Gordonsville, Virginia

Gordonsville, Virginia
Looking down S. Main St
Looking down S. Main St
Nickname: 
“Fried Chicken Capital of the Universe”
Location of Gordonsville, Virginia
Location of Gordonsville, Virginia
Coordinates: 38°8′5″N 78°11′13″W / 38.13472°N 78.18694°W / 38.13472; -78.18694
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountiesOrange
Government
 • MayorRobert K. Coiner
Area
 • Total0.95 sq mi (2.46 km2)
 • Land0.95 sq mi (2.46 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
499 ft (152 m)
Population
 • Total1,402
 • Density1,478.9/sq mi (571.0/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
22942
Area code540
FIPS code51-31936[3]
GNIS feature ID1467264[4]
WebsiteOfficial website

Gordonsville is a town in Orange County[5] in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Located about 19 miles northeast of Charlottesville and 65 miles northwest of Richmond, the population was 1,402 at the 2020 census.[2]

The town celebrated its bicentennial in 2013, two hundred years after local innkeeper Nathaniel Gordon was appointed the area's first postmaster, thus officially creating the area known as Gordonsville. It was strategically important during the Civil War, due to its location on the Virginia Central Railroad.[6]

Gordonsville claims to have influenced the popularity of fried chicken in the United States; it bills itself as the "Fried Chicken Capital of the World."[7]

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Gordonsville town, Virginia". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  3. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  4. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  5. ^ "List of Towns and their Parent Counties". Archived December 27, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development website. April 19, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  6. ^ Feeney, W. R. "Gordonsville During the Civil War". (February 6, 2012). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Gordonsville_During_the_Civil_War
  7. ^ Ober, Lauren (July 3, 2015). "How Gordonsville, Virginia, Became The 'Fried Chicken Capital of the World'". WAMU. Retrieved January 25, 2021.