Originally "Pittsylvania" was a name suggested for an unrealized British colony to be located primarily in what is now West Virginia. Pittsylvania County would not have been within this proposed colony, subsequently known as Vandalia. The county was formed in 1767 from Halifax County. It was named for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768 and opposed harsh colonial policies. In 1777 the western part of Pittsylvania County became Patrick Henry County. Maud Clement's History of Pittsylvania County notes the following: "Despite the settlers' intentions, towns failed to develop for two reasons: the generally low level of economic activity in the area and the competition from plantation settlements already providing the kind of marketing and purchasing services typically offered by a town. Plantation settlements along the rivers, particularly at ferrying points, became commercial centers. The most important for early Pittsylvania was that of Sam Pannill, a Scots-Irishman, who at the end of the eighteenth century, while still a young man, set up a plantation town at Green Hill on the north side of the Staunton River in Campbell County. " "Its economy was tobacco-dominated and reliant on a growing slave labor force. It was a county without towns or a commercial center. Plantation villages on the major river thoroughfares were the only centers of trade, until the emergence of Danville. " The city of Danville's history up through the antebellum period overall is an expression of the relationship between the town and the planters who influenced its development.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water. It is the largest county in Virginia by land area and second-largest by total area. The county is bounded on the north by the Roanoke River, intersected by the Banister River through the center, and drained by the Dan River on the south.
According to the most recent census records, there are 60,949 people, and 26,687 households residing in the county. The population density was 65.5 people per square mile. There were 31,656 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 76.20% White, 21.50% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.37% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. 2.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 26,687 households out of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.93. The median income for a household in the county was $44,356. The per capita income for the county was $23,597. About 12.60% of the population were below the poverty line.
Government
Pittsylvania County is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Supervisors. Management of the County is vested in a Board-appointed County Administrator. There are also five elected Constitutional Officers:
