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{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Richlands, Virginia
|settlement_type = [[Town]]
|nickname =
|motto = The Center of a Friendly Circle
|website = http://town.richlands.va.us/
|image_skyline = Richlands-Front-Suffolk-va.jpg
|imagesize = 250px
|image_caption = Intersection of Front and Suffolk in Richlands
|image_flag =
|image_seal = RichlandsSeal.png
|image_map = VAMap-doton-Richlands.PNG
|mapsize = 250x200px
|map_caption = Location in the Commonwealth of [[Virginia]]
|image_map1 =
|mapsize1 =
|map_caption1 =
|subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Virginia|County]]
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_name1 = [[Virginia]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Tazewell County, Virginia|Tazewell]]
|government_type =
|leader_title = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name = Rodney “Rod” Cury <ref>{{cite web |title=New mayors elected in Richlands and Tazewell and liquor by the drink approved in Richlands |url=https://www.swvatoday.com/news/article_b70e3b3c-e22d-11e8-854b-b7aa4a1b3d1f.html |access-date=9 February 2019}}</ref>
|established_title = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date = 1892
|area_magnitude =
|area_total_sq_mi = 5.71
|area_land_sq_mi = 5.65
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.06
|area_water_percent =
|population_as_of = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_total = 5261
|population_metro =
|population_note = U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Population Estimates
|population_density_sq_mi = 926.37
|timezone = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|EST]]
|utc_offset = -5
|timezone_DST = [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]
|utc_offset_DST = -4
|coordinates = {{coord|37|5|40|N|81|48|22|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_ft = 1933
|elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
|postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code = 24641
|area_code = [[Area code 276|276]]
|blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info = 51-66928<ref name="GR2" />
|blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info = 1473194<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|1473194}}</ref>
|footnotes =
|pop_est_as_of =
|pop_est_footnotes =
|population_est =
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_51.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
|area_total_km2 = 14.77
|area_land_km2 = 14.63
|area_water_km2 = 0.14
|population_density_km2 = 357.70
}}
'''Richlands''' is a town in [[Tazewell County, Virginia|Tazewell County]], [[Virginia]], United States. The population was 5,261 at the 2020 census. It is part of the [[Bluefield micropolitan area|Bluefield, WV-VA micropolitan area]] which has a population of 107,578.
==
Located along the banks of the [[Clinch River]], Richlands began as a farming community and was named for its fertile "rich lands."
[[File:Miners at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Miners at the Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Company Mine #4 near Richlands, 1974]]
The Clinch Valley Coal & Iron Company began to develop Richlands in 1890, and company officials hoped Richlands' readily available coal, iron, and timber might make it the "Pittsburgh of the South." The company abandoned its plans following [[Panic of 1893|the stock market crash of 1893]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Tennis | first = Joe | title = Southwest Virginia Crossroads: An Almanac of Place Names And Places to See | publisher = Joe Tennis | year = 2004 | isbn = 9781570722561 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=noiiZPTGk9IC&pg=PR2}}</ref>
In February 1893, Richlands was the site of a mass [[Lynching in the United States|lynching]] of five black railroad workers after it was alleged some of the men had robbed and beaten a white man. Four of the railroad workers were arrested and held in the Richlands jail, but the jailor was overpowered by a mob of white townspeople, including James Hurt, a magistrate and member of the Richlands town council, and James Crabtree, a prominent businessman, who removed the four men and hanged them from the same tree. A fifth black railroad worker was later found and lynched.<ref>{{cite book | last = Brundage | first = William Fitzhugh | title = Lynching in the New South: Georgia and Virginia, 1880 - 1930 | publisher = University of Illinois | year = 1993 | url = https://archive.org/details/lynchinginnewsou0000brun| url-access = registration }}</ref>
The [[Richlands Historic District (Richlands, Virginia)|Richlands Historic District]] encompasses much of downtown Richlands, and the [[Tazewell Avenue Historic District]], and [[Williams House (Richlands, Virginia)|Williams House]], are both listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Tazewell County, Virginia|National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
==Geography==
Richlands is situated along the [[Clinch River]] just east of the Tazewell-[[Russell County, Virginia|Russell]] county line. [[Cedar Bluff, Virginia|Cedar Bluff]] borders Richlands to the east, and the community of [[Raven, Virginia|Raven]] lies just to the west. [[U.S. Route 460 in Virginia|U.S. Route 460]] and [[Virginia State Route 67]] both traverse Richlands.
