Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes.
Martinsville is the principal city of the Martinsville micropolitan statistical area, which includes the communities and towns of Axton, Bassett, Chatmoss, Collinsville, Fieldale, Horsepasture, Laurel Park, Oak Level, Sandy Level, Stanleytown, Villa Heights, Spencer, and Ridgeway. The Martinsville Micropolitan Area has a population of 63,765 as of the 2020 census.
The round-end oval Martinsville Speedway, the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series at and one of the first paved "speedways", is located just outside the city near the town of Ridgeway.
History
Martinsville was founded by American Revolutionary War general, Native American agent and explorer Joseph Martin, born in Albemarle County. He developed his plantation Scuffle Hill on the banks of the Smith River near the present-day southern city limits. General Martin and revolutionary patriot Patrick Henry, who lived briefly in Henry County and for whom the county is named, were good friends.
The Beaver Creek Plantation,John Waddey Carter House, Dry Bridge School, East Church Street-Starling Avenue Historic District, Fayette Street Historic District, Little Post Office, Martinsville Fish Dam, Martinsville Historic District,
Martinsville Novelty Corporation Factory, and Scuffle Hill are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
20th century
Many African American churches, schools, and businesses were established along Fayette Street in the early 20th century. Dr. Dana Olden Baldwin, the area's first Black physician, moved to Martinsville in 1910. Baldwin's entrepreneurial vision expanded the number of businesses along Fayette Street, creating "Baldwin's Block" as an epicenter of African-American commerce and social life during the racial segregation of Jim Crow laws.
In 1947, the round-end oval Martinsville Speedway opened. In use by NASCAR since its inaugural season in 1949, the oval is still in operation by the racing organization today. The speedway is the shortest oval in NASCAR.
For several years, Martinsville was known as the "Sweatshirt Capital of the World", and in the 1980s, it boasted of having more millionaires per capita than any city in America.
Business leaders in the mid-20th century, such as Whitney Shumate, worked to improve substandard housing in Martinsville. He helped clear out a portion of Martinsville called "Mill Town", which had substandard rental housing originally provided for 19th-century employees of a now-defunct cotton mill. New homes were constructed in the neighborhood, built with sound materials and all city services for the first time. What had originally been considered a depressed civic area rapidly became a center of progress, as middle class Black residents finally began to prosper. As an editorial in the local newspaper noted, "One of the projects which won him considerable attention and praise was the instigation of the redevelopment of what was once known as Martinsville Cotton Mill Village. He and associates purchased about 50 houses in North Martinsville, and using private capital rather than federal aid, rebuilt them into comfortably inhabitable homes, making it possible for many persons to purchase homes within their financial range."
In the early 1990s, changing global economic conditions and new trade treaties made Martinsville textiles and furniture manufacturing economically unsustainable. Many firms closed shop and laid off thousands of workers; the production moved to other countries. The city is repositioning itself long-term as a center for technology development and manufacturing.
MZM, Inc. opened a facility in Martinsville as part of the Cunningham scandal.
Memorial Hospital of Martinsville (now combined with the hospital in Danville, Virginia, to become Sovah Health) serves the greater Martinsville and Henry County area. The earliest local hospital was the 50-bed Shackelford Hospital, founded by Jesse Martin Shackelford, who was later joined by surgeon son John Armstrong Shackelford, an early graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Founder of the Hospital Association of Virginia, Jesse Shackelford was an early advocate of comprehensive care for state citizens. Shackleford recruited Dr. Dana O. Baldwin to work with him as an anesthesiologist. Shackelford Hospital was sold in 1946, and Martinsville General Hospital subsequently opened with John Shackelford as its first chief surgeon. In 1970 Memorial Hospital of Martinsville opened its doors, replacing Martinsville General.
21st century
<!-- a campaign stop is notable? In 2008, then Illinois Democratic Senator and 44th President of the United States Barack Obama held a campaign stop in Martinsville. --><!-- -->
On January 2, 2013, Kim Adkins was re-elected as mayor.
In August 2021, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam pardoned all seven African-American men of the Martinsville Seven.
On January 3, 2023, L.C. Jones was elected as new mayor.
In April 2026, the city council released a forensic audit that studied large issues with financial controls during former City Manager Aretha Ferrell-Benavides's term of employment. While many expenses failed to comply with city policy and best financial practices, they were not identified as rising to the level of fraud. Other issues included employment documentation and outsize travel and office expenses of the city manager's office. Reforms have been underway, including increasing financial controls, revisiting more than 25 policies, requiring council approval for changes to the budget, increasing oversight over hiring, and improving standards for documentation.
Relationship with Henry County
Martinsville's relationship with Henry County is somewhat complex. Martinsville was fully included in Henry County's jurisdiction until it was declared a city by court order in 1928. As with all cities in Virginia, Martinsville's incorporation as a city made it independent from Henry County's jurisdiction. Although Martinsville technically remains the county seat of Henry County, nearby Collinsville serves as the de facto county seat, as it is where the county's primary administrative and judicial offices are located. However, the future of this jurisdictional arrangement became unclear when Martinsville's city council unanimously voted in favor of beginning the process of reverting from a city to a town (which would reincorporate it into the county's jurisdiction) on December 10, 2019, citing economic and demographic concerns. The time frame for this reversion remains unclear, as the city's petition to revert must first be approved by a three-judge panel On January 11, 2023, the city council voted to end the reversion process.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (0.5%) is covered by water. The north side of the city has the highest average elevation. The east side slopes gradually down to the Smith River on the south side. The west side is hilly. Martinsville is located in the Southern Virginia region near the Virginia–North Carolina state line and is northwest of Eden, North Carolina, northwest of Danville, north of Greensboro, North Carolina. south of Roanoke, and northeast of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.