| Charlottesville,
Virginia's earliest known settlement in the area was an
Indian village called Monasukapanough. It was located
approximately five miles north of the present center of town
on a hillside overlooking the Rivanna River.
In the early 1700's, settlers traveled the major east-west
route from Richmond to a pass in the Blue Ridge Mountains
named Wood's Gap. This thoroughfare, called the Three Notch'd
Road, threaded its way through the Southwest Mountains east of
the current town at the Rivanna River Gap, following an Indian
hunting path through the region.
In Colonial Albemarle County the sole point of civic focus
was the courthouse and its enclosing square of shops and
taverns, with a mercantile area emerging along Main Street
several blocks below the courthouse. The hilly terrain led to
the development of several independent and nearly disconnected
neighborhoods within close proximity to the downtown area.
Throughout the early 1800's, business activity and urban
development slowly began to shift from Court Square down to
the Three Notch'd Road, now called Main Street.
In 1850, the Louisa Railroad Company (later the Virginia
Central and then the Chesapeake and Ohio) was the first to
arrive in Charlottesville. In 1858, the railroad connected
with the Shenandoah Valley through new tunnels in the Blue
Ridge Mountains, facilitating a major expansion in the
shipment of goods and raw materials through Charlottesville.
Charlottesville saw expansion and prosperity with the
increasing availability of good transportation. In the
mid-1970's, the city decided to eliminate car traffic on Main
Street downtown in favor of exclusive pedestrian access, with
the construction of the Mall as a part of a larger urban
renewal strategy. A strong economic base exists to this day.
Charlottesville (2004 population estimate of 36,605) has
earned a reputation as a writers' and readers' paradise, with
more newspaper readers per capita than anywhere else in the
nation. The annual Virginia
Festival of the Book attracts thousands to the
Charlottesville area.
Charlottesville, VA has been listed among Money magazine's
100 best places to live for four years in a row, and it has
been the most highly ranked city in Virginia each year. The University
of Virginia Health Systems provides medical research and
training that is renowned worldwide. Complementing the mix
with their strong community focus is the Martha Jefferson
Hospital, providing a comprehensive women's health center and
oncology center. The area also supports a variety of
specialists in traditional and non-traditional medical fields.
Many major employers consider the Charlottesville area to
be a strategic location, among them: GE
Fanuc, Inova
Corporation, Lexis
Publishing, Litton
Sperry Marine Services, Martha
Jefferson Hospital, National
Optronics, SNL
Securities, Pepsi
Cola Bottling Company and Wachovia
Bank.
Charlottesville, Virginia abounds in educational
opportunities as home to the famed University
of Virginia, as well as Piedmont
Virginia Community College. Charlottesville, Virginia City
Schools provide a place for every child to learn with a
low student/teacher ratio and a high commitment to success.
The city of Charlottesville, VA offers 23 neighborhood parks,
movie theaters, museums, a year-round ice skating rink and the
McIntire
Skateboard Park, which consists of ramps, jumps, and
boxes. A thriving art, music and theater community keeps the
creative spirit alive in Charlottesville. The downtown
pedestrian mall is a magnet for art, music, dining, shopping,
and entertainment. Other popular activities in the area
include tennis, golf (The Birdwood Golf Course and Meadow
Creek Golf Course are both well know venues), horseback
riding, fishing, biking, camping, hunting and hiking, which
takes on a whole new avenue for adventure at Fortune's Cove
Preserve. This 755 acre preserve, situated within some 29,000
acres of relatively intact forest habitat, provides a
challenging hike, and rewards visitors with stunning mountain
vistas. Wine-tasting is popular at Beaver
Creek Lake, Chris
Greene Lake, Hardware
River and Rivanna
River
Tourism
plays an important role in the Charlottesville, VA's economy,
much of it based on its rich historical legacy. On a nearby
mountain sits Monticello,
home of Thomas Jefferson and a celebrated emblem of his
genius. Ash
Lawn-Highland, home of James Monroe, which features
beautiful gardens and furnishings reflecting the Federal
style, is just a few miles away. The Virginia
Discovery Museum downtown provides interactive exhibits
for children and adults to enjoy together.
The Charlottesville area has wonderful library resources.
Aside from the municipal Jefferson-Madison
Regional Library Network , there is the Piedmont
Virginia Community College Jessup Library, and the
extensive network of field specific libraries that are a part
of the University
of Virginia Libraries.
Charlottesville, Virginia appears to be an urban center
that got it right a few decades ago, and is now reaping the
rewards of its foresight. Its one of the state of Virginia's
shining stars.
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