| Commonwealth of Virginia | |||||||||||
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| Official language(s) | English | ||||||||||
| Spoken language(s) | English 94.3%, Spanish 5.8% | ||||||||||
| Demonym | Virginian | ||||||||||
| Capital | Richmond | ||||||||||
| Largest city | Virginia Beach | ||||||||||
| Largest metro area | Northern Virginia | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 35th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 42,774 sq mi (110,785 km²) |
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| - Width | 200 miles (320 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 430 miles (690 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 7.4 | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 36° 32′ N to 39° 28′ N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 75° 15′ W to 83° 41′ W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 12th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 7,642,884 (2006 est.)2 | ||||||||||
| - Density | 193/sq mi (75/km²) Ranked 14th in the US |
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| - Median income | $59,5623 (9th) | ||||||||||
| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Mount Rogers4 5,729 ft (1,747 m) |
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| - Mean | 950 ft (290 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Atlantic Ocean4 0 ft (0 m) |
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| Admission to Union | June 25, 1788 (10th) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Timothy M. Kaine (D) | ||||||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | Bill Bolling (R) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | John Warner (R) Jim Webb (D) |
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| Congressional Delegation | 8 R, 3 D (list) | ||||||||||
| Time zone | Eastern: UTC-5/-4 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | VA US-VA | ||||||||||
| Website | www.virginia.gov | ||||||||||
The Commonwealth of Virginia (/vɚˈdʒɪnjə/) is an American state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. The state was named Virginia after Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married. The state is also known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The state is geographically shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, home to much of the state's flora and fauna. The capital of the commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The state population is over seven million.2
The roots of modern Virginia trace back to the founding of the Virginia Colony in 1607 by the Virginia Company of London as the first permanent New World English colony. Slavery played significant roles in Virginia's early economy and politics. Virginia became one of the Thirteen Colonies in the American Revolution and subsequently joined the Confederacy in the American Civil War. Although traditionally conservative and historically part of the South, modern Virginia is a politically competitive state for both major national parties.5
Virginia has an economy with several sectors, including agricultural production, military bases in the Hampton Roads, and federal agencies, such as The Pentagon, in Northern Virginia. The Historic Triangle includes the popular heritage tourism destinations of Jamestown, Yorktown and the living museum of Colonial Williamsburg.6 The growth of the technology sector has made computer chips the state's leading export, with the industry based on the strength of Virginia's public schools and universities.7 University sports are followed by many across the state. Areas where the state has lagged behind include health care and environmental protection.
Contents |
Geography
Virginia has an area of 42,774 square miles (110,784 km2) making it the thirty-fifth largest state by area.8 Virginia is bordered by Maryland and the District of Columbia to the north and east; the Atlantic Ocean to the east; by North Carolina and Tennessee to the south; by Kentucky to the west and by West Virginia to the north and west. Due to a peculiarity of Virginia's original charter, its boundary with Maryland does not extend past the low-water mark of the southern shore of the Potomac River, meaning Maryland and the District of Columbia contain the whole width of the river rather than splitting it between them and Virginia.9 The southern border is defined as the 36°30' parallel north, though surveyor error has led to historic deviations.10
Geology and terrain
The Chesapeake Bay separates most of the contiguous portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginia's Eastern Shore. Many of Virginia's rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, James, and York.11 Geographically and geologically, Virginia is divided into five regions from east to west: Tidewater, Piedmont, Blue Ridge Mountains, Ridge and Valley, and Cumberland Plateau.12
The Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries which enter the Chesapeake Bay. The Piedmont are a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic. The region includes the Southwest Mountains.13 The Blue Ridge are a physiographic province of the chain of Appalachian Mountains. The mountains are the highest points in the state, including Mount Rogers at 5,729 feet (1,746 m).4 The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains, and includes the Great Appalachian Valley. The region is carbonate rock based, and includes Massanutten Mountain.14 The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the south-west corner of Virginia, below the Allegheny Plateau. In this region rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin.15
The Virginia seismic zone has not had a history of regular activity. Earthquakes are rarely above 4.5 on the Richter magnitude scale because Virginia is located centrally on the North American Plate. The largest earthquake, at 5.9 magnitude, was in 1897 in Blacksburg.16 Besides coal, resources such as slate, kyanite, and sand and gravel are mined, with an annual value over $2 billion.17
Climate