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 2.7 square miles (6.9 km<sup>2</sup>), all land.
===Climate===
The [[Trewartha climate classification]] for Richlands is temperate oceanic due to five months of winter chill (monthly means below 10 °C (50 °F)), abbreviated "Do" on climate maps.
{{Weather box
|___location = Richlands, Virginia (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1989–present)
|single line = Y
|width = auto
|Jan record high F = 72
|Feb record high F = 77
|Mar record high F = 85
|Apr record high F = 91
|May record high F = 90
|Jun record high F = 96
|Jul record high F = 96
|Aug record high F = 93
|Sep record high F = 95
|Oct record high F = 91
|Nov record high F = 82
|Dec record high F = 79
|year record high F = 96
|Jan high F = 44.1
|Feb high F = 47.7
|Mar high F = 55.7
|Apr high F = 66.1
|May high F = 74.1
|Jun high F = 80.4
|Jul high F = 83.2
|Aug high F = 82.7
|Sep high F = 78.1
|Oct high F = 67.8
|Nov high F = 57.1
|Dec high F = 47.6
|year high F = 65.4
|Jan mean F = 33.4
|Feb mean F = 36.5
|Mar mean F = 43.2
|Apr mean F = 52.5
|May mean F = 61.3
|Jun mean F = 68.9
|Jul mean F = 72.3
|Aug mean F = 71.4
|Sep mean F = 65.7
|Oct mean F = 54.3
|Nov mean F = 44.0
|Dec mean F = 36.8
|year mean F = 53.4
|Jan low F = 22.7
|Feb low F = 25.2
|Mar low F = 30.8
|Apr low F = 38.8
|May low F = 48.6
|Jun low F = 57.4
|Jul low F = 61.5
|Aug low F = 60.2
|Sep low F = 53.4
|Oct low F = 40.8
|Nov low F = 31.0
|Dec low F = 26.1
|year low F = 41.4
|Jan record low F = −16
|Feb record low F = −18
|Mar record low F = -8
|Apr record low F = 19
|May record low F = 27
|Jun record low F = 37
|Jul record low F = 46
|Aug record low F = 42
|Sep record low F = 32
|Oct record low F = 20
|Nov record low F = 5
|Dec record low F = −15
|year record low F = -18
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 3.35
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.28
|Mar precipitation inch = 4.02
|Apr precipitation inch = 3.98
|May precipitation inch = 4.47
|Jun precipitation inch = 4.30
|Jul precipitation inch = 4.75
|Aug precipitation inch = 3.82
|Sep precipitation inch = 3.36
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.72
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.77
|Dec precipitation inch = 3.78
|year precipitation inch = 44.60
|Jan snow inch = 6.3
|Feb snow inch = 4.4
|Mar snow inch = 2.9
|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 = 0.3
|Dec snow inch = 3.4
|year snow inch = 17.6
|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
|Jan precipitation days = 13.4
|Feb precipitation days = 12.4
|Mar precipitation days = 13.4
|Apr precipitation days = 12.7
|May precipitation days = 13.8
|Jun precipitation days = 12.8
|Jul precipitation days = 13.2
|Aug precipitation days = 10.4
|Sep precipitation days = 9.2
|Oct precipitation days = 9.0
|Nov precipitation days = 10.3
|Dec precipitation days = 13.0
|year precipitation days = 143.6
|unit snow days = 0.1 in
|Jan snow days = 3.4
|Feb snow days = 2.5
|Mar snow days = 1.8
|Apr snow days = 0.2
|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 = 0.4
|Dec snow days = 2.0
|year snow days = 10.3
| source 1 = [[NOAA]]<ref name= nws>
{{cite web
| url = https://w2.weather.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=rnk
| title = NowData – NOAA Online Weather Data
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = July 1, 2021}}</ref><ref name=NCEI>
{{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=USC00447174&format=pdf
| title = Station: Richlands, VA
| work = U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020)
| publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
| access-date = July 1, 2021}}</ref>
}}
==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1900= 475
|1910= 743
|1920= 1171
|1930= 1355
|1940= 2203
|1950= 4648
|1960= 4963
|1970= 4843
|1980= 5796
|1990= 4456
|2000= 4144
|2010= 5823
|2020= 5261
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{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}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Richlands-Town-Hall-va.jpg|thumb|Richlands Town Hall]]
At the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] there were 4,144 people, 1,882 households, and 1,223 families living in the town. The population density was 1,565.7 people per square mile (603.8/km<sup>2</sup>). There were 2,137 housing units at an average density of 807.4 per square mile (311.4/km<sup>2</sup>). The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2000 census|racial makeup]] of the town was 98.75% White, 0.05% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.34%.<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
Of the 1,882 households 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 32.1% of households were one person and 15.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.76.
