Bristol, Virginia

== History == Evan Shelby first appeared in what is now the Bristol area around 1765.

In 1766, Shelby moved his family and settled at a place called Big Camp Meet (now Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia).

In 1774, Shelby erected a fort on a hill overlooking what is now downtown Bristol.

Anderson laid out the original town of Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia and building began in 1853.

In 1856, Goodsonville and the original Bristol, Virginia were merged to form the composite town of Goodson, Virginia.

Clay (1875–1961), educator Jim Crockett, Sr.

In 1890, the town of Goodson, Virginia once again took the name Bristol when it gained independent city status.

In 1927 record producer Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol to attempt to capture the local sound of traditional "folk" music of the region.

On the early hours of January 1, 1953, Hank Williams stopped in Bristol during some of the last moments of his life.

Until 1968 the Memphis-bound Tennessean made a stop in the city.

=== Professional sports === Bristol hosted the Bristol Pirates baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1969 to 2020.

=== Rail === Until 1970 the Southern Railway ran a couple of trains through the city, making stops at Bristol station, the last trains being the Birmingham Special and the Pelican.

Bristol was formerly home to two post-secondary institutions, Sullins College and Virginia Intermont College, but these colleges closed in 1978 and 2014 respectively.

Rector, 1984–92, 2007–10 Jerry Wolfe, 1992–97, 2000–01, 2003–04 Farham Jarrard, 1997–00, 2006–07 Douglas R.

Since 1994, the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance has promoted the city as a destination to learn about the history of the region and its role in the creation of an entire mu...

=== 2000 census === As of the census of 2000, there were 17,367 people, 7,678 households, and 4,798 families residing in the city.

Weberling, 2001–03, 2005–06 Paul W.

In 2003, in the relatively isolated city of Bristol, Virginia, BVU, created a nonprofit division called "Optinet", a municipal broadband Internet service that covers Bristol as ...

On October 29, 2009, BVU received US$3.5 million in grant funding from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.

On July 3, 2010, it was reported that they gave US$22.7 million in stimulus funds to Southwest Virginia to create a "388-mile optic backbone through an eight-county region".

The sale began in late 2015 and was publicly announced in early 2016.

On August 2, 2018, BVU Authority completed a sale of the OptiNet FTTP network to a private company, Sunset Digital of Duffield, Virginia for $50 M.

A study in 2019 concluded that a further extension to Bristol via Wytheville and Christiansburg could be financially viable but would require $30 million in track improvements b...

It is a principal city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had a population of 307,614 in 2020.

== Government == January 3, 2024 to January 3, 2025: Government Mayor: Becky Nave Vice Mayor: Jake Holmes Council Member: Anthony Farnum Council Member: Neal Osborne Council M...