the tobacco industry. Although the national consumption of tobacco
has increased considerably, the rapid mechanization added to the
manufacturing process has resulted in a decline in the total number
of employees. Although only approximately six workers per 1,000
engaged in manufacturing in the United States are in the tobacco
industry, in Virginia approximately 56 workers per 1,000 are so
engaged. The chief locations for the tobacco industry are Richmond,
Petersburg, Danville and South Boston. These workers are engaged
primarily in the manufacture of cigarettes and in tobacco stemming
and redrying. Richmond is the largest cigarette manufacturing center
in the world. Petersburg has an exceptionally large cigarette
manufacturing plant. Cigars, chewing and smoking tobacco and snuff
are also manufactured in Richmond. Danville has the largest number
of tobacco stemming and redrying workers. Approximately half of the
tobacco industry workers are women.
The ninth largest employer of workers engaged in manufacturing is
the paper and allied industries. The greatest number of such workers
is engaged in the manufacturing of pulp. The largest pulp mills are
located at Covington and Franklin. Approximately one-half of the
nation's supply of wood pulp is furnished by the South and Virginia
ranks fifth among the southern states in its production. The newly
developed methods of utilizing southern pine for producing kraft
paper and newsprint have caused considerable increase in this type
of production. Kraft paper is usually dark brown in color and is a
most durable type of wrapping paper. Such paper is manufactured at
Covington, Franklin, West Point, Hopewell and Richmond. Other paper
products such as gummed and waxed paper (Richmond), varied types of
commercial envelopes and church collection envelopes (Richmond),
multi-wall paper bags (Richmond, Franklin and Newport News) and
paperboard containers--corrugated shipping cases, cartons, boxes of
varied sizes and shapes (Richmond, Lynchburg) are likewise produced
in abundance.
Over 9,000 employees are engaged in the printing and publishing
industry. Approximately one-half of these employees work in the
printing and publishing of newspapers. These newspaper companies
are scattered throughout the state. In addition, there are other
companies which publish books, engage in commercial printing in
general, in lithographing, bookbinding, plate printing, engraving
and in photo engraving. These companies also are located in several
areas with Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News having the greatest
number of employees.
Another industry important to Virginia's economic expansion is the
stone, clay and glass production industry. Half of the employees
in this industry are engaged in the manufacture of concrete and
plaster products. An increase in local construction has resulted in
an increase in the production of cinder blocks and other building
materials. The following products are included: purchased glass
products (example, mirrors)--Galax, Bassett, Richmond, Martinsville;
hydraulic cement--Fordwick and Riverton; structural clay (brick and
hollow tile)--Roanoke; pottery and china (lusterware)--Abingdon;
flower pots and pans--Richmond; asbestos (automatic brake
linings)--Winchester; stone products (marble and granite monumental
stones)--Burkeville, Richmond, Roanoke and Danville; concrete
products--Roanoke and Richmond; gypsum products--Plasterco and
Norfolk; lime--Austinville and Kimballton; mineral wool--Riverton;
soapstone and stone products--Schuyler; abrasives--Petersburg; and
mica--Newport News.
Other manufacturing industries in Virginia include (1) leather and
leather products--with tanneries at Luray, Bristol, Pearisburg,
Buena Vista and Salem; luggage-making at Petersburg and
footwear-making at Lynchburg, Fredericksburg, Farmville and Halifax;
(2) primary metals industry--with gray-iron foundries at Newport
News, Lynchburg and Radford; (3) fabricated metals industry--with
the manufacture of structural metal and structural and ornamental
products at Richmond, Norfolk, Bristol and Alexandria; pressure
vessels at Newport News; locks at Salem; swimming-pool type atomic
reactors at Campbell County (near Lynchburg), and (4) non-electrical
machinery industry--with hydraulic turbines, textile wool cards,
pulp and papermaking machinery at Newport News, Crozet, Bristol and
Richmond.