The age distribution was 20.1% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.5% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.0 males.
The median household income was $23,712 and the median family income was $30,257. Males had a median income of $30,682 versus $18,670 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,548. About 13.6% of families and 17.8% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.
==Education==
Richlands is served by the [[Tazewell County Public Schools|Tazewell County Public School System]]. Schools in Richlands include:
* Richlands Elementary School
* Richlands Middle School
* [[Richlands High School (Richlands, Virginia)|Richlands High School]]
It is served by [[Southwest Virginia Community College]], which is located in nearby Wardell, Virginia. [[King University]], based in [[Bristol, Tennessee]], has a satellite campus at SWVCC.
== In popular culture ==
Blues musician [[Mississippi John Hurt]] performed ''Richland Women Blues''. The lyrics were risqué for the early 1930s, filled with sexual double entendres.<ref>{{cite book | last = Ratcliffe | first = Philip R. | title = Mississippi John Hurt: His Life, His Times, His Blues | publisher = University Press of Mississippi | year = 2011 | isbn = 9781617030093 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VoJ0AJ_P0ToC&q=%22Richlands%2C%20Virginia%22&pg=PR4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Richland Women Blues | publisher = Mississippi John Hurt Museum | url = http://www.msjohnhurtmuseum.com/class/richlandswoman.doc}}</ref>
Virginian singer and pianist [[Bruce Hornsby]] wrote a song set in Richlands, entitled "The Road Not Taken". It appears on his 1988 album ''[[Scenes from the Southside]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bruuuce.com/wiki/the-road-not-taken/ |title=The Road Not Taken |publisher=Bruuuce.com |access-date=April 16, 2018 }}</ref>
== Notable people ==
* [[Mike Compton (American football)|Mike Compton]], a former guard for the Detroit Lions, New England Patriots, and Jacksonville Jaguars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COMPTMIK01 |title=Michael Eugene Compton |publisher=databaseBasketball.com |access-date=November 10, 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010213938/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=COMPTMIK01 |archive-date=October 10, 2012 }}</ref>
* [[Mark Gibson]], a racing driver
* [[Cathryn Hankla]], a poet and artist.
* [[Heath Miller (American football)|Heath Miller]], a former tight end and two-time Super Bowl Champion for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
* [[Jim Moody]], a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin.
*[[L. W. Wright|Larry Wright]] (known better under the alias L. W. Wright), a confidence trickster who in 1982 posed as a stock car racing driver in the [[1982 Winston 500|Winston 500]] [[NASCAR Cup Series|NASCAR]] race.
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://town.richlands.va.us/ Town website]
* [http://www.virginia.org/Listings/VisitorInformationCenters/RichlandsAreaChamberofCommerce/ Richlands Area Chamber of Commerce]
{{Tazewell County, Virginia}}
{{Virginia towns}}
{{Virginia}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Towns in Tazewell County, Virginia]]
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