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look like: 1 his second in a series of articles on | towns, villages, hamlets, and open space covers | the characteristics of traditional small commui nities.
First of all, Virginia does have a cumber! some legal definition of a town in its Code of | Virginia. “The word “town” means any existing i town or an incorporated community within one ! or more counties which became a town before noon, July 1,1971, as provided by law, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 1,000 or more and which has become a town as provided by law.”
Thus Washington and Woodville are legally 1 “towns.” Even though they each have nowhere near 1,000 inhabitants, the General Assembly , authorized them before July 1, 1971.
Washington was established in 1796 and j incorporated in 1894. A definite boundary was drawn around it as a result of incorporation, enclosing 185 acres. Its size and shape have changed over time and it now has 182 acres.
Woodville was established in 1798, but was never incorporated, so it has no defined bound1 ary, no defined acreage.
Virginia, like the rest of the country, has no | legal definition of a village or hamlet.
But people who have studied small communities have come up with their own definition of a traditional village and hamlet, based on area and population. The following measurements are taken from real life cases of small communities that have had long, vibrant histories and have not been despoiled by development.
In a book entitled, “Visions for a New .American Dream,” by Anton Clarence Nelessen, a traditional village is defined as covering between 100 and 500 acres, having a population between 200 and 1,800 inhabitants, and containing 100 to 600 dwellings. He also notes that a hamlet covers between 10 and 100 acres, has between 12 and 300 people, and four to 100 dwellings. By these criteria, all communities within Rappahannock County are small villages or hamlets, a rarity for a county in this day and age.
Besides size, much has also been written on the attributes of the traditional village. About how they are on rising ground to avoid flood plains, or to obtain fresh air, or to take advantage of views. Or they might be in gentle valleys, near mills and water transportation. Many traditional villages are on the curve of a
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