History of Bumpass, VA

Bumpass, Virginia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bumpass is an unincorporated community in Louisa County, Virginia which has received moderate fame for its unusual name. Named for the Bumpass family (from the French Bon Pas meaning "good step") who lived in the area when it was named. It is known for its many farms and lumbering operations. It contains most of Lake Anna and several houses and estates from the 18th to early 20th centuries, including Jerdone Castle, a plantation (now lakefront) dating to 1742 that is a Virginia Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historical Places. In addition Bumpass is the home of Argonaut BioFules one of the largest biomass-to-energy facilities in the country currently open for business. Alternate names for the locality include Bumpas, Bumpass Station, Bumpass Turnout, Jackson District, Northern District, and Second Turnout.
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Zipcode: 23024 Population (2000): 6,351. Population density, 58 people per square mile with 3,190 males (50.2%) and females 3,161 (49.8%.) White population: 5,526, Black population: 712, American Indian population: 35, Asian population: 17, Some other race population: 7. 100% Rural Population. Population density: 61 people per square mile. Median household income (1999): $43,625. Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $184,422.
[edit] Geography

Bumpass in located 37° 57′ 49″ N, 77° 44′ 14″ W, with a land area of 108.7 sq. mi. and water area of 0.2 sq. mi.

[edit] History

Bumpass is named for Captain John Thomas Bumpass Sr. (1822-1884), "Capt. Tom" who was the son of Jack Bumpass (first with this name to settle in the area.) He was a captain of the Virginia State Militia whom during the Civil War provided fuel and water for troop trains along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad (then Louisa Railroad.) The site of the old Bumpass farm marks the point where the Bumpass community was first sprung from a small hamlet situated along a turnout (a mechanical switch that allows the changing of rails along a railroad track.) Suiting to its original namesake of 2nd Turnout renamed Bumpass' Turnout or later to be known as simply Bumpass. Over the years the area began to expand and grown from one hamlet to a variable of localities such as Buckner and Locust Creek. Like other peculiar named place Bumpass has gathered a moderate reputation for unusualness. It has frequently been the site of a multible things that are either simply just curious or which are picturesque of such a remote sort of area. Such is the case of the Grasberger Ice Cream Spoon Factory which specialized in the manufacturing of ice cream spoons, paper ice cream plates, and pickle/cocktail forks. It shut down in the 1920s, but in 2001 some of Goochland County's "Field Day of the Past" volunteers salvaged much of the Grasberger's old equipment and transported it from Louisa County to Goochland County. There it remains an important part of an exhibit on late 19th century machinery. Other points of similar interest include Jerdone Castle and Contrary Creek.

[edit] Hamlets (Places) in Bumpass

* Buckner
* Bumpass
* Greenes Corner
* Jackson
* Locust Creek
* Plum Tree
* Wickham Corner