The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities

Population of Cities and Towns, 1860

U.S. Census aggregate figures listed just one town other than Staunton in Augusta County. That town, Waynesboro, was smaller in aggregate population than sixteen towns in Franklin County, where at least nine towns were more than double its size.

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Augusta County White Free Black Slave
Cities, Towns &c. Male Female Total Male Female Total Total Free Male Female Total Aggregate
Staunton 1,468 1,397 2,865 48 62 110 2,975 407 493 900 3,875
Waynesborough (Waynesboro) 216 224 440 7 10 17 457 * 457



Franklin County White Free Black
Cities, Towns &c. Male Female Total Male Female Total Aggregate
Antrim 1,637 1,631 3,268 77 55 132 3,400
Chambersburg 2,221 2,510 4,731 234 290 524 5,255
Fannet 1,098 1,083 2,181 21 20 41 2,222
Greene 1,677 1,655 3,332 60 51 111 3,443
Greencastle 636 682 1318 39 42 81 1,399
Guilford 1,532 1,488 3,020 40 39 79 3099
Hamilton 766 740 1506 10 13 23 1,529
Letterkenny 1,029 1,045 2,074 7 6 13 2,087
Loudon (London?) 146 163 309 0 2 2 311
Lurgan 646 669 1315 1 0 1 1,316
Mercersburg 367 441 808 35 54 89 897
Metal 617 610 1,227 4 4 8 1,235
Montgomery 1,500 1,458 2,958 156 175 331 3,289
Orrstown 172 184 356 0 0 0 356
Peters 1,032 958 1,990 58 58 116 2,106
Quincy 1,321 1,313 2,643 25 26 51 2,685
St. Thomas 898 884 1,782 3 3 6 1,788
Southampton 740 688 1428 65 61 126 1,554
Warren 368 362 730 3 3 6 736
Washington 1,116 1,023 2,139 24 23 47 2,186
Waynesboro 583 638 1,221 4 8 12 1,233



U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census [1860]. Population of the United States in 1860, Compiled from the Original Returns of the Eighth Census. Washington, D.C., 1864. U.S. Census of Population, 1860. Augusta County, Virginia and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. In U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Washington: National Archives and Records Administration (Augusta: Reels 1333 and 1387. Franklin: Reels 1111 and 1112).

Edward L. Ayers and William G. Thomas, III
Population of Cities and Towns, 1860

Points of Analysis to this Data:

"Chambersburg was a larger place than Staunton, but no more vibrant or connected to the market than its Southern counterpart."

"Franklin and Augusta exhibited different spatial organizations, with a more organized and commercial approach in Franklin and a settlement in Augusta that followed the contours of soil and land more closely."


Citation: Key = E116
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