The climate of Virginia varies. Most of the state east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, as well as the southern part of the Shenandoah Valley, has a humid subtropical climate. In the mountainous areas west of the Blue Ridge, the climate becomes humid continental.18 Seasonally, Virginia experiences extremes, from average lows of 26 °F (−3.3 °C) in January to average highs of 86 °F (30 °C) in July. The moderating influence of the ocean from the east, powered by the Gulf Stream, also creates the potential for hurricanes near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, making the coastal area vulnerable.19 Although Hurricane Gaston in 2004 inundated Richmond, hurricanes rarely threaten communities far inland.20
Thunderstorms are a regular occurrence, and the state has an average of thirty-five to forty-five days of thunderstorm activity annually, with an average annual precipitation of 42.7 inches (108.5 cm).2119 Additionally, the western part of the state experiences more thunderstorms.21 The state also averages eighty-five tornadoes per year, though most are F2 and lower on the Fujita scale.22 Cold air masses arriving over the mountains, especially in winter, can lead to significant snowfalls in those regions, such as the Blizzard of 1996. The interaction of these elements with the state's topography creates distinct microclimates in the Shenandoah Valley, the mountainous southwest, and the coastal plains.23
In recent years, the expansion of the southern suburbs of Washington into Northern Virginia has created an urban heat island due to the increased energy output of more densely used areas.24 In the American Lung Association's 2008 report, two counties received failing grades for air quality, with Fairfax County having the worst in the state due to automobile pollution.2526 Haze in the mountains is caused in part by coal power plants.27 Coal supplies half of the state's electricity, with another third from two nuclear power plants.28
Flora and fauna
Forests cover sixty-five percent of the state.29 Lower altitudes are more likely to have small but dense stands of moisture-loving hemlocks and mosses in abundance. Other commonly found trees and plants include oak, hickory, chestnut, maple, tulip poplar, mountain laurel, milkweed, daisies, and many species of ferns. Since the early 1990s, Gypsy moth infestations have eroded the dominance of the oak forests.30 The deciduous and evergreen trees emit hydrocarbons which give the mountains their distinct blue haze.31
Mammals include white-tailed deer, black bear, beaver, bobcat, raccoon, skunk, opossum, groundhog, gray fox, and eastern cottontail rabbit.32 Though unsubstantiated, there have been some reported sightings of mountain lion in areas of the state.33 Birds include cardinals, barred owls, Carolina chickadees, Red-tailed Hawks, and wild turkeys. The Peregrine Falcon was reintroduced into Shenandoah National Park in the mid-1990s.34 Freshwater fish include walleye, brook trout, Roanoke bass, and blue catfish.35 Running brooks with rocky bottoms are often inhabited by a plentiful amount of crayfish. The Chesapeake Bay is home to many species, including blue crabs, clams, oysters, and rockfish, also known as striped bass.36
Virginia has many National Park Service units, including one national park, the Shenandoah National Park. Shenandoah was established in 1935 and encompasses the scenic Skyline Drive. Almost forty percent of the park's area (79,579 acres/322 km²) has been designated as Wilderness and is protected as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System.37 Other parks in Virginia, such as Great Falls Park and Prince William Forest Park, are included in the many areas in the National Park System.38 Additionally, there are thirty-four Virginia state parks, run by the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Department of Forestry.39 The Chesapeake Bay, while not a national park, is protected by both state and federal legislation, and the jointly run Chesapeake Bay Program which conducts restoration on the bay and its watershed. The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge also extends into North Carolina.40
History
Jamestown 2007 marked Virginia's quadricentennial year, celebrating four hundred years since the establishment of the Jamestown Colony. Over the centuries Virginia has been at the front of warfare from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the Cold War and the War on Terrorism. The far-reaching social changes of the mid- to late-20th century were expressed by broad-based celebrations marking contributions of three cultures to the state: Native American, European and African.41
Colony
The first humans arrived in Virginia about 5,000 years ago, and farming began there by 900. By 1500 the Virginia Algonquians had founded towns in the Tidewater region, which they referred to as Tsenacommacah. The other major groups in the area were the Siouan to the west, and the Iroquois, who included the Nottoway and Meherrin, to the north and south. After 1570, the Algonquians consolidated under Chief Powhatan in response to threats from these other groups on their trade network.31 In 1607, the native Tidewater population was between 13,000 to 14,000.42 Powhatan controlled more than thirty smaller tribes and over 150 settlements, which used a common Virginia Algonquian language.43
In 1583, Queen Elizabeth I of England granted Sir Walter Raleigh a charter to explore and plant a colony north of Florida.44 In 1584, Sir Walter Raleigh explored the Atlantic coast of North America. Raleigh, or possibly the Queen herself, named the area "Virginia" after Queen Elizabeth, known as the "Virgin Queen" because she never married.45 The name eventually applied to the whole coast from South Carolina to Maine, and included Bermuda. The London Company was incorporated as a joint stock company by the proprietary Charter of 1606, which granted land rights to this area.46 The Company financed the first permanent English settlement in the New World. Jamestown, named for King James I, was founded in May 1607 by Captains Christopher Newport and John Smith. In 1609 many colonists died during the "starving time" after the loss of the Third Supply's flagship, the Sea Venture.47