Employment in Agriculture--A persistent trend in Virginia's economic
picture is the continuous decline in agricultural employment, a
condition characteristic of agriculture in the United States in
general. Approximately 10% of the total employment is presently
found in agricultural pursuits. Although the demand for agricultural
commodities has increased, the output per worker in agriculture has
increased more rapidly. The greater output has occurred as a result
of improved methods of farming, technological advances and larger
agricultural investments. This situation has resulted also in a
greater variety of crops, improved breeds of livestock, and better
control of insects and pests.
In the past twenty years there has been a gradual shift in
Virginia's agriculture from the production of crops to the
production of livestock and livestock products. As a matter of
fact, Virginia is a leader in the South in the relative importance
of livestock and livestock products. Poultry and poultry products
lead the distribution list, followed by meat animals (cattle and
calves, hogs, sheep and lambs) and dairy products. Virginia ranks
third in the production of turkeys in the United States and sixth in
production of broiler chicks in the United States. Rockingham County
is famous for its turkeys and chickens. "Cut-up chicken" meat, as
well as broilers and eggs, constitutes important poultry products.
Culpeper and Loudoun Counties have the greatest number of milk cows
per square mile. Large manufacturing plants in the southwestern part
of Virginia produce evaporated and condensed milk. Beef cattle are
raised in almost every county in Virginia but the Southwest, the
Shenandoah Valley and Northern Virginia are the three chief regions.
In addition to the meat itself, by-products such as soap and fodder
are manufactured and hides and skins are utilized in the making of
miscellaneous articles. Hogs and pigs are found in great numbers
in Southampton, Nansemond and Isle of Wight Counties and sheep and
lambs in large numbers in Augusta, Russell, Rockingham and Highland
Counties.
In field crops, tobacco leads the list. One of the nation's
largest tobacco producers, Virginia has four types of tobacco: (1)
flue-cured--the most extensive one--grown largely in Pittsylvania,
Halifax and Mecklenburg Counties with Danville and South Boston the
chief markets; (2) burley tobacco grown mostly in the southwest
area--Washington, Scott and Lee Counties--with Abingdon the leading
market; (3) fire-cured tobacco grown in Appomattox, Charlotte and
Campbell with Lynchburg and Farmville important markets and (4)
sun-cured tobacco grown in central Virginia--Louisa, Caroline and
Hanover Counties--with Richmond the largest market in this area.
Virginia ranks first in the amount of peanut yield per acre and
third in peanut production in the United States. The peanut acreage
is located in southeast Virginia--Southampton, Isle of Wight,
Nansemond and Sussex Counties; Suffolk is often referred to as the
"Peanut Capital of the World." Corn is grown in practically every
county with most acreage in Southampton, Loudoun and Pittsylvania
Counties. The growing of wheat, particularly winter wheat, is
widespread also, with Augusta, Rockingham and Loudoun Counties
having the greatest harvest. Irish potatoes are grown extensively
on the Eastern Shore (Accomack and Northampton Counties) and in the
Norfolk area. Virginia ranks third in sweet potato production in the
United States and Accomack, Northampton and Princess Anne Counties
are the chief growers of these potatoes. Soy beans are cultivated
in Norfolk, Princess Anne, Accomack, Northumberland and Hanover
Counties. Hay is grown in various parts of Virginia and consists
of six types: clover and timothy hay, lespedeza hay, alfalfa hay,
peanut hay, soybean hay and cowpea hay. Cotton is grown in the
southeast, particularly in Southampton, Greensville, Brunswick
and Mecklenburg Counties. Virginia leads all the states in the
production of orchard grass seed. Some oats, barley and buckwheat
are grown but only in small quantities.
Truck farming is extremely important. Lima beans, snap beans, beets,
broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, sweet corn, kale, onions, green peas,
green peppers, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes and watermelons are
grown extensively. The truck farming region is located primarily in
Accomack, Northampton, King and Queen, Nansemond, Princess Anne and
Norfolk Counties. Much of the truck farming crop is sent to New York
City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Washington and Atlanta.
