| Lexington, Virginia |
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It is home to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and Washington And Lee University . It is the County Seat of Rockbridge County . The Bureau Of Economic Analysis combines the city of Lexington (along with nearby Buena Vista ) with Rockbridge county for statistical purposes. Lexington was partially razed during the American Civil War . Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are buried here. Sam Houston , 19th century statesman, politician and soldier, and, as of 2005, the only person in U.S. history to have been the governor of two different states — Tennessee and Texas, was born near here. At The Sam Houston Wayside is a 38,000 pound piece of Texas pink granite commemorating Houston's birthplace. ECONOMY Today, Lexington's primary economic activity stems from Higher Education and Tourism . Host to Virginia Military Institute and Washington And Lee University , Lexington is first and foremost a small College Town . As a Civil War attraction, Lexington attracts visitors from around the country. Items of interest in Lexington include the Stonewall Jackson House , Lee Chapel , and the downtown historic district. Lexington also contains a host of small businesses, catering to a unique mixture of tourist and collegiate clientele. Among the more noteworthy are the Cocoa Mill Chocolate Company and Virginia Born And Bred . Lexington's downtown district is also noteworthy as a set for several feature films. One of the main motion pictures was Sommersby, starring Richard Gere, Bill Pullman, James Earl Jones, and Jodie Foster. Filming for parts of Gods And Generals also took place in Lexington on the campuses of both the colleges situated in the city. Most recently, in Fall of 2004, director Stephen Spielberg and Tom Cruise came, and ended up filming scenes for War of the Worlds here, with Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins. The city is also home to a remarkable number of independent newspapers. There is the News-Gazette, which comes out once a week. (The Gazette also produces a free shopper known as The Weekender.) The Gazette is an old, establishment-oriented community paper. Then there is the Rockbridge Weekly, mostly noted in the area for printing police blotters and other crime reports. And there is the Rockbridge Advocate, a news-magazine that comes out once a month. The paper's motto is "independent as a hog on ice," and it seems to fit. GEOGRAPHY Lexington is located at 37°46'58" North, 79°26'42" West (37.782938, -79.445198). According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 6.4 Km&2 (2.5 Mi&2 ). None of the area is covered with water. The Maury River , a tributary of the James River , forms the city's northeastern boundary. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census of 2000, there were 6,867 people, 2,232 households, and 1,080 families residing in the city. The Population Density was 1,064.8/km&2 (2,753.8/mi&2). There were 2,376 housing units at an average density of 368.4/km&2 (952.8/mi&2). The racial makeup of the city was 86.01% White , 10.38% African American , 0.26% Native American , 1.92% Asian , 0.01% Pacific Islander , 0.48% from Other Races , and 0.93% from two or more races. 1.59% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,232 households out of which 18.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% were Married Couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 51.6% were non-families. 41.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.76. The age distribution, which is heavily influenced by the city's two colleges, is: 11.0% under the age of 18, 41.4% from 18 to 24, 14.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females there were 123.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.2 males. The unusual sex distribution can be partially explained by the presence of VMI, which did not admit women until 1997 and remains overwhelmingly male today. The median income for a household in the city was $28,982, and the median income for a family was $58,529. Males had a median income of $35,288 versus $26,094 for females. The Per Capita Income for the city was $16,497. 21.6% of the population and 8.4% of families were below the Poverty Line . 12.9% of those under the age of 18 and 12.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. However, traditional poverty statistics can be misleading when applied to communities with a large proportion of students, such as Lexington. POINTS OF INTEREST
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