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

1860 Census and Summaries

High Breckinridge Precincts in the 1860 Presidential Election


The high Breckinridge precincts were much wealthier than the county average and contained more slaveholding households.

Precinct n % for Breckinridge 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 5.7 12,416 5,791 8,521 5,360 57% 23% 26%
Middlebrook 150 13.8 15,365 12,486 9,245 14,500 48% 16% 32%
Stuart's Draft 122 20.2 20,991 14,700 14,288 10,070 52% 26% 42%
Sherando 68 15 2,671 1,000 2.702 3,476 80% 4% 10%

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.