southside (Virginia)">Southside</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Southwest Virginia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tennessee_Valley" title="Tennessee Valley">Tennessee Valley</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tidewater_(region)" title="Tidewater (region)">Tidewater</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tri-Cities,_Virginia" title="Tri-Cities, Virginia">Tri-Cities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Peninsula" title="Virginia Peninsula">Virginia Peninsula</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Western_Virginia" title="Western Virginia">Western Virginia</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Virginia_statistical_areas" title="Virginia statistical areas">Metro areas</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Blacksburg%E2%80%93Christiansburg_metropolitan_area" title="Blacksburg–Christiansburg metropolitan area">Blacksburg-Christiansburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bluefield_micropolitan_area" title="Bluefield micropolitan area">Bluefield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kingsport%E2%80%93Bristol%E2%80%93Bristol,_Tennessee-Virginia_Metropolitan_Statistical_Area" class="mw-redirect" title="Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area">Bristol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charlottesville,_Virginia_metropolitan_area" title="Charlottesville, Virginia metropolitan area">Charlottesville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Danville,_Virginia_micropolitan_area" title="Danville, Virginia micropolitan area">Danville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harrisonburg_metropolitan_area" title="Harrisonburg metropolitan area">Harrisonburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lynchburg_metropolitan_area" title="Lynchburg metropolitan area">Lynchburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martinsville,_Virginia_micropolitan_area" title="Martinsville, Virginia micropolitan area">Martinsville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_Richmond_Region" title="Greater Richmond Region">Richmond</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roanoke_metropolitan_area" title="Roanoke metropolitan area">Roanoke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Staunton%E2%80%93Waynesboro_metropolitan_area" title="Staunton–Waynesboro metropolitan area">Staunton-Waynesboro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hampton_Roads" title="Hampton Roads">Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Washington_metropolitan_area" title="Washington metropolitan area">Washington-Arlington-Alexandria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Winchester,_VA%E2%80%93WV_MSA" title="Winchester, VA–WV MSA">Winchester</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_cities_and_counties_in_Virginia" title="List of cities and counties in Virginia">Counties</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Accomack_County,_Virginia" title="Accomack County, Virginia">Accomack</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Albemarle_County,_Virginia" title="Albemarle County, Virginia">Albemarle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alleghany_County,_Virginia" title="Alleghany County, Virginia">Alleghany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amelia_County,_Virginia" title="Amelia County, Virginia">Amelia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Amherst_County,_Virginia" title="Amherst County, Virginia">Amherst</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Appomattox_County,_Virginia" title="Appomattox County, Virginia">Appomattox</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arlington_County,_Virginia" title="Arlington County, Virginia">Arlington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Augusta_County,_Virginia" title="Augusta County, Virginia">Augusta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bath_County,_Virginia" title="Bath County, Virginia">Bath</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bedford_County,_Virginia" title="Bedford County, Virginia">Bedford</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bland_County,_Virginia" title="Bland County, Virginia">Bland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Botetourt_County,_Virginia" title="Botetourt County, Virginia">Botetourt</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brunswick_County,_Virginia" title="Brunswick County, Virginia">Brunswick</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buchanan_County,_Virginia" title="Buchanan County, Virginia">Buchanan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buckingham_County,_Virginia" title="Buckingham County, Virginia">Buckingham</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Campbell_County,_Virginia" title="Campbell County, Virginia">Campbell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Caroline_County,_Virginia" title="Caroline County, Virginia">Caroline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Carroll_County,_Virginia" title="Carroll County, Virginia">Carroll</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_City_County,_Virginia" title="Charles City County, Virginia">Charles City</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charlotte_County,_Virginia" title="Charlotte County, Virginia">Charlotte</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chesterfield_County,_Virginia" title="Chesterfield County, Virginia">Chesterfield</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Clarke_County,_Virginia" title="Clarke County, Virginia">Clarke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Craig_County,_Virginia" title="Craig County, Virginia">Craig</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Culpeper_County,_Virginia" title="Culpeper County, Virginia">Culpeper</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cumberland_County,_Virginia" title="Cumberland County, Virginia">Cumberland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dickenson_County,_Virginia" title="Dickenson County, Virginia">Dickenson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dinwiddie_County,_Virginia" title="Dinwiddie County, Virginia">Dinwiddie</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Essex_County,_Virginia" title="Essex