In fruit production, apples are first; in total production, apples
follow two field crops, tobacco and peanuts. Virginia ranks fourth
in apple production in the United States. The chief apple producing
counties are Frederick, Clarke, Augusta and Nelson and the types
of apples produced are York Imperial, Winesap, Stayman, Delicious,
Grimes Golden, Albemarle Pippin or Yellow Newton, Ben Davis and
Gano, Black Twig, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty and Jonathan.
Peaches are grown in abundance in Nelson, Albemarle, Frederick,
Roanoke, Rockingham and Botetourt Counties, making Virginia tenth in
peach production in the United States. Pears and grapes are grown on
a small scale. In addition to the full-time agricultural employment,
there is much seasonal agricultural employment, particularly for
fruit and truck farming.
Thus, although agricultural employment has been surpassed by
employment in government, in manufacturing occupations and in
wholesale and retail trade, the products grown and the livestock
raised are numerous and excellent in quality. Thus, Virginia with
approximately 135,000 farms, contributes significantly to the
agricultural economy of the United States.
In addition to employers engaged in government employment,
manufacturing and agriculture, additional groups of employees in
Virginia are engaged in a series of diversified economic activities.
Among such occupations are those concerned with trade, services,
public utilities, construction, finance, mining and forestry and
fishing.
Employment in Wholesale and Retail Trade--Employment in wholesale
and retail trade has increased in Virginia to such an extent that
it ranks third, following government employment and manufacturing
employment, in non-agricultural employment. Approximately 22% of
the civilian non-agricultural employees are engaged in trade. The
shift from an agricultural to an industrial economy has resulted in
a greater demand for wholesale and retail goods. During the decade
of the 1950's wholesale and retail trade employment increased its
relative share of total state employment by approximately one-third.
The greatest number of persons in retail trade work in the food
trades and in general merchandising.
Employment in Services--Services industries are located throughout
the state; approximately 11% of the civilian non-agricultural
employees are engaged in such activity. This category includes
domestic help and other forms of personalized aid.
Employment in Public Utilities--Employment in public utilities
constitutes approximately 9% of the total civilian non-agricultural
employment. This occupational group is extremely important because
of the key role of transportation, communication and local utilities
in the state. About one-half of these workers are employed in
taxicab service, local transit service, telephone and telegraph
service, radio broadcasting and television service, electric, gas,
water and sanitary service utilities. Half of the workers included
in this category consist of railroad and water transportation
workers.
Employment in Construction Activities--Approximately 7% of the total
civilian non-agricultural employment is concerned with construction.
More than three-fourths of all construction during the past decade
has been for private use, approximately half of this construction
involving private residences. The tremendous increase in the
population of Virginia during the past twenty years has caused the
rate of private residential building to be higher than that for the
entire nation. Privately-owned public utility buildings, public
highways and private non-residential buildings rank high in kinds of
construction projects undertaken.
[Illustration: VIRGINIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
_A Modern Manufacturing Plant_]
Employment in Finance--Finance, including bank, insurance and real
estate activity, affects all geographical areas of the state but, in
terms of numbers, these activities are primarily located in or near
urban centers. Approximately 7% of the civilian non-agricultural
employees are so engaged.
Employment in Mining Operations--Approximately 2% of the total
civilian non-agricultural employees in Virginia are engaged in
mining. More than 80% of Virginia's mining employment is in
bituminous coal which is the chief mining product of the nation
as a whole. Virginia furnishes approximately 3% of the total
annual output of this product in the United States. Such mining is
extremely important in Buchanan and Dickenson Counties where more
than half of all the civilian employees are miners. Pocahontas, Big
Stone Gap, Dante and Tazewell have huge bituminous coal mines. Stone
quarrying rates second in mining employment. Crushed stone granite
quarries are found in Roanoke, Richmond, Fredericksburg, Red Hill
and Leesburg and crushed limestone quarries are found in Kimballton,
Riverton, Leesburg, Stephens City and Buchanan. Employment in crude
petroleum, natural gas and in metal mining, which accounts for
one-third of the nation's total mining employment, is less than 3%
of Virginia's total mining employment.
