Prince Edward County. Area 356 Square Miles. Formed from Amelia, and named for Prince Edward, son of Frederick, prince of Wales, and younger brother of King George III. General Joseph E. Johnston was born in this county; . . . — — Map (db m31787) HM
Prince Edward State Park for Negroes was established in 1950 one mile west on the site of the former Prince Edward Lake Recreation Area for Negroes. Maceo C. Martin, an African American from Danville, sued the state when he was denied access to . . . — — Map (db m31040) HM
In 1950, Prince Edward Lake Recreation Area became Prince Edward State Park for Negroes — Virginia's eighth state park and the only one accessible at that time to African Americans. During an era of segregation, this site was a refuge for . . . — — Map (db m182508) HM
When Prince Edward State Park for Negroes opened in 1950, these posts marked the confines of the swim area.
Laws at the time ensured the people who visited this park were no strangers to boundaries—things like parks and even water fountains . . . — — Map (db m182510) HM
Rev. Dr. Vernon Johns was born here in Darlington Heights on 22 April 1892. A graduate of Oberlin College, Johns was an orator of great renown and the first African-American minister included in Best Sermons of the Year (1926), an . . . — — Map (db m54440) HM
This is America's first two-college community, with the founding of Prince Edward County in 1754, Hampden-Sydney in 1775, Farmville in 1798, and Longwood in 1839. It is a crossroads of American history, home to Patrick Henry and Barbara Johns, to . . . — — Map (db m181200) HM
You are standing near the site of the original campus of Hampden-Sydney College, which stood on the knoll to your right (see artist reconstruction above). Hampden-Sydney began classes on November 10, 1775, the last college founded in Colonial . . . — — Map (db m54486) HM
Engineer Department Activities
The High Bridge fortifications were built, in part, with the help of area free men of color who were conscripted for Confederate service. The Confederate Congress authorized the draft of free men of color to . . . — — Map (db m83638) HM
Barbara Johns, civil rights pioneer, was born in New York and moved to her parents' native Prince Edward County as a child. In April 1951, at age 16, she led a student walkout to protest conditions at the segregated Robert Russa Moton High School, . . . — — Map (db m171732) HM
Beulah African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was founded in 1868. Originally, it was known as The Colored Methodist Church of Farmville. The original wooden-framed building was destroyed, by fire in 1898. The cornerstone on the present . . . — — Map (db m31318) HM
Beulah African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was founded in 1868 as the Colored Methodist Church of Farmville. The original wood-frame building was destroyed by five in 1898. The cornerstone on the present building was laid in 1901.
A . . . — — Map (db m181202) HM
Veteran, war-worn, French speaking "chic creoles" of the Donaldsonville Artillery detachment of 43 Louisiana Creole Canonniers received orders to guard High Bridge by the Lynchburg Confederate Military District Commander Francis T. Nicholls, a . . . — — Map (db m83637) HM
In 1781, British Gen. Charles Cornwallis ordered cavalry commander Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton to raid Southside Virginia to seize or destroy private and public supplies of ammunition, clothing, and food. On 9 July, Tarleton left Cobham in Surry . . . — — Map (db m166813) HM
Hampden-Sydney alumni who died in the Civil War
John T. Thornton '42 •
Parke Poindexter '44 •
Thomas M.W. Lyle '46 •
George K. Moody '48 •
Gustavus A. Bass '50 •
Crawford H. Jones '51 •
William R. Carter '52 •
E.C. Jordan '52 . . . — — Map (db m181179) WM
1861 Virginia 1865
Defenders of State "Sovereignty".
Confederate Heroes
List of companies organized
In the county 1861.
Company F 18th. Va. Inf’’ty.
" " D 18th, " " "
" " D 18th, " " "
" " I 23rd, " " "
" " K 21st, " " " . . . — — Map (db m31311) WM
Dr. Barbara Smith is the founder of the women's golf program at Longwood and served as head coach from 1966 to 1992. In nearly three decades under her leadership, Longwood became a national powerhouse on the college golf landscape with three . . . — — Map (db m205011) HM
This field is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Elizabeth Burger Jackson '34 for her lifelong dedication to field hockey and the development of young people.
