Fries

History

Fries was named after North Carolina cotton mill owner Colonel Francis Henry Fries. Jim 'Pipe' Carico (of Stephens Creek, Virginia, the nearest incorporated town) contacted Fries in 1900 and proposed Bartlett Falls on New River as a site for a hydroelectric dam that could power a cotton mill. Fries purchased the surrounding rural farmland then hired a local labor force to build a dam, a cotton mill and a full-service company owned town. By 1901, the New River Train was extended to the mill site and Fries petitioned the Virginia State Legislature to incorporate the new town of Carico, VA in honor of Jim 'Pipe' Carico. For reasons that are not well documented, the town name was instead legislatively changed to Fries, Virginia and officially incorporated in 1902. Despite the heavy reliance on manual labor, mules and oxen, the town's construction progressed quickly and the open call for employment spurred migration to the town. Around 300 houses, a post office, a church and a company commissary were wedged into the surrounding hillside before the mill began operation in February 1903 — with "the most sophisticated technology in the world." After changing hands numerous times, the mill closed in 1989.

Geography

Fries is located at (36.715537, −80.975849). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.8 square mile (2.1 km2), of which 0.6 square mile (1.7 km2) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.4 km2) (19.75%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,298
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,007
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  898
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  867
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  859
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  854
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  806
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  769