County, Virginia">Essex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fairfax_County,_Virginia" title="Fairfax County, Virginia">Fairfax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fauquier_County,_Virginia" title="Fauquier County, Virginia">Fauquier</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Floyd_County,_Virginia" title="Floyd County, Virginia">Floyd</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fluvanna_County,_Virginia" title="Fluvanna County, Virginia">Fluvanna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Franklin_County,_Virginia" title="Franklin County, Virginia">Franklin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Frederick_County,_Virginia" title="Frederick County, Virginia">Frederick</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Giles_County,_Virginia" title="Giles County, Virginia">Giles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gloucester_County,_Virginia" title="Gloucester County, Virginia">Gloucester</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Goochland_County,_Virginia" title="Goochland County, Virginia">Goochland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Grayson_County,_Virginia" title="Grayson County, Virginia">Grayson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greene_County,_Virginia" title="Greene County, Virginia">Greene</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greensville_County,_Virginia" title="Greensville County, Virginia">Greensville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halifax_County,_Virginia" title="Halifax County, Virginia">Halifax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hanover_County,_Virginia" title="Hanover County, Virginia">Hanover</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Henrico_County,_Virginia" title="Henrico County, Virginia">Henrico</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Henry_County,_Virginia" title="Henry County, Virginia">Henry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Highland_County,_Virginia" title="Highland County, Virginia">Highland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Wight_County,_Virginia" title="Isle of Wight County, Virginia">Isle of Wight</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/James_City_County,_Virginia" title="James City County, Virginia">James City</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/King_and_Queen_County,_Virginia" title="King and Queen County, Virginia">King and Queen</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/King_George_County,_Virginia" title="King George County, Virginia">King George</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/King_William_County,_Virginia" title="King William County, Virginia">King William</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lancaster_County,_Virginia" title="Lancaster County, Virginia">Lancaster</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lee_County,_Virginia" title="Lee County, Virginia">Lee</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Loudoun_County,_Virginia" title="Loudoun County, Virginia">Loudoun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Louisa_County,_Virginia" title="Louisa County, Virginia">Louisa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lunenburg_County,_Virginia" title="Lunenburg County, Virginia">Lunenburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madison_County,_Virginia" title="Madison County, Virginia">Madison</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mathews_County,_Virginia" title="Mathews County, Virginia">Mathews</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mecklenburg_County,_Virginia" title="Mecklenburg County, Virginia">Mecklenburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middlesex_County,_Virginia" title="Middlesex County, Virginia">Middlesex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Montgomery_County,_Virginia" title="Montgomery County, Virginia">Montgomery</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nelson_County,_Virginia" title="Nelson County, Virginia">Nelson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Kent_County,_Virginia" title="New Kent County, Virginia">New Kent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northampton_County,_Virginia" title="Northampton County, Virginia">Northampton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northumberland_County,_Virginia" title="Northumberland County, Virginia">Northumberland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nottoway_County,_Virginia" title="Nottoway County, Virginia">Nottoway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Orange_County,_Virginia" title="Orange County, Virginia">Orange</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Page_County,_Virginia" title="Page County, Virginia">Page</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patrick_County,_Virginia" title="Patrick County, Virginia">Patrick</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pittsylvania_County,_Virginia" title="Pittsylvania County, Virginia">Pittsylvania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Powhatan_County,_Virginia" title="Powhatan County, Virginia">Powhatan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prince_Edward_County,_Virginia" title="Prince Edward County, Virginia">Prince Edward</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prince_George_County,_Virginia" title="Prince George County, Virginia">Prince George</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prince_William_County,_Virginia" title="Prince William County, Virginia">Prince William</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pulaski_County,_Virginia" title="Pulaski County, Virginia">Pulaski</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rappahannock_County,_Virginia" title="Rappahannock County, Virginia">Rappahannock</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Richmond_County,_Virginia" title="Richmond County, Virginia">Richmond</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roanoke_County,_Virginia" title="Roanoke County, Virginia">Roanoke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rockbridge_County,_Virginia" title="Rockbridge County, Virginia">Rockbridge</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rockingham_County,_Virginia" title="Rockingham County, Virginia">Rockingham</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russell_County,_Virginia" title="Russell