Dr. Jackson was an accomplished student athlete, a member of the United States Field . . . — — Map (db m205042) HM
On this site was the home of
Dr. William W. H. Thackston
1820-1899
A distinguished pioneer dentist who practiced
his profession in Farmville
for more than fifty-five years
A founder of
The Virginia Society of Surgeon . . . — — Map (db m31317) HM
The Confederate army marched through this tobacco town, followed by the Union army. Lee hoped to issue rations to his men here before turning south but was forced to flee across the Appomattox River. Grant sent his first dispatch to Lee concerning . . . — — Map (db m11855) HM
Half-starved and exhausted, the vanguard of the Army of Northern Virginia stumbled into Farmville early on the morning of April 7, 1865. Here, at last, the men found long-promised rations – everything from bread to soup and ham. While the head . . . — — Map (db m11858) HM
Founded on March 5, 1839 as the Farmville Female Seminary Association, Longwood is one of the oldest colleges originally for women in the country. In 1842 the cornerstone was laid for the first true college building, which is today known as . . . — — Map (db m31316) HM
Founded on March 5, 1839, as the Farmville Female Seminary Association, Longwood is one of the oldest colleges originally for women in the country. In 1842 the cornerstone was laid for the first true building at the college, known today as . . . — — Map (db m181198) HM
The First Baptist Church was organized in 1866 as an outgrowth of the predominantly white Farmville Baptist Church. In 1949, following the death of the Rev. C. H. Griffin, the Church voted unanimously to call his son, L. Francis Griffin, as . . . — — Map (db m31310) HM
First Baptist Church in Farmville was organized in 1866 as an outgrowth of the predominantly white Farmville Baptist Church. In 1949, following the death of the Rev. C.H. Griffin, the church voted unanimously to call on his son, L. Francis . . . — — Map (db m181206) HM
Longwood College, formerly known as the State Female Normal School, is the only U.S. school where four national sororities were founded. Kappa Delta, founded on 23 Oct. 1897, was the first sorority organized in Virginia. The sorority with the . . . — — Map (db m31313) HM
Just to the west lies Israel Hill, settled in 1810-1811 by approximately ninety formerly enslaved persons who received freedom and 350 acres from Judith Randolph under the will of her husband, Richard Randolph, cousin of Thomas Jefferson. These . . . — — Map (db m28041) HM
An Episcopal church, built in 1757, formerly stood one-eighth of a mile east of here. According to tradition, a detachment of Rochambeau's army wintered here after the Battle of Yorktown, and seventy French soldiers were buried in the church yard. . . . — — Map (db m31333) HM
When Samuel Stanhope Smith, our first president, named the College after English anti-Royalists, he clearly agreed with Patrick Henry’s revolutionary vision. Thus it was logical that Henry should be elected a Founding Trustee in November 1775, . . . — — Map (db m54480) HM
Hampden-Sydney College, in continuous operation since November 10, 1775, was established “to form good men and good citizens.” One of the few remaining all-male colleges, it was named for John Hampden (1594-1643) and Algernon Sydney . . . — — Map (db m31324) HM
Hampden-Sydney College, in continuous operation since 10 Nov. 1775, was established "to form good men and good Citizens." It was named for John Hampden (1594-1643) and Algernon Sydney (1622-1683), champions of parliamentary rule in England. Patrick . . . — — Map (db m31334) HM
Hampden-Sydney College, in continuous operation since November 10, 1775, was established "to form good men and good citizens." One of the few remaining all-male colleges today, it was named for John Hampden (1594-1643) and Algernon Sydney . . . — — Map (db m181191) HM
High Bridge was constructed in 1853 to the cross of the Appomattox River east of Farmville. The Bridge completed South Side Railroad's connection from Petersburg to Lynchburg. The original stood 125 feet above the Appomattox River, built on 21 . . . — — Map (db m171713) HM
This site served as the county seat when Prince Edward County was founded in 1754. The original courthouse constructed soon thereafter was replaced in 1776. The last courthouse here was built in 1832. The former debtors' prison built in 1787 and the . . . — — Map (db m31342) HM
Here, before the Revolution, stood King's Tavern. The British cavalryman, Tarleton, raiding, camped here in 1781. In the same year sick and wounded French soldiers were brought to this place from Yorktown; seventy of them are buried here. Nearby is . . . — — Map (db m31332) HM
Property acquired 1765 by Peter Johnston. Home of Peter Johnston, Jr., Lieutenant in Lee's Legion and judge of Circuit Court of Virginia. Birthplace of General Joseph E. Johnston.