Employment in Forestry and Fisheries--Current employment in
forestry and fisheries constitutes slightly less than 1% of the
total civilian non-agricultural work force. Commercial fishermen
far outnumber the foresters. However, as described previously,
the lumber and lumber products industry, the paper and allied
products industry and the furniture industry which are based upon
the forestry industry have experienced great increases in their
employment. Employees engaged in forest products industries now
constitute one-fourth of the total employment in manufacturing.
Although fishermen outnumber foresters at the present time, the
number of fishermen has been decreasing. Nevertheless, the fisheries
supply additional employment to processing and wholesale employees.
A few localities such as Mathews, Northumberland, Lancaster,
Gloucester, York and Middlesex Counties have a comparatively high
percentage of their workers engaged in fisheries.
Employment in Travel Trade--The number of employees engaged in
travel trade employment is unknown. Two characteristics of this
type of employment should be noted: (1) in addition to full-time
employees, there is an indeterminate number of part-time employees;
and (2) employees engaged in travel trade are, for the most part,
seasonal workers. The greatest number of such workers are found in
hotels, motels and other tourist lodgings, in restaurants and cafes,
in gasoline service stations and in recreational and entertainment
activities. Approximately 94% of Virginia's travel trade comes
to Virginia via the automobile; out-of-state tourists constitute
about 70% of the travel trade in Virginia. It has been estimated
that about half of these travelers are on vacations and the other
half are mainly on business trips. About half of the vacationers
are usually passing through Virginia on the way to or from specific
destinations outside the state. The other half usually have selected
Virginia as their particular destination to visit relatives or
friends, to tour historical and scenic places and to enjoy the
recreational attractions found here. The travel trade has increased
considerably during the past few years. As a direct result of the
increase, the number of hotels, motels and other lodging places in
Virginia has likewise rapidly increased. Williamsburg and Virginia
Beach illustrate the singular importance of travel trade in causing
widespread growth in total employment in a community.
_Importance of Transportation_
The economic activity of any region depends greatly upon its
transportation facilities. Without an efficient transportation
system, goods--either raw materials or finished products or farm
produce--cannot be moved from one point to another, workers cannot
reach their jobs and consumers cannot reach their markets. Virginia
is particularly fortunate in having a network of key railroads,
excellent highways, deep harbors and modern airports. Trains, buses,
trucks, passenger cars, boats, ocean vessels and aircraft--all play
a basic role in the economic life of the state.
Numerous railroads provide interstate as well as intrastate
service: the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad connects
Washington with Richmond; running over the R.F.&P. tracks and
continuing in a north-south direction between Richmond and the North
Carolina border are the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line
railroads; the Southern Railway runs diagonally from Washington
across Virginia to the North Carolina border near Danville, with
another route from West Point through Richmond and Danville; the
Atlantic and Danville Railroad operates between Danville and
Norfolk; the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad runs diagonally from
Washington to Gordonsville where it connects either in a westerly
direction with West Virginia near Covington or in an easterly
direction with Newport News; the Norfolk and Western Railroad
operates in an east-west direction from Norfolk through Lynchburg
and Roanoke to West Virginia; and the Virginian Railway (now a
branch of the N. & W.) connects Suffolk with Roanoke and West
Virginia. The Pennsylvania Railroad has a branch line crossing the
Eastern Shore from Maryland to Cape Charles while the Baltimore &
Ohio has a branch through the Shenandoah Valley.
Virginia has a very modern system of primary and secondary roads
which permit quick and comfortable motor transportation between
urban, suburban and rural points. In addition, Virginia has within
its borders several vital links in the national system of interstate
and defense highways scheduled for final completion throughout the
United States by 1972. In Virginia, the national system involves one
link cutting across the western part of the state in a southwesterly
direction (Interstate Number 81); a second link cutting across the
eastern part of the state in a north-south direction (Number 85 and
Number 95) to supercede U. S. Routes 1 and 301; a third link running
east-west between Norfolk, Richmond, Staunton and the West Virginia
border (Number 64); a fourth link running east-west between northern
Virginia near Washington and West Virginia via Strasburg (Number
66) and a fifth link crossing the southwestern part of the state in
a north-south direction (Number 77). In terms of total designated
mileage of the whole interstate system, Virginia is one of 16 states
to have over 1000 miles within its borders. Although most of the
interstate system in Virginia will not be completed for a few more
years, some portions of the five Virginia links are already open for
traffic.
