Thursday Thirteen

Here are 13 facts about Botetourt County, VA, which is where I live:

1. Botetourt County (pronounced body-tot by the locals) was created in 1770 from part of Augusta County, Virginia and was named for Norborne Berkeley, known as Lord Botetourt. Berkely was a Virginia governor prior to the American Revolution, and well-liked. He was the Baron or Earl of Botetourt from England; hence the name.

2. The county originally comprised a vast area, which included the southern portion of present-day West Virginia, along with most of Illinois, Indiana, southern Ohio and all of Kentucky. Part of it went into Wisconsin. 

3. Today, the county is part of the Roanoke Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the county seat is the town of Fincastle. (Fincastle has been the county seat since 1772.)

4. The county today has a total area of 546 square miles (1,410 km 2), of which 541 square miles (1,400 km 2) is land and 4.7 square miles (12 km 2) (0.9%) is water.

5. The Blue Ridge Mountains run along the eastern part of the county, while the Appalachian Mountains run along the western portion. (I always thought they were called the Allegheny Mountains, but what do I know. I call them all the Blue Ridge.)

6. The James River originates in Botetourt County, near the village of Iron Gate.

7. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 33,596.

8. The median value of owner-occupied housing units in the county was $242,600 in 2017-2021.

9. The county has a high school graduate or higher rate of 93.8% and a bachelor’s degree or higher rate of 27.4% for persons age 25 years and over in 2017-2021.

10. The county has a total health care and social assistance receipts/revenue of $79,452,000 in 2017.

11. The county hosts several annual events, such as Ag Day at Eagle Rock Library, Movies in the Park at Troutville Elementary, and BOCO WILD at Buchanan Town Park. There are many other events, too, such as the Sunflower Festival in the fall, Historic Fincastle Festival, and music outside every Thursday night and weekends at Daleville Town Center during the warmer months.

12. The county has several historic sites and attractions, such as the Colonel William Preston Memorial in Amsterdam and the town of Fincastle. In Fincastle, you can find the Botetourt County Historical Museum and the Fincastle branch of the library has a large genealogy section. The town of Fincastle has been called a "little Williamsburg" by some history buffs. You can see old lime kilns in Eagle Rock and experience small town life in Buchanan. The county has old cemeteries, lots of old homes and churches, and history in abundance. The county government is working on encouraging historic tourism, though they are slow about it.

13. The county is home to several notable people, such as Andrew Seibel, president of the National FFA Organization and Luke Campbell, Virginia Economic Developers Association “Rising Star” nominee. It is also home to Metalsa Roanoke, a company that achieved Zero Waste Status. Additionally, Matt Ramsey of the musical group Old Dominion is from the town of Buchanan, though he no longer lives in the county.

Note: The Bing AI assisted with this. Errors belong to the bot.

__________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 802nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.