History
The town is located three miles west of the restored village of Appomattox Court House, the site of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, signaling the end of the American Civil War. The site of the historic courthouse village is now preserved as Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and is administered by the National Park Service.
At the time of the Civil War, the present community of Appomattox was the site of a railroad depot on the line between Petersburg and Lynchburg. The inconvenience of the railroad's location to Appomattox Court House led to the decline of the courthouse community. After fire destroyed the courthouse building in 1892, the county relocated the court to the depot area, which formally became the county seat in 1894.
In 1990 there were 11,971 residents reported for Appomattox County while the Town of Appomattox had 1703 residents.
The Appomattox river named after the Appamatucks Indians.
Geography
Appomattox is located at 37°21'32" North, 78°49'35" West (37.358973, -78.826438)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²). 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,761 people, 716 households, and 469 families residing in the town. The population density is 311.9/km² (808.7/mi²). There are 767 housing units at an average density of 135.8/km² (352.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 66.89% White, 32.14% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 0.23% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 716 households out of which 29.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.7% are married couples living together, 20.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% are non-families. 30.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 17.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.35 and the average family size is 2.92.
In the town the population is spread out with 23.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 82.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 75.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $24,167, and the median income for a family is $29,188. Males have a median income of $26,515 versus $20,732 for females. The per capita income for the town is $14,355. 18.4% of the population and 20.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 26.4% are under the age of 18 and 22.9% are 65 or older.