Centreville, Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Centreville is an unincorporated community in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau as a Census Designated Place (CDP), the community population was 48,661 as of the 2000 census.
Centreville is approximately 20 miles from Washington, DC.[1] Centreville has two middle schools, Liberty and Stone Middle, and two high schools, Centreville High School (which is actually located within the boundaries of neighboring Clifton), and is also served by Westfield High School, opened in 2000 in neighboring Chantilly.
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[edit] Geography
Centreville is located at (38.842470, -77.442621)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 25.2 km² (9.7 mi²), all land.
[edit] History
According to a tourism pamphlet published by the Fairfax County Government 1907 and preserved in the University of Virginia's libraries, Centreville was the first proper town within the modern boundaries of Fairfax County, settled under the name of Newgate or New Gate at some point in the 17th or 18th century. The town never thrived, but its position on a relatively major road towards the Blue Ridge, the Shenandoah Valley, and other western destinations preserved its tavern and general store even after the town of Newgate became a memory. In later colonial times, presumably in the 18th century, when word came that a major new north-south road was to pass through the general vicinity, the few residents of the roadside locale came together and declared themselves the town of Centreville in hopes of attracting the road and becoming an important town at the intersection of north-south and east-west roads. Sadly, the road took another route; Manassas to the southwest became the local hub of transportation, and the town fell back into obscurity. The growing prosperity of the region, however, gave Centreville life enough to keep its identity to the present day.
In the Civil War, though the battles of the region happened nearer to Manassas — twice — and Chantilly than Centreville, the town was significantly fortified by the Confederacy and served as a supply depot for both sides at various points in the war. Centreville was of significant strategic value due to its proximity to several important roads, while its position atop a high ridge provided a commanding view of the surrounding area. The town was frequently associated with Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby, who's partian rangers used it's hillsides and farms as a base of opeations, leading to the sobriquet of Mosby's Confederacy.
In 1943, Centreville was still so small that a state map book individually, on a map of the entire county, indicated each building in the town (and also misspelled its name). In more recent times, Centreville has become a suburb of Washington, D.C. Most growth occurred in the late '90s and early 2000s due the influx of technology companies. Now, Centreville is quite a typical wealthy American suburb, comprised of luxury townhomes, strip malls, a movie theater, and large housing developments.
Throughout Centreville's history, the correct spelling of the name has been accompanied by the corruption "Centerville", which appears on the occasional map of the region from the colonial period into the early 20th century. The latter spelling occurs in the index of the aforementioned pamphlet, but the correct spelling appear in both the text and the table of contents. The 1943 map lists the town as "Centerville", but evidence for a consistent "re" spelling before this date seems substantial.
[edit] Population history of Centreville CDP
From the U.S. Census Bureau:
(Z): Population recorded when the census tabulated figures of unincorporated places for the first time. (Source: 1880 Census of Population. Note: The link is a PDF file.)
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there is a population as of 2005 of 49,789 people, 21,789 households, and has 16,096 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,930.9/km² (5,001.4/mi²). There were 18,176 housing units at an average density of 721.3/km² (1,868.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.49% White, 2.88% African American, 0.29% Native American, 14.25% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.65% from other races, and 3.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.17% of the population.
There are 21,789 households, out of which 41.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 21.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.27.
In the CDP, the population is spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 43.7% from 25 to 44, 16.4% from 45 to 64, and 3.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there are 97.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $90,232, and the median income for a family was $120,351. Males had a median income of $70,123 versus $41,117 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $40,878. About 2.0% of families and 1.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.0% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Famous people from Centreville
- Ormond Stone, an astronomer, mathematician, and educator who founded the Fairfax County Public Library. Stone Middle School and
Stone Road are both named in honor of him. Stone Road was also Centreville's first traffic accident fatality.
- Former NY Times journalist Jayson Blair, who was accused of fabricating newspaper articles, attended Centreville High School
- Kristi Lauren Glakas, 2006 Miss America 3rd runner up
- NFL Football player Scott Secules, Pro Football Reference.com
- Brian Snyder MLB player, [2]
- Sean Glennon Virginia Tech QB
[edit] Trivia
- Centreville is discussed in the young adult novel Bull Run, by Newbery Medal Winner Paul Fleischman.
- Centreville is approximately 38° 50′ 32.89″ N 77° 26′ 33.44″ W
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
