Valley of the Shadow
The Eve of War
Fall 1859–Spring 1861

1860 Census and Summaries

High Douglas Precincts in the 1860 Presidential Election


The high Douglas precincts contained fewer households with slaves than the county average but held household wealth on par with the county average.

Precinct n % for Douglas Mean Household Wealth (in dollars) Median Household Wealth (in dollars) Mean Farm Value (in dollars) Median Farm Value (in dollars) Corn as a percent of Total Grain Wheat as a percent of Total Grain Percent of Households with Slaves
County Average 2886 28.3 12,416 5,791 8,521 5,360 57% 23% 26%
Spring Hill 125 39.4 13,401 7,000 10,698 8,390 63% 25% 16%
Mt. Sidney 149 36.1 12,131 6,038 6,936 5,000 56% 30% 11%
Parnassus 136 58.7 11,561 7,258 5,855 3,000 65% 18% 24%

The data are based on the GIS of Augusta and Franklin households—maps are derived from a D. H. Davison map of Franklin County, published in 1858, and Jedediah Hotchkiss map of Augusta County, published in 1870 and based on surveys completed "during the war." The maps have been georeferenced at the Virginia Center for Digital History, using ESRI Arc Info to produce a Geographic Information Systems map and database of households based on U. S. census data from the population, agricultural, and slaveowners schedules.

Note: Original precinct boundaries are not available. Precinct boundaries were established in the GIS using Thiessen polygons around precinct stations as central places.