During this early period Virginia's population grew with the introduction of settlers and servants into the burgeoning plantation economy. Land from the Native Americans was appropriated by force and treaty, including the Treaty of 1677, which made the signatory tribes tributary states. In 1619 the House of Burgesses was established as the colony's elected governance, and African servants were first introduced, with slavery being codified in 1661.4849 After 1618 the headright system led to more indentured servants from Europe.50 In this system, settlers received land for each servant they transported.51 The colonial capital was moved in 1699 to Williamsburg, where the College of William and Mary had been founded in 1693.52
The House of Burgesses was temporarily dissolved in 1769 by the Royal governor Lord Botetourt, after Patrick Henry and Richard Henry Lee led speeches on the distresses of the British taxation without representation. In 1773, Henry and Lee formed a committee of correspondence, and in 1774 Virginia sent delegates to the Continental Congress.53 On May 15, 1776, the Virginia Convention declared independence from the British Empire.54 Shortly after, the Virginia Convention adopted the Virginia Declaration of Rights written by George Mason, a document that influenced the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.55 Then on June 29, 1776, the convention enacted a constitution that formally declared Virginia as an independent commonwealth.31
During the American Revolutionary War, the capital was moved to Richmond at the urging of Governor Thomas Jefferson, fearing Williamsburg's location made it vulnerable to British attack.56 In 1781, the combined action of Continental and French land and naval forces trapped the British on the Yorktown peninsula, where troops under George Washington and French Comte de Rochambeau defeated British General Cornwallis in the Battle of Yorktown. The British surrender on October 19, 1781 so shifted British public opinion that it led to the end of major hostilities and secured the independence of the colonies.57
Statehood
Virginians were instrumental in writing the United States Constitution. James Madison drafted the Virginia Plan in 1787 and the Bill of Rights in 1789. Virginia ratified the Constitution on June 25, 1788. The three-fifths compromise ensured that Virginia initially had the largest bloc in the House of Representatives, which with the Virginia dynasty of presidents gave the commonwealth national importance. In 1790, both Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to form the new District of Columbia, though in 1847 the Virginian area was retroceded.47 Virginia is sometimes called "Mother of States" because of its role in being carved into several mid-western states.58
In addition to agriculture, slave labor was also increasingly used in mining, shipbuilding and other industries.59 By 1860, almost half a million people, roughly thirty-one percent of the total population of Virginia, were enslaved.60 Nat Turner's slave rebellion in 1831 and John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 however showed deep social discontent over the issue of slavery in Virginia and its role in the plantation economy. This division contributed to the start of the American Civil War.
Virginia seceded from the United States on April 17, 1861 after the Battle of Fort Sumter. In June 1861, Virginia joined the rebel Confederate States of America, which chose Richmond as its capital. In 1863 forty-eight counties in the northwest of the state separated to form a new state of West Virginia. During the Civil War, Virginia saw more battles fought than anywhere else, including the Battles of Bull Run, the Seven Days Battles, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the concluding Battle of Appomattox Courthouse. After the capture of Richmond, the capitol was briefly moved to Danville, Virginia. Virginia formally rejoined the United States in 1870, due the work of the Committee of Nine. During the post-war Reconstruction era, Virginia adopted a constitution which should have provided for free public schools, and guarantee political, civil, and voting rights.61
However during the culmination of the Jim Crow era, legislators rewrote the Constitution of Virginia to include a poll tax and other measures on voter registration that effectively disfranchised African Americans, leading to underfunding for segregated schools and services, and a lack of representation.62 African Americans still created vibrant communities and made progress. Protests in Farmville started by Barbara Rose Johns in 1951 led to the lawsuit Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County by Richmond natives Spottswood Robinson and Oliver Hill. This case was decided with Brown v. Board of Education. Virginia however declared in 1958 that desegregated schools would not receive state funding, under the policy of "massive resistance" spearheaded by the powerful segregationist Senator Harry F. Byrd.63
The Civil Rights Movement gained many participants in the 1960s and achieved the moral force to gain national legislation for protection of suffrage and civil rights for African Americans. In 1964 the United States Supreme Court ordered Prince Edward County and others to integrate their school.64 From 1969 to 1971, state legislators under Governor Mills Godwin rewrote the constitution, after goals such as the repeal of Jim Crow laws had been achieved. In 1989, Douglas Wilder became the first African American elected as governor in the United States.31
New economic forces also changed the commonwealth. In 1926, Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, rector of Williamsburg's Bruton Parish Church, began restoration of colonial era buildings in the historic district with financial backing of John D. Rockefeller Jr. resulting in Colonial Williamsburg, the state's most popular tourism site.6 World War II and the Cold War led to massive expansion of government programs in the areas near Washington. The Pentagon in Northern Virginia, was however targeted in the September 11, 2001 attacks. In that attack, one hundred and eighty-five people died. Tragedy again struck Virginia in 2007 when thirty-two students were murdered in the Virginia Tech massacre.
