White Stone is a town in Lancaster County, Virginia, United States. The population was 380 at the 2020 census. White Stone is one of many small towns located in Virginia's Northern Neck region.
History
White Stone traces its earliest colonial history to the arrival of Epaphroditus Lawson, who was born in Yorkshire, a county in northern England. In 1649–50, Epaphroditus acquired 4,600 acres of land along the Rappahannock River, including the present site of White Stone, where he lived until his death in 1652. For many generations thereafter, the Lawson family "served the community as justices, sheriffs, and vestrymen."
The town of White Stone was founded in 1715, and sits adjacent to the nearby towns of Lancaster and Kilmarnock. During the latter conflict, the historic plantation home of Pop Castle was bombarded by a Union gunboat. Pop Castle would later be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.
Following the Civil War, White Stone had developed a small, thriving business community, including a general store, choral hall, and a hat-maker. By 1921, Albert Terry Wright served as principal for the county's first school for black American students.
Ultimately, the city of White Stone's "heyday" was during the late 19th and early 20th century, with the population having stagnated since the American Census of 1960, the first taken after the town's incorporation. Additionally, the town has recently received state and federal grants to develop a sewer system and to revitalize its business district.
Geography
White Stone is located at (37.645182, −76.391242).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
{| class="wikitable"
|+Racial composition as of 2020 (NH = Non-Hispanic)
!Race / Ethnicity
!Pop 2020
!% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|282
|74.21%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|66
|17.37%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|1
|0.26%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|5
|1.32%
|-
|Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|0
|0.00%
|-
|Some Other Race alone (NH)
|0
|0.00%
|-
|Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)
|13
|3.42%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|13
|3.42%
|-
|Total
|380
|100.00%
|}
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
As of the census