Historical Markers and War Memorials in Mecklenburg County, Virginia
Boydton is the county seat for Mecklenburg County
Adjacent to Mecklenburg County, Virginia
Brunswick County(51) ► Charlotte County(50) ► Halifax County(40) ► Lunenburg County(23) ► Granville County, North Carolina(33) ► Vance County, North Carolina(18) ► Warren County, North Carolina(30) ►
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Richard Kennon of Mecklenburg served as an officer in the 5th Virginia Regiment, 1776-1778 and later in the State Militia. He served in both houses of the General Assembly and was Presiding Officer of the Senate, 1800-1802. He died in 1805. — — Map (db m30909) HM
Alexander Boyd, Sr., a businessman and founder of Boydton, erected the core of this tavern about 1785. The hostelry thrived, and its presence was a major reason for the selection of Boydton as the Mecklenburg County seat. By the mid-19th century, . . . — — Map (db m30900) HM
Mecklenburg County was established March 1, 1765, and named for George III’s consort, Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The first court met on March 11, 1765, at the home of Mr. Richard Swepson in the new county seat, Mecklenburg . . . — — Map (db m30902) HM
Boydton Academic and Bible Institute was opened in 1879 in building that had been abandoned by Randolph-Macon College when it moved to Ashland in 1868. Dr. Charles Cullis, a humanitarian from Boston, purchased the property in 1878 and opened . . . — — Map (db m30917) HM
Boydton Academic and Bible Institute was opened in 1879 in what had been the main building of Randolph-Macon College, before the college abandoned it and relocated to Ashland in 1868. Dr. Charles Cullis, a humanitarian from Boston, purchased . . . — — Map (db m180592) HM
The Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road, built between 1851 and 1853, was the first all-weather route connecting Southside Virginia’s tobacco and wheat farms with the market. Pine and oak planks, 8 feet long, 1 foot wide, and 3-4 inches thick were . . . — — Map (db m31857) HM
The Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road was built between 1851 and 1853 and was funded by stock bought by the state as well as the public. The all-weather toll road increased the transportation of crops to market and also carried stagecoach traffic . . . — — Map (db m30912) HM
The Presbyterian Meeting House was built around 1820 on land owned by Alexander Boyd the Younger of Boydton, Virginia. In 1824 the church property was deeded to the church elders for the sum of one dollar. In times of need, the Presbyterians have . . . — — Map (db m31859) HM
James Solomon Russell was born enslaved on 20
Dec. 1857 on the nearby Hendrick Plantation.
After emancipation, he attended Hampton
Institute and St. Stephen’s Normal and Theological
School and was ordained in 1882. As a religious
missionary, . . . — — Map (db m107457) HM
Mecklenburg County Virginia. Area 669 Square Miles. Formed in 1764 from Lunenburg, and named for Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, queen of George III. Bacon, the rebel, defeated the Indians near the present town of . . . — — Map (db m107451) HM
This is the original campus of Randolph-Macon College, the oldest Methodist-affiliated college still operating in the United States. Chartered by the Virginia General Assembly in 1830 and named for Congressmen John Randolph of Roanoke, Charlotte . . . — — Map (db m30910) HM
Seven miles south. There a detachment of Virginia militia crossed the Roanoke River in February, 1781, on the way to join Greene in North Carolina. There Baron Steuben, commanding the forces in Virginia, had a depot of supplies. — — Map (db m30911) HM
The presence of Boyd tavern, built in the eighteenth-century, greatly influenced the selection of Boydton as the Mecklenburg County seat. A major mid-nineteenth century renovation expanded the original tavern into a 35-room structure that included . . . — — Map (db m31872) HM
The Boydton LOVEwork was created for the 40th Annual Boydton Day Festival by the 2016 Boydton Day Committe and designed by Brooks Lenhart with assistance from Shirley Bowen, Michelle Gregory Gordon, & Donna Ober. . . . — — Map (db m182461) HM
Early History
In 1728, a survey party led by William Byrd II visited these springs. In his diary he wrote that the spring water was: “…what Adam drank in Paradise … by the help of which we perceived our appetites to mend, our slumber to . . . — — Map (db m30929) HM
Buffalo Springs Resort
On the other side of the county road was the resort area of Buffalo “Lithia” Springs. Spring #1 was located here, as were the hotels, cabins, a pavilion, tennis court, bowling alley, game room, barbershop, post office, . . . — — Map (db m30930) HM
Springhouse and Gazebo
The gazebo in front of you sits over the cistern and springhouse for Spring #2. Of the three springs that were considered to have medicinal attributes, Spring #2 was the most famous. Bottled water from this spring was . . . — — Map (db m30931) HM
Between 1817 and 1949, nearby Buffalo Springs hosted guests from across the country, promising good health from its mineral waters. The springs prospered after Thomas F. Goode (1825-1905) acquired ownership in 1874, improved the resort, and . . . — — Map (db m30925) HM