County, Virginia">Russell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scott_County,_Virginia" title="Scott County, Virginia">Scott</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shenandoah_County,_Virginia" title="Shenandoah County, Virginia">Shenandoah</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Smyth_County,_Virginia" title="Smyth County, Virginia">Smyth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Southampton_County,_Virginia" title="Southampton County, Virginia">Southampton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spotsylvania_County,_Virginia" title="Spotsylvania County, Virginia">Spotsylvania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stafford_County,_Virginia" title="Stafford County, Virginia">Stafford</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Surry_County,_Virginia" title="Surry County, Virginia">Surry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sussex_County,_Virginia" title="Sussex County, Virginia">Sussex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tazewell_County,_Virginia" title="Tazewell County, Virginia">Tazewell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Warren_County,_Virginia" title="Warren County, Virginia">Warren</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Washington_County,_Virginia" title="Washington County, Virginia">Washington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Westmoreland_County,_Virginia" title="Westmoreland County, Virginia">Westmoreland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wise_County,_Virginia" title="Wise County, Virginia">Wise</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wythe_County,_Virginia" title="Wythe County, Virginia">Wythe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/York_County,_Virginia" title="York County, Virginia">York</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Independent_city_(United_States)#Virginia" title="Independent city (United States)">Independent<br />cities</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Alexandria,_Virginia" title="Alexandria, Virginia">Alexandria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bristol,_Virginia" title="Bristol, Virginia">Bristol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Buena_Vista,_Virginia" title="Buena Vista, Virginia">Buena Vista</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charlottesville,_Virginia" title="Charlottesville, Virginia">Charlottesville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chesapeake,_Virginia" title="Chesapeake, Virginia">Chesapeake</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Colonial_Heights,_Virginia" title="Colonial Heights, Virginia">Colonial Heights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Covington,_Virginia" title="Covington, Virginia">Covington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Danville,_Virginia" title="Danville, Virginia">Danville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Emporia,_Virginia" title="Emporia, Virginia">Emporia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fairfax,_Virginia" title="Fairfax, Virginia">Fairfax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Falls_Church,_Virginia" title="Falls Church, Virginia">Falls Church</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Franklin,_Virginia" title="Franklin, Virginia">Franklin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fredericksburg,_Virginia" title="Fredericksburg, Virginia">Fredericksburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Galax,_Virginia" title="Galax, Virginia">Galax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hampton,_Virginia" title="Hampton, Virginia">Hampton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Harrisonburg,_Virginia" title="Harrisonburg, Virginia">Harrisonburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hopewell,_Virginia" title="Hopewell, Virginia">Hopewell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lexington,_Virginia" title="Lexington, Virginia">Lexington</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lynchburg,_Virginia" title="Lynchburg, Virginia">Lynchburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manassas,_Virginia" title="Manassas, Virginia">Manassas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manassas_Park,_Virginia" title="Manassas Park, Virginia">Manassas Park</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martinsville,_Virginia" title="Martinsville, Virginia">Martinsville</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Newport_News,_Virginia" title="Newport News, Virginia">Newport News</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norfolk,_Virginia" title="Norfolk, Virginia">Norfolk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norton,_Virginia" title="Norton, Virginia">Norton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Petersburg,_Virginia" title="Petersburg, Virginia">Petersburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Poquoson,_Virginia" title="Poquoson, Virginia">Poquoson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portsmouth,_Virginia" title="Portsmouth, Virginia">Portsmouth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radford,_Virginia" title="Radford, Virginia">Radford</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Richmond,_Virginia" title="Richmond, Virginia">Richmond</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roanoke,_Virginia" title="Roanoke, Virginia">Roanoke</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Salem,_Virginia" title="Salem, Virginia">Salem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Staunton,_Virginia" title="Staunton, Virginia">Staunton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suffolk,_Virginia" title="Suffolk, Virginia">Suffolk</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virginia_Beach,_Virginia" title="Virginia Beach, Virginia">Virginia Beach</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Waynesboro,_Virginia" title="Waynesboro, Virginia">Waynesboro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Williamsburg,_Virginia" title="Williamsburg, Virginia">Williamsburg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Winchester,_Virginia" title="Winchester, Virginia">Winchester</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div><b><span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" 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