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Midlothian is an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. In Law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any Municipality. Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Founded over 300 years ago as a coal mining village, it is now an outlying suburban community located well beyond the city limits in the Southside area of Richmond in the Richmond-Petersburg region. The Southside of Richmond is an area of the Metropolitan Statistical Area surrounding Richmond Virginia. This article is about the city of Richmond the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. See also Richmond Virginia Richmond-Petersburg (also known as the Greater Richmond Region) is a region located in a central part of the state

It was named for the early 18th century coal mining enterprises of the Wooldridge brothers who came from the mining villages of East Lothian and West Lothian near Edinburgh, Scotland. Coal mining is the extraction or removal of Coal from the Earth by Mining. East Lothian ( Lodainn an Ear in Gaelic) is one of 32 Unitary council areas in Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. West Lothian ( Lodainn an Iar in Gaelic) is one of the 32 unitary Council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. In a compromise, the new venture was called Mid-Lothian. It produced the first commercially mined coal in the Virginia Colony and in what became the United States. The Colony of Virginia (also known frequently as the Virginia Colony and occasionally as the Dominion and Colony of Virginia) was the English colony The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

By 1700, several mines were in development by French Huguenots and others. The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth Shipment of coal began in the 1730s. Midlothian-area coal heated the U. S. White House for President Thomas Jefferson. See also Executive Office of the President of the United States The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the Official residence Thomas Jefferson (April 13 1743 – July 4 1826 was the third President of the United States (1801–1809 the principal author of the Declaration of Independence Related transportation needs and innovations resulted in construction of an early toll road, the Manchester Turnpike in 1807 and the Chesterfield Railroad, the state's first in 1831, each to travel the 13 miles to the port of Manchester, just below the fall line of the James River. A toll road, (also known as a tollway, turnpike, pike, or toll highway, especially if it is constructed to Freeway standards The Manchester Turnpike was a Turnpike road in Chesterfield County in the U The Chesterfield Railroad was located in Chesterfield County Virginia. Manchester Virginia was the original County seat of Chesterfield County, Virginia in the United States when it was formed from Henrico In Geomorphology, a fall line (at times referred to as a fall zone) marks the area where an upland region (continental Bedrock) and a Coastal plain The James River in the US state of Virginia is a long River, including its Jackson River source (Manchester, the original county seat of Chesterfield County, became an independent city and merged with Richmond in 1910). A county seat is a term for an Administrative center for a County, primarily used in the United States. An independent city is a City that does not form part of another general-purpose Local government entity Near the mines, Coalfield Station was built in the early 1850s on the Richmond and Danville Railroad. The Richmond and Danville Railroad was chartered in Virginia in the United States in 1847 The small village of shops, churches, and schools established nearby came to be called Midlothian.

In the 1920s, Midlothian's commercial village area along the Old Buckingham Road was sited on the new east-west U.S. Route 60. US Route 60 in Virginia runs 312 miles west to east through the central part of the state generally close to and paralleling the Interstate 64 corridor A few decades later, communities grew up near Midlothian, including the large Salisbury community, named for the colonial-era home of Thomas Mann Randolph and later Virginia Governor Patrick Henry (1784-1786), and the massive Brandermill planned development sited on Swift Creek Reservoir. Thomas Mann Randolph Jr ( October 1, 1768 - June 20, 1828)was a Planter, Soldier, and Politician from Virginia Patrick Henry ( May 29, 1736 June 6, 1799) was a prominent figure in the American Revolution, known and remembered for his " Brandermill is a major suburban residential and commercial development in the Southside of Richmond Virginia

In the 21st century, widespread Midlothian extends many miles beyond the former village area. It is located along the semi-circumferential limited access State Route 288 which links Interstate 64 with the State Route 76 toll road and Interstate 95 in the Richmond area's southwestern quadrant. State Route 288 is a primary State highway in the US state of Virginia. Interstate 64 in Virginia runs west to east through the middle of the state from West Virginia to the Hampton Roads region a total of 298 miles The Powhite Parkway in Richmond Virginia is a Toll road operated by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority (RMA In the Commonwealth of Virginia, Interstate 95 runs through the state Midlothian was ranked #37 in CNNMoney's list of "The Best Places to Live" in 2005. Recognized by the U. S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), the community had a total population of 35,427 as of the 2000 census.

Contents

Geography

Location of Midlothian, Virginia

Midlothian is located in the Piedmont geologic region of the state, and is made up of mainly a hilled, fertile land (it is somewhat of a plain. Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching In Geography, a plain is an area of land with relatively low relief — meaning that it is flat )

Soil problems

A common soil type, termed "shrink-swell" has been found to underlie many neighborhoods that have grown up throughout the area. "Shrink-swell" is the term applied to the potential for volume change in a soil with a loss or gain in moisture. Expansive soils may occur throughout Virginia, but they especially pose a problem where rapid urbanization and development are occurring. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, Chesterfield County construction standards failed to take into account the unique requirements for building structures with foundations of sufficient depth and strength to insure against damage in so dynamic a geologic condition, with the result that some dwellings and other structures have suffered severe damage and required extensive remediation and repair to remain functional. Homeowner's received mitigation via a settlement with Chesterfield County in 1991, and building codes were adjusted to require soil testing throughout the affected areas in Chesterfield County.

Additionally, a type of fill dirt, comprised in part of the ash by-product of coal burning electric power generation facilities, was used in the site grading for a Home Depot store in the Midlothian area. That material proved sufficiently unstable that Home Depot had to completely raze its new store located off Midlothian Turnpike (U.S. Route 60) within the first year of its opening for business, to completely re-do the site preparation, and construct a new building. For the US Route 60 in the 1925 plan see US Route 66. US Route 60 is an east-west United States highway, running 2670 Miles The contractor and their insurance company bore the cost for remedy at this commercial development as they were responsible for sourcing the substandard building materials.

Watersheds

The Midlothian area serves as the headwaters to a number of creeks which ultimately contribute their waters to the flow of the James River below the fall line at Richmond. These include Swift Creek and Falling Creek. Falling Creek is a tributary of the James River located near Richmond Virginia. The Swift Creek Reservoir serves as the major source of fresh water for the county.

Demographics

Midlothian's demographics are much like Virginia's. The Commonwealth of Virginia ( is an American state Its inhabitants are predominantly Caucasian. The next biggest group is African-Americans, followed by Hispanics and Asians. The median household income per year in 2005 was $80,381.

Midlothian is comprised of many neighborhoods, shopping centers, schools, and churches, and includes a major regional shopping mall. A neighbourhood or neighborhood (see spelling differences) is a geographically localised Community within a larger City, Town or A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings that contain Retail units with interconnecting Walkways enabling visitors A school (from Greek σχολεῖον - scholeion) is an Institution designed to allow and encourage Students (or "pupils" A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings that contain Retail units with interconnecting Walkways enabling visitors There is very little farming and only light manufacturing around the new State Route 288. State Route 288 is a primary State highway in the US state of Virginia. Some examples of neighborhoods around the Village of Midlothian just off Route 60 include Roxshire and Salisbury to the north and Walton Park, Queensmill, and Stonehenge West on the east. Woodlake and Brandermill are communities on Route 360 which include some houses with a Midlothian address, although most use a Chesterfield address. US Route 360 is a spur of US Route 60 in the US state of Virginia.

History

Before the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century, the area was populated by Native Americans. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States Among these were the Monacan tribe, of a Siouan heritage, and they were often in conflict with the members of the Powhatan Confederacy of Virginia Algonquins, generally located to the east in the Tidewater area. The Monacans are a group of people of mixed ancestry recognized as a Native American tribe by the state of Virginia in the United States. The Siouan (aka Siouan proper, Western Siouan) languages are a Native American Language family of North America, and the The Powhatan (also spelled Powatan and Powhaten) or Powhatan Renape (literally the "Powhatan Human Beings" is the name of a The Algonquins (or Algonkins) are an aboriginal North American people speaking Algonquin, an Anishinaabe language.

In the 18th century, French Huguenot settlers came to the area in the Virginia Colony to escape religious persecution in Europe. The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system After the Monacan tribe of Native Americans left the area, the Huguenot settlers chose Manakintown for their new community. The location about 20 miles above the head of navigation on the James River at Richmond offered some desired isolation for them. With the coming of the Europeans, although there was some farming, the terrain was hilly and largely wooded, and shipping of farm products such as tobacco crops was not easy. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana.

However, there was a greater natural resource than farmland as Midlothian history became largely one of coal mining and railroads. The geology of the area about 10 miles west of the fall line of the James River at near present-day Richmond, Virginia includes a basin of coal which was one of the earliest mined in the Virginia Colony. This natural resource was mined by the French Huguenot refugees and others who settled there beginning around 1700, and many coal-related enterprises in the Midlothian area of Chesterfield County began early in the 18th century.

Coal mining

The Village area of today's Midlothian started as a settlement of coal miners in the 1700s. In 1709, Midlothian produced the first commercially-mined coal in the United States. Year 1709 ( MDCCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year According to research by author Bettie W. Weaver, some of the first coal mines were controlled by the wealthy Wooldridge family. Bettie Woodson Weaver is an author and former schoolteacher from Virginia. About 1745, two Wooldridge brothers came to Virginia from Scotland. They built their home nearby. The brothers came from separate Scottish mining villages, one from East Lothian, the other from West Lothian. In developing their new business in Virginia, they apparently compromised on the name, calling the mines the family owned "Mid-Lothian Mining Company". The name came to be used for the unincorporated town which grew in the area, and somewhere along the way, the name became one unhyphenated word: "Midlothian. "

Among other participants in the area's emerging coal business was Colonel Henry "Harry" Heth, a businessman who emigrated from England about 1759, and established offices at Norfolk and Manchester. Colonel Henry "Harry" Heth (died 1821 was an English businessman who emigrated to the Virginia Colony about 1759 Norfolk is an Independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States Several generations of his family were also involved in the business.

During the American Revolution, coal produced in the Midlothian coal pits supplied the cannon factory on the James River at Westham, upstream from Richmond, where it was used to produce shot and shells for the Continental Army. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Westham was an unincorporated town in Henrico County Virginia. By the end of the Revolutionary War, coal mined in Chesterfield County was being shipped to Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Commenting on the area's coal in his Notes on the State of Virginia, written in 1781-82, then-Governor Thomas Jefferson stated: "The country on James river, from 15 to 20 miles above Richmond, and for several miles northward and southward, is replete with mineral coal of a very excellent quality. " [1] He later ordered coal from the Black Heath Mine in Midlothian for use in the White House in Washington DC during his presidency. Black Heath was a home and coal mine located along the Old Buckingham Road in the present Midlothian area of Chesterfield County Virginia. Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D

As Jefferson noted, the coalfield basin west of Richmond extended north of the James River to the western portion of Henrico County. Henrico (hɛnˈraɪkoʊ is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. There, mines were active at places such as Gayton and Deep Run. In 1796, famed engineer and architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe toured the coal fields outside Richmond, declaring enthusiastically, "Such a mine of Wealth exists, I believe, nowhere else!"

By 1835, there were seven or eight major mines in the Midlothian area. Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe ( May 1, 1764 - September 3, 1820) was a British-born American Architect best known for his design of Year 1835 ( MDCCCXXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Coal was the basis of the Midlothian area until the late 1800s when mining ended. Later attempts to reopen the mines were unsuccessful, but thanks to railroad access to Richmond, the village became a commuter town.

Early roads, first turnpike, and railroads

In 1804, a toll road, Manchester and Falling Creek Turnpike was built from Manchester to Falling Creek to ease traffic on what is now Old Buckingham Road. The Manchester Turnpike was a Turnpike road in Chesterfield County in the U It was graveled in 1807, making it Virginia's first hard-surfaced road. That road's descendant is known as Midlothian Turnpike and carries U. The Manchester Turnpike was a Turnpike road in Chesterfield County in the U S. Route 60.

By 1824, an estimated 70 to 100 wagons, each of which was loaded with four or five tons of coal, made a daily trip on the turnpike, transporting to the docks at the river near Manchester the million or more bushels (30,000 metric tons) of coal that were produced in Chesterfield County each year. A toll road, (also known as a tollway, turnpike, pike, or toll highway, especially if it is constructed to Freeway standards

The heavily-loaded coal wagons tended to cut deep ruts in the turnpike between the mines at Midlothian and the docks at Manchester, raising clouds of dust in summer and churning the road into mud in the rainy season. As there were few options for shunpiking, citizens whose faster buggies dawdled along behind the lumbering wagons kept urging the state legislature to do something about it—a canal, a better road, but something. The term shunpiking comes from the word shun, meaning "to avoid" and pike, a term referring to Turnpikes which were roads which required The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The result was the Chesterfield Railroad, a 13 mile (21 km) mule- and gravity-powered line that connected the Midlothian coal mines with wharves that were located at Manchester, directly across from Richmond. A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand Partially funded by the Virginia Board of Public Works, it began operating in 1831, was Virginia's first railroad, and was the second commercial railroad to be built in the United States. The Virginia Board of Public Works was a governmental agency which oversaw and helped finance the development of Virginia's internal transportation improvements during the 19th century Year 1831 ( MDCCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a By 1850, though, the newer, steam-driven Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) began operation to Coalfield Station, later renamed Midlothian, and the slower Chesterfield Railroad was quickly supplanted. In a financial reorganization, the R&D line through Midlothian became part of the Southern Railway system in 1894, and is now part of Norfolk Southern Railway. The Southern Railway is a former United States Railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined reorganized and recombined beginning This article is about the present railroad formed in 1990 For the former regional railroad in Virginia and North Carolina a small part of the new one see Norfolk Southern

According to the 1895 Virginia atlas, the population of Midlothian was 375.

20th century: village becomes suburban area

In the 20th century, coal mining died out, and the area became less populated, remaining largely wooded with farms scattered along mostly rural and dirt roads. Gradually, the highway network and the growth of metropolitan Richmond brought subdivisions. When the Swift Creek Reservoir was created, water and sewer service accelerated residential growth. The expansion of the area assigned to the Midlothian post office caused a much larger area to be considered "Midlothian" than the village area along Midlothian Turnpike, now designated U. S. Route 60. An extension of the Powhite Parkway in 1988 and widening of Midlothian Turnpike and Hull Street Road (U.S. Route 360) provided much-needed highway infrastructure as the area continued to grow in population, and forests were turned into subdivisions. The Powhite Parkway in Richmond Virginia is a Toll road operated by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority (RMA US Route 360 is a spur of US Route 60 in the US state of Virginia.

21st century: growth issues

Completion of State Route 288 in 2004 essentially brought Midlothian into the circumferential highway network of greater Richmond. Debate continues regarding whether the few remaining farms and forest areas will be developed with more subdivisions, allowing the western end of Chesterfield County to be essentially "built-out" in the manner that has occurred in other Virginia localities such as Fairfax and Arlington counties in Northern Virginia. Fairfax County is a county in Northern Virginia, in the United States. In March 2006, that debate was settled when the county approved, after long debate, zoning for the [2]Watkins Centre, a large office complex and retail "lifestyle center" at the intersection of Route 288 and U. S. 60, just two miles west of the Village of Midlothian. One of Midlothian's high schools, James River High School, is part of Chesterfield County Public Schools and has won the President's Blue Ribbon School of Excellence Award. James River High School is located in Midlothian, an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. Chesterfield County Public Schools is the School system of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States.

Historic landmarks

Chesterfield County Historic Landmarks in the Midlothian area include:

Chesterfield Museum

An exhibit on local mining history in the Chesterfield Museum includes a length of iron rail from the incline railway, first in Virginia. History Southside Speedway which used to be known as Royall Speedway in the early 50'sfirst opened on July 11th 1959 with Modifieds as the feature division The Chesterfield Railroad was located in Chesterfield County Virginia.

Further reading

External links

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