A while back I was startled to find out that Front Royal, VA a town in Warren County, just to the north of Page County, and about 35 miles from Stanley, is in the Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area.
On finding this out, I grew worried that development is inevitable - there is a rich agricultural heritage in the valley that I would like to believe is sustainable.
There are seven counties that are typically counted as part of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley...using a clock face as the frame of reference, Page would be at about 4:30, Rockingham at 6, independent city (uniquely Virginian reference) Harrisonburg in Rockingham, Shenandoah at 9, Frederick at 10:30, independent city Winchester in Frederick, Clarke at 1, Warren at 2, and Rappahannock at 3, due east of Page.
The boundary of Page and Rappahannock is interesting, as it runs along the top of the ridge line in Shenandoah National Park.
The 2007 populations of the seven counties range from 7,193 in Rappahannock to 74,160 in Rockingham. Fastest growth during the 2000 to 2007 timeframe was Frederick County, which grew 23.2% from 59,209 to 72,949. Frederick is developing fast as an outlying bedroom community on commuting corridors to cities in Maryland and the DC area.
Most of the counties have seen significantly slower growth in the 2006-2007 timeframe, indicating that growth has slowed after a boom in the early part of the decade. That is, with the exception of Page and Rappahannock counties, which each grew slightly faster from 2006-2007 than their average annual growth rates for the 2000-2006 timeframe.
The two cities in this area, Winchester, 2007 population of 25,896, and Harrisonburg, 2007 population 44,707, continued a track record of growth. Both have unique attractions and are located on the busy I-81 corridor, a solid commercial region in the state.
This data is from last week's Page County News and Courier - credited to Weldon Cooper Center at UVA.
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