Cities and towns
Virginia is divided into independent cities and counties, which function in the same manner. According to the US Census Bureau, independent cities are considered county-equivalent.65 As of 2006, thirty-nine of the forty-two independent cities in the United States are in Virginia. Incorporated towns are recognized as part of the ninety-five counties in Virginia, but are not independent. There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities in Virginia. Virginia does not have any further political subdivisions, such as villages or townships.
Virginia has eleven Metropolitan Statistical Areas; Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Richmond-Petersburg are the three most populated. Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and the its metropolitan area has a population of over 1.2 million people.66 As of 2006, Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the commonwealth, with Norfolk and Chesapeake second and third, respectively.67 Norfolk forms the urban core of this metropolitan area, which is home to over 1.6 million people and the world's largest naval base.6668
Although it is not incorporated as a city, Fairfax County is the most populous locality in Virginia, with over one million residents.69 Fairfax has a major urban business and shopping center in Tysons Corner, Virginia's largest office market.70 Neighboring Loudoun County, with the county seat at Leesburg, is the fastest-growing county in the United States.71 Arlington County, the smallest self-governing county in the United States by land area, is an urban community organized as a county.72 Roanoke, with a population of 292,983, is the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in western Virginia.73 Suffolk, which includes a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, is the largest city by area.74
Demographics
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 691,737 |
|
|
| 1800 | 807,557 | 16.7% | |
| 1810 | 877,683 | 8.7% | |
| 1820 | 938,261 | 6.9% | |
| 1830 | 1,044,054 | 11.3% | |
| 1840 | 1,025,227 | −1.8% | |
| 1850 | 1,119,348 | 9.2% | |
| 1860 | 1,219,630 | 9% | |
| 1870 | 1,225,163 | 0.5% | |
| 1880 | 1,512,565 | 23.5% | |
| 1890 | 1,655,980 | 9.5% | |
| 1900 | 1,854,184 | 12% | |
| 1910 | 2,061,612 | 11.2% | |
| 1920 | 2,309,187 | 12% | |
| 1930 | 2,421,851 | 4.9% | |
| 1940 | 2,677,773 | 10.6% | |
| 1950 | 3,318,680 | 23.9% | |
| 1960 | 3,966,949 | 19.5% | |
| 1970 | 4,648,494 | 17.2% | |
| 1980 | 5,346,818 | 15% | |
| 1990 | 6,187,358 | 15.7% | |
| 2000 | 7,078,515 | 14.4% | |
As of 2006, Virginia had an estimated population of 7,642,884 which is an increase of 78,557, or one percent, from the prior year and an increase of 563,854, or eight percent, since the year 2000. This includes an increase from net migration of 276,292 people into the commonwealth. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 151,748 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 124,544 people.2 The center of population is located in Goochland County.75
English was passed as the commonwealth's official language by statutes in 1981 and again in 1996, though the status is not mandated by the Constitution of Virginia.76 English is the only language spoken by 6,201,784 (88.9%) Virginians, though it is spoken very well by an additional 536,508 (7.5%) for a total of 94.3% of the Commonwealth which speaks English. Spanish has the most speakers of other languages, with 412,416 (5.8%). 240,332 (3.4%) speak Asian and Pacific Islander languages, including Vietnamese and Filipino.77
Ethnicity
The five largest reported ancestry groups in Virginia are: African (19.6%), German (11.7%), unspecified American (11.4%), English (11.1%), and Irish (9.8%).78 Most African-American Virginians are descendants of enslaved Africans who worked its tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. These men and women were brought from west central Africa, primarily from Angola and Igbo areas of the Niger Delta region.7980 The twentieth century Great Migration of blacks from the rural South to the North reduced Virginia's black population; however, in the past forty years there has been a reverse migration of blacks returning to Virginia and the rest of the South.81
The western mountains have many settlements founded by Scotch-Irish immigrants before the Revolution.82 There are also sizable numbers of people of German descent in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley. People of English heritage settled throughout the state during the colonial period, and others of British and Irish heritage have migrated there through the decades for work.83
Because of more recent immigration in the late 20th century and early 21st century, there are rapidly growing populations of Hispanics, particularly Central Americans, and Asians. As of 2007, 6.3% of Virginians are Hispanic, 5.5% are Asian, and 1.8% are American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.2 The Hispanic population of the state tripled from 1990 to 2006, with two-thirds of Hispanics living in Northern Virginia. Hispanics in Virginia have higher median household incomes and educational attainment than the general United States or Virginia population.84
