We're Number 10!

Top 10 Counties in Annual Percent Growth: July 1, to July 1, 2023

Resident Population of 20,000 or more in 2022 and 2023

Rank	State	County	April 1, 2020 (Estimates Base)	July 1, 2022	July 1, 2023	Percent Growth
1	Texas	Kaufman County	145,307	172,611	185,690	7.6%
2	Texas	Rockwall County	107,844	123,342	131,307	6.5%
3	Texas	Liberty County	91,631	102,462	108,272	5.7%
4	Georgia	Jackson County	75,912	84,009	88,615	5.5%
5	Georgia	Dawson County	26,796	30,189	31,732	5.1%
6	Texas	Chambers County	46,562	51,309	53,876	5.0%
7	Texas	Comal County	161,493	184,749	193,928	5.0%
8	Texas	Ellis County	192,445	212,323	222,829	4.9%
9	South Carolina	Jasper County	28,810	31,986	33,544	4.9%
10	Virginia	New Kent County	22,944	24,952	26,134	4.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2023 Population Estimates.

 

-More Counties Saw Population Gains in 2023
March 14, 2024

Press Release Number CB24-44

The Vaiden Inn Controversy

For those unfamiliar with the ongoing controversy, the Vaiden Inn, a historic building in the village of New Kent Courthouse was delisted from the site Airbnb for its historical connects to slavery.

From WAVY TV Channel 10 in Norfolk

NEW KENT, Va. (WAVY) — Take a stroll down New Kent Highway and you’ll see the Vaiden Inn.

But take a scroll down Airbnb, and you won’t see it listed.

Airbnb removed the Vaiden Inn listing last June, and as of Monday, it removed the better-known New Kent Ordinary next door as well.

Vaiden Inn owner Jessica Angel had listed with Airbnb ever since she and her mother bought the place in 2017.

“(We listed) right off the bat, as soon as the doors were open,” Angel said in a recent interview.

And then the popular website called her last June.

Read the rest here  

The YouTube upload of the station's story

My thoughts?

While recognizing the sensitivity of people regarding this topic, we must realize that actions, especially punitive ones, have consequences. The actions of Airbnb as they stand now seem to incentivize the concealing and possibly even the destruction of historical records and structures. Airbnb fails to realize that there is a growing interest in the Black "historical" community in slave quarter, houses, and workplaces both in the urban and rural environment. A great effort is now being exerted to find, catalog, and preserve these structures. If property owners are penalized for the careful preservation and stewardship of these properties, it is a loss to everyone's history.