Wise is a town in Wise County, Virginia. The population was 2,970 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Wise County. It was originally incorporated as the town of Gladeville in 1874. The town's name was changed to Wise in 1924, after Henry A. Wise, the last Virginia governor before the American Civil War and the first governor to hail from the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

The town is also the home of the University of Virginia's College at Wise.

Geography

Wise is located in the center of the county of Wise. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.1&nbsp;square miles (8.0&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), all land.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by mild, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Wise has a subtropical highland climate, abbreviated "Cfb" on climate maps. The Trewartha climate classification is temperate oceanic due to five months of winter chill (monthly means below 10&nbsp;°C (50&nbsp;°F)), abbreviated "Do" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, the town had 2,970 people, roughly 10 percent fewer than two decades earlier.

As of the census

  • The Charles W. Harris Art Gallery is located on the site of the Wise County Public Library.
  • The University of Virginia's College at Wise possesses a state of the art theater that usually sees two productions a year.

Notable people

  • George C. Scott – actor, director, producer
  • Carroll Dale – football player for the Los Angeles Rams and Green Bay Packers
  • Glen Roberts – college basketball player

Sister cities

The Town of Wise has one sister city:

  • Çeşme, İzmir Province, Turkey

Historic downtown

right|thumb|200px|Historic [[E. M. Fulton House on West Main Street]]

In early 1862, Gladeville served as the headquarters of Confederate General Humphrey Marshall, who had been assigned to defend southwest Virginia. Union forces raided the town on June 1, 1862, and captured the town clerk, Rev. Morgan T. Lipps, who reportedly insulted them. He was released, but the raiders burned half the town. The event is commemorated by a historical marker, and re-enactors engaged in a Civil War Living History Presentation and Re-Enactment on the second weekend of July each year.

Three buildings on Main Street in the town of Wise are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Colonial Hotel, now known as the Inn at Wise Court House, was added to the Register in 1991. The Wise County Courthouse was added to the Register ten years earlier, in 1981. In February 2006, the Register listed the E. M. Fulton House.

References

  • Wise Official Website