Purchased 1811 by Abraham B. Venable, U.S. senator; organizer . . . — — Map (db m31301) HM
The college opened here in October 1884 as a "state female normal school". In 1914 the name was changed to "State Normal School for Women at Farmville"; In 1924 to "State Teachers College at Farmville"; In 1949 to "Longwood College". Conferring the . . . — — Map (db m29162) HM
Peter Johnston (1763-1831)--jurist, Speaker of the House of Delegates (1805-1807), and father of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston--inherited Longwood estate from his father. He sold the property after he became a judge on the General Court of . . . — — Map (db m31290) HM
Longwood University is a state-supported institution developed from the privately owned Farmville Female Seminary that was incorporated in 1839. In 1884, it became a public institution when the Commonwealth acquired the property and renamed it the . . . — — Map (db m29164) HM
Main Street
Once named Bizarre in 1736, Farmville was established as a town in 1798. From the town's formation, tobacco was a major factor in its prosperity. The numerous warehouses along the Main Street corridor represent . . . — — Map (db m31352) HM
Martha E. Forrester lived in this house. In 1920 she helped the Council of Colored Women to foster community uplift. As the organization's president for 31 years, she led its campaigns to improve educational opportunities for African American . . . — — Map (db m171724) HM
On behalf of local plaintiffs, civil rights attorney Oliver White Hill Sr. and law partners Martin A. Martin and Spottswood Robinson III filed Davis v. Prince Edward in 1951 to challenge racial segregation in public schools. This case, along . . . — — Map (db m171733) HM
The first Presbyterian seminary in the South was established here in 1812 as the Theology Department of Hampden-Sydney College. It became independent of the college in 1822. After the synods of Virginia and North Carolina assumed joint ownership in . . . — — Map (db m31335) HM
In 1954, after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, that United States schools must integrate, Senator Harry S. Byrd and several Virginia governors followed the policy of “massive resistance.” Integration was . . . — — Map (db m31321) HM
In 1954, after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka that American schools must integrate, Senator Harry S. Byrd and several Virginia governors followed the policy of "massive resistance." Integration was . . . — — Map (db m181154) HM
Two miles east is the Glebe House where the Rev. Archibald McRoberts lived during the Revolution. Tarleton, raiding through this section in July, 1781, set fire to the house, but a timely rain put out the flames. Accordingly, the place was named . . . — — Map (db m31339) HM
On this site of the former R.R. Moton High School, the actions of some brave African-American students to achieve equal educational opportunities for blacks eventually led to the end of legal segregation in American public schools.
Moton . . . — — Map (db m31319) HM
On this site of the former R.R. Moton High School, the actions of many brave African American students to achieve equal educational opportunities for Blacks eventually led to the end of legal segregation in American public schools.
Moton . . . — — Map (db m171727) HM
Just to the west was the medical school of John Peter Mettauer, which became a branch of Randolph-Macon College in 1847. It was discontinued, probably in 1861. Dr. Mettauer, one of the leading surgeons of the day, practiced until his death in 1875. — — Map (db m19805) HM
Farmville's rich history lives and breathes in everything that surrounds us, from the warehouses we shop in, the restaurants we dine in, the trails we walk on and the water that flows through the Appomattox River.
Extensive revitalization . . . — — Map (db m171710) HM
On this site 4-23-51, the students staged a strike protesting inadequate school facilities. Led by Rev. L. Francis Griffin, these students' actions became a part of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision, which ruled . . . — — Map (db m31320) HM
1939: Robert Russa Moton High School built for 180 students
1940: 219 students
1947: 377 students
1948: 3 tar paper shacks built
1950: 477 students
1951: Moton Students Strike
Hampden-Sydney men who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II
Samuel Anderson Johnston, 1918 •
Robert Milton Cook, 1922 •
David Albert Hurt, 1923 •
Winfield Thomas Jones, 1928 •
Hugh Thompson Hunt, 1930 •
Ellis Saunders Allen, . . . — — Map (db m181186) WM
Here stood the hotel where General U.S. Grant made his headquarters April 7, 1865, and opened correspondence with General R.E. Lee which terminated in the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House two days later. From the . . . — — Map (db m30252) HM
To the west is the estate of Nathaniel Venable (1733-1804), Slate Hill Plantation. He was a prominent citizen of Prince Edward County, serving in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1766 to 1768. During the Revolutionary War, he was a member of the . . . — — Map (db m31343) HM
Established in 1843, most likely by free Black people, the Beneficial Benevolent Society of the Loving Sisters and Brothers of Hampden Sydney consisted of two mutual-benefit groups for African American men and women of the Hampden Sydney . . . — — Map (db m181175) HM
In 1775, the Session of Hanover Presbytery met in this building, the law office of Nathaniel Venable, to lay final plans for the establishment of Hampden-Sydney College. The building was erected between 1737 and 1756 on Venable’s Plantation, . . . — — Map (db m31338) HM
The President and owner of the Green Front Furniture Company (pictured at left) represents one of the largest business success stories in Virginia.