A series of bridges, many toll-free, help the growth of
transportation. Construction plans for one of the most difficult
water crossings are underway in connection with a $200,000,000
bridge-tunnel to run 17½ miles across the mouth of the Chesapeake
Bay in the Hampton Roads area. This crossing will run from
Chesapeake Beach near Norfolk to Cape Charles on the Eastern Shore.
When completed in 1964, the bridge-tunnel crossing will replace
ferryboats, the only type of public transportation heretofore
available between these points.
Five major commercial air lines serve Virginia: American, Capital,
Eastern, National and Piedmont Lines. In addition to the Washington
National Airport near Alexandria and the Dulles International
Airport at Chantilly, which serve the northern Virginia area,
airports contributing to the economic progress of the state are
located at Richmond, Bristol, Danville, Lynchburg, Newport News,
Norfolk-Portsmouth and Roanoke.
S U M M A R Y
An unusually large number of individuals in the
Commonwealth--civilian and military--work in either federal,
state or local government employment. In proportion to the total
population of a state, the greatest concentration of federal
government employment within a single state is found in Virginia.
If one considers civilian employees solely, the largest number of
employees in the state is engaged in manufacturing. The number of
employees in manufacturing first surpassed the number of employees
in agriculture in the 1940's. The manufacturing industries which
have the largest number of employees are textile, chemical and
chemical products, food and kindred products, and lumber and wood
products; these employees constitute nearly 50% of all workers
engaged in manufacturing.
Other important manufacturing industries include apparel,
transportation equipment, furniture, tobacco, paper and paper
products, printing and publishing, stone, clay and glass production,
leather and leather products, primary metals, fabricated metals,
and non-electrical machinery. As Virginia has changed from a
predominantly agricultural state to a predominantly manufacturing
state, wholesale and retail trade has increased proportionately.
Although agriculture is no longer the leading occupation, Virginia
has a variety of important crops and livestock. Poultry and poultry
products, meat animals, dairy products, tobacco, peanuts, corn,
winter wheat, sweet potatoes, hay, cotton, orchard grass seed, truck
farming crops and fruit (especially apples, peaches, strawberries
and watermelons) are leading farm products.
Significant numbers of workers in Virginia are engaged in wholesale
and retail trade, services, public utilities, construction
(especially construction of private houses, buildings and public
highways), finance, mining (especially bituminous coal and quarry
stone), forestry and fisheries, and travel trade.
An efficient transportation system, consisting of a network of key
railroads, excellent highways, deep harbors and modern airports
plays a basic role in the economic life of the state.
A survey of the major occupations reveals a diversified economic
life which provides the citizens of Virginia with broad
opportunities for employment.
6
Cultural Life
Culture has been defined as the "training, improvement and
refinement of the mind." Since literature, art, sculpture,
architecture, music, drama and education are factors which
influence, as well as reflect, the culture of a group, a survey of
some of the outstanding contributors to these fields will reveal the
broad, cultural heritage of the residents of the Commonwealth.
_Literature_
Even with the hardships and difficulties facing early settlers in
Virginia, writings in the form of diaries and journals appeared
during the colonial period. George Percy describes his explorations
in the New World in "Observations gathered out of a Discourse of the
Southern Colonie in Virginia by the English." Captain John Smith,
the leader of the early colony, is believed to have used both fact
and fiction in his writings. "A True Relation of Virginia," which
he wrote in Virginia and sent to England in an attempt to attract
more settlers to the colony, describes his explorations up the James
River. His "Map of Virginia" was based primarily upon observations
which he made while exploring the Chesapeake Bay region. In 1624,
he wrote "The General History of Virginia," which is considered his
literary masterpiece. Under modern literary standards, he would
probably be classed generally as a Romanticist.