1939: Virginia

Area and Population.

The thirty-third state of the Union in size, Virginia covers 40,262 sq. mi. and, with its extensive water surface, 42,627 sq. mi. in all. The population, by the census of 1930, was 2,421,851, but as it has grown considerably in the interval the state now contains more than 2,500,000 people. Virginia is notably homogeneous in its population, not less than 1,486,280 whites (84 per cent) being natives of the state, while 258,137 were born in other states. The foreign-born element is very small, only 23,820 in number by the 1930 census. The Negro population (650,163) is relatively large, but smaller in proportion than in the other southern states.

Virginia is still essentially a rural community, in spite of its rapidly expanding industries. It has many small towns and few large cities. Richmond, the capital, with 182,929 people, is the metropolis. Norfolk comes next, with 129,710, and Roanoke (69,206), Portsmouth (45,704), Lynchburg (40,661) and Newport News (34,417) follow in order. The most highly populated section of the state is that around Hampton Roads, as the three cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News are there. Richmond, the center of a Federal Reserve district, had in 1939 bank clearings of about $2,000,000,000. Its principal industry is tobacco manufacture; it is the largest cigarette-making city in the world.

Agriculture.

Virginia is an important farming and lumbering state. The total farm income in 1939 was $114,000,000. Corn is one of the leading products, but also important are hay, garden truck, tobacco, cotton, apples, fowls and hogs. Cattle-raising is engaged in on a large scale in the southwest. Oysters are still an important product of the surrounding waters.

Industry.

In addition to tobacco products. Virginia's main industries center about the manufacture of pulp, furniture, trunks, chemicals, textiles. The largest industrial development of 1939 was the inauguration of a huge rayon plant at Front Royal.

As a source of income, the tourist trade has grown to large proportions in recent years. Virginia Beach near Norfolk is one of the most popular Atlantic resorts, while the reconstruction of colonial Williamsburg draws thousands of travelers annually, as does also Shenandoah National Park. Garden Week in April also attracts many visitors to the old estates.

Mineral Products.

Production of bituminous coal, which leads among Virginia's mineral resources, compared favorably in 1938 with that of the previous year, the preliminary estimate being 12,192,000 tons as against 13,795,239 (value, $27,177,000) in 1937. Stone output too was fairly stationary, at 5,474,690 tons valued at $5,606,470. The value of these two products, in 1937, with smaller quantities of lime, slate sand and gravel, amounted to $46,019,085.

Education.

The feature in education in 1939 was the expansion of the buildings and equipment of the Medical College of Virginia at Richmond, which is now becoming one of the leading medical schools of the country. A building program is also in progress at William and Mary College at Williamsburg, the Mary Washington College at Fredericksburg, and in other colleges. A number of new school buildings have also been erected. Virginia has always been noted for the high quality of its colleges. The year 1939 marked the centennial of the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, which ranks just after West Point as a military school.

In general, building and other construction work in 1939 reached perhaps the highest level it has ever attained in the state, as the small towns particularly are growing rapidly. While numbers of people were on relief in Virginia, as in all the other states, business was generally good. Retail trade was especially brisk.

Events of the Year.

There was no new legislation during 1939, as the Assembly, which meets biennially, was not in session. The death of Claude A. Swanson, Secretary of the Navy and a former Governor of Virginia and Senator, occurred on July 7. The Richmond Deepwater Terminal, designed to make the city an inland port, is approaching completion. The State Highway Department erected an elaborate headquarters building in Richmond, and a splendid new State Library building was begun.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd, brother of Virginia's junior Senator, left in November for another expedition to the South Pole.

State Officers.

Governor, James H. Price; Lieutenant Governor, Saxon W. Holt; Secretary of the Commonwealth, Raymond Jackson; Attorney General, Abram P. Staples; Comptroller, LeRoy Hodges; Treasurer, Edwin B. Jones; Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Sidney B. Hall.

United States Senators.

Carter Glass and Harry Flood Byrd.