Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes.
Martinsville is the principal city of the Martinsville micropolitan statistical area, which includes the communities and towns of Axton, Bassett, Chatmoss, Collinsville, Fieldale, Horsepasture, Laurel Park, Oak Level, Sandy Level, Stanleytown, Villa Heights, Spencer, and Ridgeway. The Martinsville Micropolitan Area has a population of 63,765 as of the 2020 census.
The round-end oval Martinsville Speedway, the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series at and one of the first paved "speedways", is located just outside the city near the town of Ridgeway.
History Martinsville was founded by American Revolutionary War general, Native American agent and explorer Joseph Martin, born in Albemarle County.Virginia: A Guide to the Old Dominion (Sixth Printing, 1956). Virginia Writers' Project, Work Projects Administration. p. 611. New York: Oxford University Press. Books.google.com. Retrieved on May 9, 2012. He developed his plantation Scuffle Hill on the banks of the Smith River near the present-day southern city limits. General Martin and revolutionary patriot Patrick Henry, who lived briefly in Henry County and for whom the county is named, were good friends.
The Beaver Creek Plantation,John Waddey Carter House, Dry Bridge School, East Church Street-Starling Avenue Historic District, Fayette Street Historic District, Little Post Office, Martinsville Fish Dam, Martinsville Historic District, Martinsville Novelty Corporation Factory, and Scuffle Hill are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
20th century Many African American churches, schools, and businesses were established along Fayette Street in the early 20th century. Dr. Dana Olden Baldwin, the area's first Black physician, moved to Martinsville in 1910. Baldwin's entrepreneurial vision expanded the number of businesses along Fayette Street, creating "Baldwin's Block" as an epicenter of African-American commerce and social life during the racial segregation of Jim Crow laws.
DuPont in 1941 built a large manufacturing plant for producing textile nylon filament, a vital war material. During the Cold War, the city was identified as a target for strategic bombing by the Soviet Union. This nylon production jump-started the growth of the textiles industry in the area.
In 1947, the round-end oval Martinsville Speedway opened. In use by NASCAR since its inaugural season in 1949, the oval is still in operation by the racing organization today. The speedway is the shortest oval in NASCAR.
For several years, Martinsville was known as the "Sweatshirt Capital of the World", and in the 1980s, it boasted of having more millionaires per capita than any city in America.Derks, Scott. Working Americans, 1880-1999: Sports & recreation, 2000, page 426.
Business leaders in the mid-20th century, such as Whitney Shumate, worked to improve substandard housing in Martinsville. He helped clear out a portion of Martinsville called "Mill Town", which had substandard rental housing originally provided for 19th-century employees of a now-defunct cotton mill. New homes were constructed in the neighborhood, built with sound materials and all city services for the first time. What had originally been considered a depressed civic area rapidly became a center of progress, as middle class Black residents finally began to prosper. As an editorial in the local newspaper noted, "One of the projects which won him considerable attention and praise was the instigation of the redevelopment of what was once known as Martinsville Cotton Mill Village. He and associates purchased about 50 houses in North Martinsville, and using private capital rather than federal aid, rebuilt them into comfortably inhabitable homes, making it possible for many persons to purchase homes within their financial range."Martinsville Bulletin. March 3, 1966. "City Loses Citizen who Helped Make it a Better Community."
In the early 1990s, changing global economic conditions and new trade treaties made Martinsville textiles and furniture manufacturing economically unsustainable. Many firms closed shop and laid off thousands of workers; the production moved to other countries."Threadbare: The Unravelling of Henry County" , The Roanoke Times, 17 August 2002. (August 17, 2002). Retrieved on May 9, 2012. The city is repositioning itself long-term as a center for technology development and manufacturing.
MZM, Inc. opened a facility in Martinsville as part of the Cunningham scandal.