Mecklenburg County. Area 669 Square Miles. Formed in 1764 from Lunenburg, and named for Princess Charlotte, of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of George III. Bacon, the Rebel, defeated the Indians near the present town of . . . — — Map (db m30932) HM
In June 1864, to deny Gen. Robert E. Lee the use of the South Side Rail Road and the Richmond and Danville Rail Road, Gen. U1ysses S. Grant sent Gen. James H. Wilson and Gen. August V. Kautz south of Petersburg on a cavalry raid to destroy track and . . . — — Map (db m20166) HM
In June 1864, to deny Gen. Robert E. Lee the use of the South Side R.R. and the Richmond and Danville R.R., Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sent Gen. James H. Wilson and Gen. August V. Kautz south of Petersburg on a cavalry raid to destroy track and rolling . . . — — Map (db m20170) HM
Born in Powhatan County on 18 Oct. 1897, Earle D. Gregory enlisted in 1914 at Chase City in the Virginia Volunteers (Virginia National Guard). He served in the 116th Inf. Regt., 29th Inf. Div., in WWI. On the first day of combat near Verdun, France, . . . — — Map (db m20204) HM
Thyne Institute was established by Rev. J.Y. Ashenhurst, United Presbyterian Church, and a group of local citizens to provide an opportunity for African Americans (known as “freedmen” in the late 1800s) to obtain an education. In 1876 73 . . . — — Map (db m31003) HM
Thyme Institute was established by the Rev. J.Y. Ashenhurst, the United Presbyterian Church, and a group of local citizens to provide an opportunity for African Americans (known as "freed men" in the late 1800s) to obtain an education. In . . . — — Map (db m180594) HM
In 1876 the United Presbyterian Church and the Rev. J. J. Ashenhurst, first principal, formed Thyne Institute, the only facility in Mecklenburg County offering courses for blacks until 1923. Two years after opening in a small building that had been . . . — — Map (db m31870) HM
The Occaneechi Indians once lived nearby on an island in the Roanoke River. Well known for trading goods with other Indians nations and colonists, the Occaneechi resided close to several Indian paths. They also hunted, fished, and raised crops that . . . — — Map (db m40771) HM
The Occaneechi Indians once lived nearby on an island in the Roanoke River. Well known for trading goods with other Indians nations and colonists, the Occaneechi resided close to several Indian paths. They also hunted, fished, and raised crops that . . . — — Map (db m30923) HM
Born enslaved on one of William Sydnor’s
plantations in Halifax County, Patrick Robert
“Parker” Sydnor became literate at a freedmen’s
school after the Civil War. A preacher and farmer
in his youth, he began crafting grave . . . — — Map (db m107460) HM
The second William Byrd obtained land here about 1730 and named the place "Blue Stone Castle." The estate extended ten miles along Roanoke River. Before the Revolution Sir Peyton Skipwith came into possession and built the present house, which he . . . — — Map (db m31866) HM
Educational opportunities for White women in Virginia expanded during the 19th century as female institutes taught academic subjects as well as the arts. Some women supported themselves by opening schools. After the Civil War, when demand for . . . — — Map (db m245877) HM
La Crosse became the junction of the Atlantic and Danville Railway and the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1900. Surveyed as early as 1748, the area was known as Piney Pond by 1767, for a body of water that no longer exists. When a post office was . . . — — Map (db m94356) HM
Just to the east is the former West End High
School, which served African Americans during
the segregation era. With the help of Matilda M.
Booker, Mecklenburg County’s Jeanes Fund
supervisor of education for blacks, local parents
first . . . — — Map (db m107471) HM
Brunswick County. Area 557 Square Miles. Formed in 1720 from Prince George, Surry and Isle of Wight. Named for the House of Brunswick, which came to the throne of England in 1714, when George I was crowned king. Colonial Fort . . . — — Map (db m180054) HM
In 1915, four influential African American residents of South Hill—the Rev. J. H. Simmons,
Mary E. Simmons, Robert Walker, and James E.
Skipwith—established the Mecklenburg County
Training School for black students. The school
operated in the . . . — — Map (db m107443) HM
A mile south is the site of Salem Chapel, one of the pioneer Methodist churches of the state. Of it Francis Asbury wrote, "the best house we have in the country part of Virginia." There he held four sessions of the Virginia Annual conference: . . . — — Map (db m30879) HM
In 1889 South Hill's founding fathers laid out the town's boundary in a circle radiating 5/8s of a mile from a point within the intersection of the Atlantic and Danville Railway tracks and the Boydton Plank Road (now U.S. Rt. 1). South Hill was . . . — — Map (db m30878) HM
This memorial park is dedicated to all veterans who served their country honorably and especially to those who paid the supreme sacrifice. — — Map (db m180540) WM