Richlands

History

Located along the banks of the Clinch River, Richlands began as a farming community and was named for its fertile "rich lands." The Clinch Valley Coal & Iron Company began to develop Richlands in 1890, and company officials hoped Richlands' readily available coal, iron, and timber might make it the "Pittsburgh of the South." The company abandoned its plans following the stock market crash of 1893. In February 1893, Richlands was the site of a mass lynching of five black railroad workers after it was alleged some of the men had robbed and beaten a white man. Four of the railroad workers were arrested and held in the Richlands jail, but the jailor was overpowered by a mob of white townspeople, including James Hurt, a magistrate and member of the Richlands town council, and James Crabtree, a prominent businessman, who removed the four men and hanged them from the same tree. A fifth black railroad worker was later found and lynched. The Richlands Historic District encompasses much of downtown Richlands, and the Tazewell Avenue Historic District, and Williams House, are both listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Richlands is situated along the Clinch River just east of the Tazewell-Russell county line. Cedar Bluff borders Richlands to the east, and the community of Raven lies just to the west. U.S. Route 460 and Virginia State Route 67 both traverse Richlands. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.7 square miles (6.9 km2), all land. The Trewartha climate classification for Richlands is temperate oceanic due to five months of winter chill (monthly means below 10 °C (50 °F)), abbreviated "Do" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  763
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  601
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  585
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  531
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  500
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  492
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  487
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  477

Largest nearby schools

• RICHLANDS HIGH
  High · Richlands · 636 students · 14.5:1 ratio
• Richlands Elementary
  Elementary · Richlands · 547 students · 14:1 ratio
• RICHLANDS MIDDLE
  Middle · Richlands · 495 students · 18.3:1 ratio
• Cedar Bluff Elementary
  Elementary · Cedar Bluff · 388 students · 15.5:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.59 — 2022-10-25
  Virginia-North Carolina border region
• M 2.56 — 2021-11-21
  9 km SSW of Abingdon, Virginia
• M 2.76 — 2021-07-15
  10 km S of Narrows, Virginia
• M 2.58 — 2021-02-12
  9 km NNW of Richlands, Virginia
• M 2.56 — 2021-02-04
  1 km SSW of Sparta, North Carolina
• M 2.65 — 2020-11-09
  10 km NNW of Richlands, Virginia