Northern Virginia has the largest Vietnamese population on the East Coast, with slightly more than 99,000 Vietnamese residents, whose major wave of immigration followed the Vietnam War.85 Due to their ties to the U.S. Navy, Hampton Roads has a sizable Filipino population, numbering about 45,000.86 Virginia also continues to be the home to eight federally recognized Native American tribes, with six other tribes recognized by the state.87
Religion
| Religious affiliation88 | |||||
| Christian: | 76% | Baptist: | 30% | ||
| Protestant: | 49% | Methodist: | 7% | ||
| Roman Catholic: | 14% | Lutheran: | 2% | ||
| Other Christian: | 13% | Presbyterian: | 3% | ||
| Judaism: | 1% | Episcopal: | 3% | ||
| Islam: | 1% | Pentecostal: | 2% | ||
| Other religions: | 4% | Congregational: | 1% | ||
| Non-religious: | 12% | Other/general: | 2% | ||
Virginia is predominantly Protestant; Baptists are the largest single group with thirty percent of the population.89 Baptist denominational groups in Virginia include the Baptist General Association of Virginia, with about 1,400 member churches, which supports both the Southern Baptist Convention and the moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship; and the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia with over five-hundred affiliated churches, which supports the Southern Baptist Convention.9091 Roman Catholics are the second-largest religious group, and the group which grew the most between 1990 and 2000.92
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington includes most of Northern Virginia's Catholic churches, while the Diocese of Richmond covers the rest. The Virginia Synod is responsible for the congregations of the Lutheran Church. The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, Southern Virginia, and Southwestern Virginia support the various Episcopal churches. In November 2006, fifteen conservative Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Virginia voted to split from the diocese and the larger Anglican Communion church over the issue of sexuality and the ordination of openly gay bishops and clergy. Virginia law allows parishioners to determine their church's affiliation. The resulting property law case is a test for Episcopal churches nationwide, as the diocese claims the church properties of those congregations that want to secede.93
Among other religions, adherents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints constitute 0.75% of the population, while those of Buddhism and Hinduism each comprise one percent.9495 While a small population in terms of the state overall, organized Jewish sites date to 1791.96 Muslims are a rapidly growing religious group throughout the state.97 Megachurches in the state include Thomas Road Baptist Church, McLean Bible Church and Immanuel Bible Church.98
Economy
Virginia's economy is very well balanced with many diverse sources of income, made up of 4.1 million civilian workers.28 In 2006, Forbes Magazine named Virginia the best state in the nation for business.99 The Gross Domestic Product of Virginia was $383 billion in 2007.100 As of 2000, Virginia had the highest number of counties in the top one-hundred wealthiest jurisdictions in the United States based upon median income.101 Virginia has seventeen total Fortune 500 companies, ranking the state tenth nationwide.102
Virginia has the highest concentration of technology workers of any state.103 One-third of Virginia's jobs are in the service sector.8 Computer chips became the state's highest-grossing export in 2006, surpassing its traditional top exports of coal and tobacco, combined.7 Northern Virginia, once considered the state's dairy capital, now hosts software, communication technology, and consulting companies. The Dulles Technology Corridor near Dulles International Airport has a high concentration of Internet, communications and software engineering firms.104 Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Northern Virginia have the highest and second highest median household income, respectively, of all counties in the United States as of 2006.105
In Southern Virginia from Hampton Roads to Richmond and to Lee County, the economy is based on military installations, and cattle, tobacco and peanut farming. About twenty percent of Virginian jobs are in agriculture, with 47,000 farms, averaging 181 acres (0.28 sq mi/0.73 km²).13 Tomatoes surpassed soy as the most profitable crop in Virginia in 2006, with peanuts and hay as other agricultural products.106 Oysters are an important part of the Chesapeake Bay economy, but declining populations due to disease, pollution, and overfishing have diminished catches.107 Wineries and vineyards in the Northern Neck and along the Blue Ridge Mountains also have begun to generate income and attract tourists.108
