Whitewood is an unincorporated community in Buchanan County, Virginia

Buchanan County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 26,978 people, 10,464 households, and 7,900 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,887 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...

. As of the 2000 census, the Whitewood area had a population of 485. It is located along the Dismal River, which is part of the watershed of the Big Sandy River

Big Sandy River (Ohio River)

The Big Sandy River is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in western West Virginia and northeastern Kentucky in the United States. The river forms part of the boundary between the two states along its entire course...

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History

The community was initially settled in the early 1900s by lumber companies that arrived to log the forests of the surrounding hills. The settlement was named Whitewood, supposedly after the color of the lumber, shortly after the first lumber mill was established in 1905.

In September 2008, Whitewood High School, built in 1940, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was demolished in early 2010.

Public High Schools

• Twin Valley High School, Pilgrims Knob