Memorial Hospital of Martinsville (now combined with the hospital in Danville, Virginia, to become Sovah Health) serves the greater Martinsville and Henry County area. The earliest local hospital was the 50-bed Shackelford Hospital,. Mhchistoricalsociety.com (October 8, 2009). Retrieved on May 9, 2012. founded by Jesse Martin Shackelford,. Mhchistoricalsociety.com (October 6, 2009). Retrieved on May 9, 2012. who was later joined by surgeon son John Armstrong Shackelford, an early graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.. Mhchistoricalsociety.com (October 6, 2009). Retrieved on May 9, 2012. Founder of the Hospital Association of Virginia, Jesse Shackelford was an early advocate of comprehensive care for state citizens. Shackleford recruited Dr. Dana O. Baldwin to work with him as an anesthesiologist. Baldwin established his own medical practice to provide care for Martinsville's African-American population and opened the first Black hospital, St. Mary's, in 1926. Shackelford Hospital was sold in 1946, and Martinsville General Hospital subsequently opened with John Shackelford as its first chief surgeon.The History of Memorial Hospital . Martinsvillehospital.org. Retrieved on May 9, 2012. In 1970 Memorial Hospital of Martinsville opened its doors, replacing Martinsville General.
21st century
On January 2, 2013, Kim Adkins was re-elected as mayor.
In August 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam pardoned all seven African-American men of the Martinsville Seven.
On January 3, 2023, L.C. Jones was elected as new mayor.
Relationship with Henry County Martinsville's relationship with Henry County is somewhat complex. Martinsville was fully included in Henry County's jurisdiction until it was declared a city by court order in 1928. As with all cities in Virginia, Martinsville's incorporation as a city made it independent from Henry County's jurisdiction. Although Martinsville technically remains the county seat of Henry County, nearby Collinsville serves as the de facto county seat, as it is where the county's primary administrative and judicial offices are located. However, the future of this jurisdictional arrangement became unclear when Martinsville's city council unanimously voted in favor of beginning the process of reverting from a city to a town (which would reincorporate it into the county's jurisdiction) on December 10, 2019, citing economic and demographic concerns. The time frame for this reversion remains unclear, as the city's petition to revert must first be approved by a three-judge panel in the state courts, after which begins a complex process of negotiation with the county over the division of responsibilities. On January 11, 2023, the city council voted to end the reversion process.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (0.5%) is covered by water. The north side of the city has the highest average elevation. The east side slopes gradually down to the Smith River on the south side. The west side is hilly. Martinsville is located in the Southern Virginia region near the Virginia–North Carolina state line and is northwest of Eden, North Carolina, northwest of Danville, north of Greensboro, North Carolina. south of Roanoke, and northeast of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Climate
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Martinsville city, Virginia – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)12,29910,1198,3366,7075,73267.77%62.61%54.07%48.53%42.51%Black or African American alone (NH)5,6845,9296,5016,1916,04331.32%36.68%42.17%44.79%44.81%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1201218230.01%0.12%0.08%0.13%0.17%Asian alone (NH)5232721271160.29%0.20%0.47%0.92%0.86%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census004xx0.00%0.00%0.03%Other race alone (NH)032110460.00%0.02%0.14%0.07%0.34%Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census116216496xx0.75%1.56%3.68%Hispanic or Latino (any race)113593585521,0250.62%0.37%2.32%3.99%7.60%Total18,14916,16215,41613,82113,485 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Martinsville had a population of 13,485. The median age was 44.6 years. About 21.0% of residents were under 18 and 21.6% were 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 81.4 males 18 and over.
Almost all of the residents lived in urban areas, while 0.1% lived in rural areas.
Of the 5,909 households in Martinsville, 25.8% had children under 18 living in them, 31.1% were married-couple households, 21.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 41.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 38.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 or older.
The city had 7,053 housing units, of which 16.2% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 13.3%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 5,924 43.9% Black or African American 6,094 45.2% American Indian and Alaska Native 50 0.4% Asian 116 0.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 4 0.0% Some other race 535 4.0% Two or more races 762 5.7% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 1,025 7.6%
2010 census As of the census of 2010, 13,821 people, 6,498 households, and 4,022 families resided in the city. The population density was . The 7,249 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 48.38% White, 45.45% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.69% from [other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 5.70% of the population.
Of the 6,498 households, 26.3% had children under 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were not families. About 34.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.89.
The age distribution was 22.6% under 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.4 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 78.4 males.
The median income in the city for a household was $27,441 and for a family was $35,321. Males had a median income of $28,530 versus $21,367 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,251. About 14.0% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.6% of those under 18 and 16.9% of those 65 or over. As of August 2010, the city's unemployment rate stood at 20%.
Economy