Many of Northern Virginia's well-educated population work directly for Federal agencies. Many others work for government contractors, including defense and security contractors.109 Well-known government agencies headquartered in Northern Virginia include the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense, as well as the National Science Foundation, the United States Geological Survey and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The Hampton Roads area has the largest concentration of military bases and facilities of any metropolitan area in the world. The largest of the bases is Naval Station Norfolk.68 Virginia has more veterans than any other state, with over 800,000, and is second only to Alaska in per capita defense spending.110111
Virginia collects personal income tax in five income brackets, ranging from 3.0% to 5.75%. The sales and use tax rate is 5%. The tax rate on food is 2.5%. There is an additional 1% local tax, for a total of a 5% combined sales tax on most Virginia purchases and a combined tax rate of 2.5% on food.112 Virginia's property tax is set and collected at the local government level and varies throughout the commonwealth. Real estate is taxed at the local level based on one-hundred percent of fair market value. Tangible personal property also is taxed at the local level and is based on a percentage or percentages of original cost.113
Culture
Virginia's historic culture was popularized and spread across America and the South by Washington, Jefferson, and Lee, and their homes represent Virginia as the birthplace of America and of the South.114 Modern Virginia culture has many heritages, and is largely part of the culture of the Southern United States.115 The Smithsonian Institution divides Virginia into nine cultural regions.116 The Piedmont region is one of the most famous for its dialect's strong influence on Southern American English. Various accents are also present including the Tidewater accent and the anachronistic Elizabethan of Tangier Island, as well as a more homogenized American English in urban areas with a great deal of transplants.117118
Besides the general cuisine of the Southern United States, Virginia maintains its own particular traditions. Virginia wine is made in many parts of the state.108 Smithfield ham, sometimes called Virginia ham, is a type of country ham which is protected by state law, and can only be produced in the town of Smithfield.119 Virginia furniture and architecture are typical of American colonial architecture. Thomas Jefferson and many of the state's early leaders favored the Neoclassical architecture style, leading to its use for important state buildings. The Pennsylvania Dutch and their style can also be found in parts of the state.83
Fine and performing arts
- See also: Music of Virginia
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The Virginia Foundation for the Humanities works to improve commonwealth's civic, cultural, and intellectual life.120 The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is a state-funded museum with the largest collection of Fabergé eggs outside of Russia.121 The Chrysler Museum of Art is home to many pieces, stemming from the Chrysler family collection, including the final sculpture of Gian Lorenzo Bernini.122 Other museums include the popular Science Museum of Virginia, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum, the Frontier Culture Museum, and the Mariners' Museum.40 Besides these sites, many open air museums and battlefields are located in the state, such as Colonial Williamsburg, Richmond National Battlefield, and Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts is located in Vienna and is the only national park intended for use as a performing arts center. Wolf Trap hosts the Wolf Trap Opera Company, which produces an opera festival every summer.123 The Harrison Opera House in Norfolk is home to the official Virginia Opera. The Virginia Symphony Orchestra is based in Hampton Roads. The American Shakespeare Center is located in Staunton, and home to resident and touring theater troupes. Other notable theaters include the Ferguson Center for the Arts, the Barter Theatre, and the Landmark Theater.
Virginia has launched many award-winning traditional music artists as well as internationally successful popular music acts. Ralph Stanley, Patsy Cline, The Statler Brothers and The Carter Family are award winning Bluegrass and Country music musicians from Virginia, and Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey were both from Newport News. Hip hop and Rhythm and blues acts like Missy Elliott, Timbaland, The Neptunes, Chris Brown, and Clipse hail from the commonwealth. The Neptunes produced 43% of all songs on American radio in 2003.124 Singer-songwriters from Virginia include Jason Mraz and jam bands like the Pat McGee Band and Dave Matthews Band, who continue their strong charitable connection to Charlottesville, Virginia.125 Influential stage-rock group GWAR also began at Virginia Commonwealth University. Notable performance venues in the state include The Birchmere, Norva Theatre, John Paul Jones Arena, Nissan Pavilion, the Patriot Center, and the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater.