Louisa, Virginia

Louisa Court House was named for the county courthouse constructed in 1742, near the intersection of Courthouse Road (now SR 208) and Main Street/Louisa Road (now SR-22/US-33). The village of Louisa Court House had been the county seat for over a century when it became a strategic location during the American Civil War for Virginia's supply and communication lines.

File:Virginia Central Map 1852 cropped.png

Chartered in 1836 as the Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Central Railroad mainline passed through the village. On June 10, 1864, thousands of men and horses of Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry division camped around the courthouse prior to the Battle of Trevilian Station.[https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=193948 Historical Marker Database: Louisa Court House – Raiders Intercepted]. Accessed June 19, 2022. The VCR merged into the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1868 (reorganized as the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1878). The C&O operated the mainline through Louisa over one hundred years, until the Chessie System merged into CSX in the 1980s.

The incorporated Town of Louisa was created by Act of the General Assembly in 1873.[https://www.louisatown.org/community/town-of-louisa-rich-in-history/ Town of Louisa: Town History]. Accessed June 19, 2022. Many businesses found advantage in locating near the mainline, especially heavy industries that could transport using the railroad. As the road infrastructure improved and especially since the 1956 development of the interstate highway system's I-64, local businesses transport mainly via semi-truck using US 33.

East of the Town of Louisa on Jeff Davis Highway is the Cooke Industrial Rail Park, a 1400 acre contiguous tract of land with over 1 mile of rail frontage, served by CSX and Buckingham Branch Railroad.[https://www.louisacounty.com/1240/Cooke-Industrial-Rail-Park Louisa County: Cooke Industrial Rail Park]. Accessed June 19, 2022.

There are many places of local historic interest and some that are of national significance: Bloomington, Boxley Place, the 1905 Louisa County Courthouse, and Louisa High School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

Louisa is located at {{coord|38|1|27|N|78|0|6|W|type:city}} (38.024057, −78.001584).{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.21 square miles (4.7 km{{sup|2}}), of which 2.20 square miles (4.7 km{{sup|2}}) is land and 0.55% is water.

{{Weather box

|location = Louisa, Virginia (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1916–present)

|single line = Y

|width = auto

|Jan record high F = 80

|Feb record high F = 82

|Mar record high F = 89

|Apr record high F = 96

|May record high F = 99

|Jun record high F = 101

|Jul record high F = 108

|Aug record high F = 105

|Sep record high F = 104

|Oct record high F = 98

|Nov record high F = 88

|Dec record high F = 79

|year record high F = 108

|Jan high F = 45.2

|Feb high F = 49.4

|Mar high F = 58.2

|Apr high F = 69.8

|May high F = 76.0

|Jun high F = 83.2

|Jul high F = 86.7

|Aug high F = 85.3

|Sep high F = 79.0

|Oct high F = 68.6

|Nov high F = 57.4

|Dec high F = 48.1

|year high F = 67.2

|Jan mean F = 35.3

|Feb mean F = 38.2

|Mar mean F = 45.5

|Apr mean F = 56.1

|May mean F = 64.0

|Jun mean F = 71.9

|Jul mean F = 76.0

|Aug mean F = 74.4

|Sep mean F = 67.6

|Oct mean F = 56.5

|Nov mean F = 45.8

|Dec mean F = 38.1

|year mean F = 55.8

|Jan low F = 25.4

|Feb low F = 27.0

|Mar low F = 32.8

|Apr low F = 42.3

|May low F = 52.0

|Jun low F = 60.7

|Jul low F = 65.2

|Aug low F = 63.6

|Sep low F = 56.3

|Oct low F = 44.4

|Nov low F = 34.1

|Dec low F = 28.1

|year low F = 44.3

|Jan record low F = −20

|Feb record low F = −21

|Mar record low F = -5

|Apr record low F = 13

|May record low F = 26

|Jun record low F = 36

|Jul record low F = 37

|Aug record low F = 36

|Sep record low F = 29

|Oct record low F = 18

|Nov record low F = 4

|Dec record low F = -9

|year record low F = -21

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 3.00

|Feb precipitation inch = 2.74

|Mar precipitation inch = 3.70

|Apr precipitation inch = 3.38

|May precipitation inch = 3.97

|Jun precipitation inch = 4.33

|Jul precipitation inch = 4.18

|Aug precipitation inch = 3.68

|Sep precipitation inch = 4.49

|Oct precipitation inch = 3.81

|Nov precipitation inch = 3.59

|Dec precipitation inch = 3.33

|year precipitation inch = 44.20

|Jan snow inch = 4.5

|Feb snow inch = 6.1

|Mar snow inch = 1.5

|Apr snow inch = 0.3

|May snow inch = 0.0

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 0.0

|Nov snow inch = 0.1

|Dec snow inch = 3.3

|year snow inch = 15.8

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|Jan precipitation days = 9.3

