Damascus, Virginia
Location of Damascus, Virginia
Coordinates: 36°38′2″N 81°47′13″W / 36.63389, -81.78694
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Washington
Area
- Total	0.8 sq mi (2.2 km²)
- Land	0.8 sq mi (2.2 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	1,952 ft (595 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	981
- Density	1,157.2/sq mi (446.8/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	24236
Area code(s)	276
FIPS code	51-21184[1]
GNIS feature ID	1482904[2]

Damascus is a town in Washington County, Virginia, United States. The population was 981 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Damascus is located at 36°38′2″N, 81°47′13″W (36.633933, -81.787034)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²), all of it land.

Damascus is located at the northern end of Holston Mountain, over which the Appalachian Trail runs. In Damascus, the TransAmerica Trail crosses the Appalachian Trail; they run roughly in parallel and intermittently cross for 225 miles northeast to Rockfish Gap.

Festivals

Damascus is the home of the annual Trail Days festival, and is known as Trail Town USA due to the convergence of four scenic trails in the town, including the Appalachian Trail and the Virginia Creeper Trail. The Trail Days festival is held around the end of May each year and draws in excess of 20,000 tourists, making it the largest single gathering of Appalachian Trail hikers anywhere.^[4]

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 981 people, 484 households, and 269 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,157.2 people per square mile (445.6/km²). There were 543 housing units at an average density of 640.5/sq mi (246.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.94% White, 1.63% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.20% of the population.

There were 484 households out of which 18.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.4% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.72.

In the town the population was spread out with 17.9% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $19,886, and the median income for a family was $29,250. Males had a median income of $25,500 versus $18,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,995. About 13.2% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 16.5% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
3. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
4. ^ Collier, Christopher Percy (May 12, 2006), "Good Times at a Backpackers' Paradise". New York Times. 155 (53577):D1-D5

External links

• Damascus, Virginia - Trail Town USA (Official Website)
• Trail Days - Celebrating the Appalachian Trail
• Virginia Creeper Trail website with an emphasis on Damascus

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Washington County, Virginia County seat: Abingdon Towns Abingdon | Damascus | Glade Spring | Meadowview Unincorporated communities Clinchburg | Emory-Meadowview | Friendship | Hayter's Gap | Konnarock | Lodi | Mendota