|Feb precipitation days = 8.3

|Mar precipitation days = 10.0

|Apr precipitation days = 10.5

|May precipitation days = 12.2

|Jun precipitation days = 10.6

|Jul precipitation days = 10.9

|Aug precipitation days = 9.2

|Sep precipitation days = 9.7

|Oct precipitation days = 8.3

|Nov precipitation days = 8.8

|Dec precipitation days = 10.1

|year precipitation days = 117.9

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan snow days = 1.8

|Feb snow days = 1.8

|Mar snow days = 0.6

|Apr snow days = 0.0

|May snow days = 0.0

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.0

|Nov snow days = 0.0

|Dec snow days = 1.3

|year snow days = 5.5

| source 1 = NOAA

{{cite web

| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=akq

| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = July 5, 2021}}

{{cite web

| url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&startDate=0001-01-01&endDate=9996-12-31&stations=USC00445050&format=pdf

| title = Station: Louisa, VA

| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)

| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

| access-date = July 5, 2021}}

}}

{{US Census population

|1880= 315

|1900= 261

|1910= 318

|1920= 289

|1930= 301

|1940= 365

|1950= 344

|1960= 576

|1970= 633

|1980= 932

|1990= 1088

|2000= 1401

|2010= 1555

|estyear=2019

|estimate=1733

|estref={{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 27, 2020}}

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}

}}

At the 2000 census there were 1,401 people, 584 households, and 331 families in the town. The population density was 766.8 people per square mile (295.6/km{{sup|2}}). There were 620 housing units at an average density of 339.4 per square mile (130.8/km{{sup|2}}). The racial makeup of the town was 66.81% White, 29.48% African American, 0.79% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.79% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.43%.

Of the 584 households 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.3% were non-families. Of households, 37.0% were one person and 18.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.93.

The age distribution was 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.5 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 73.1 males.

The median household income was $29,519 and the median family income was $42,396. Males had a median income of $27,578 versus $23,188 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,763. About 14.7% of families and 18.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.9% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.

Louisa is home to the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station which produces electricity and offers jobs for the county's inhabitants. The warm water produced from the power plant and discharged into the water of Lake Anna creates what some call Central Virginia's best fishing.

Louisa is also home to the Twin Oaks Community, an intentional community of 100 people living on {{convert|465|acre|km2}}. The community has been in Louisa since 1967.

The 2011 Virginia earthquake had its epicenter just 7 miles (11 kilometers) south-southeast of Louisa.[http://lakeannarentals.org/magnitude-5-8-earthquake-hits-central-virginia/ Magnitude 5.8 - VIRGINIA] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006154048/http://lakeannarentals.org/magnitude-5-8-earthquake-hits-central-virginia/ |date=October 6, 2014 }} This quake registered 5.8 magnitude and caused the evacuations of buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., as well as New York City and was felt as far north as Canada.

Image:BB7 Louisa WJGrimes.JPG|A local train of the Buckingham Branch railroad passes the C&O Depot and water tower in Louisa.

File:20110504-RD-LSC-0654 - Flickr - USDAgov.jpg|Cooper Vineyards in Louisa, is the first winery on the East Coast and the second in the country to be awarded the fourth and highest, Platinum certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

Jefferson-Madison Regional Library is the regional library system that provides services to the citizens of Louisa.

• Owen Smith, racing driver
• Kerry Wynn, defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals
• Brandon Smith, linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles

• {{Official website|http://louisatown.org}}

{{Louisa County, Virginia}}

{{Virginia towns}}

{{Virginia county seats and independent cities}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:County seats in Virginia

Category:Towns in Louisa County, Virginia

Category:Towns in Virginia