"Green Front" got jump started in the mid 1960's when Dickie Crallé, a fresh graduate of . . . — — Map (db m171717) HM
“There have been higher bridges not so long and longer bridges not so high, but taking the height and length together, this is, perhaps, the largest bridge in the world.”
-C.O. Sanford, South Side Railroad’s chief engineer,1852
In . . . — — Map (db m83636) HM
The Light of Reconciliation Illuminated in the Courthouse Bell Tower on July 21, 2008, by the Board of Supervisors of Prince Edward County, in honor of Barbara Rose Johns and the students of Robert Russa Moton High School, and all the . . . — — Map (db m171719) HM
In honor of the men and women of Prince Edward County who served their country in the Armed Forces since World War II and in memory of the following who made the Supreme Sacrifice
Korean War
Edwin L. Branscome •
Horace J. Divens • . . . — — Map (db m171722) WM
In honor of the men and women of Prince Edward County who served their country in the Armed Forces and in memory of the following who made the Supreme Sacrifice in World War I 1917-1918
William H. Anderson •
William W. Baker •
Ricahrd . . . — — Map (db m171723) WM
This gate is erected by the alumni and friends of Hampden-Sydney College an affectionate and perpetual memorial to those who offered and who gave their . . . — — Map (db m181176) WM
In honor of the men and women of Prince Edward County who served their country in the Armed Forces and in memory of the following who made the Supreme Sacrifice in World War II 1941 - 1945
Billy M. Adams •
Harry E. Allard •
Edwin T. . . . — — Map (db m171721) WM
Blanche Kelso Bruce, African American political leader, was born into slavery south of here on 1 Mar. 1841. He grew up in Virginia, Mississippi, and Missouri before escaping slavery during the Civil War. In 1869 Bruce moved back to Mississippi and . . . — — Map (db m41699) HM
A short distance west is the site of Camp Gallion, home from 1933 to 1941 of Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1390. This all-African American company performed extensive work in the present-day Prince Edward-Gallion State Forest. Company 1390 . . . — — Map (db m31039) HM
Today when you think of the outdoors you imagine a place that everyone can enjoy, but in post Civil War America, this was not the case. Many southern states operated on very strict segregation laws leaving many Americans without the opportunity . . . — — Map (db m182513) HM
On this site prior to 1745 the Church of England’s
Raleigh Parish established Sandy River Chapel.
Construction was completed on a new wooden
church by 1765, some of which is believed to
survive within the present building. In 1782 . . . — — Map (db m107527) 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 . . . — — Map (db m19257) HM
Mount Pleasant Methodist Church was organized in 1788 1.8 miles north of here in McGehee's Barn. The first meeting stood near this spot in 1798. The present church was built in 1856 on land given by George Washington Redd, Sr. after the first church . . . — — Map (db m171736) HM
To the five who lost their lives on March 13, 1951, "...we feel joy that those precious and so dear were allowed to stop by here, even so briefly..." G.L. Brooks, "Gone But Not Forgotten," 2009 On March 13, 1951, five African American children from . . . — — Map (db m31781) HM
According to local tradition, the Sulphur Spring Baptist Church was founded in 1867, when services were held in a brush arbor. During the Reconstruction period, formerly enslaved African Americans formed congregations throughout the South similar to . . . — — Map (db m54442) HM
During the night of 6-7 April 1865, part of Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia crossed the South Side Railroad's High Bridge three miles north of here as Union armies under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant pursued closely. After the last . . . — — Map (db m31288) HM
(Front):Battles of Sailors Creek
April 6, 1865 "My God! Has the army been dissolved?" General R. E. Lee
Hillsman's Farm US 442 CS 3400 Marshall's Crossroads US 172 CS 2600 Lockett's Farm (Double Bridges) US 536 CS 1700
Totals include . . . — — Map (db m11798) HM
Six miles north took place the battle of Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865. Lee's army, retreating westward from Amelia Courthouse to Farmville by way of Deatonsville, was attacked by Sheridan, who surrounded Ewell's Corps. After a fierce action the . . . — — Map (db m31287) HM
About 900 Union infantry and cavalry were sent from Burkeville to burn this South Side Railroad trestle over the Appomattox River. Pursued by Confederate cavalry in the engagement which followed nearby, their bridge-burning mission failed and most . . . — — Map (db m11819) HM
Just northeast of here, on the afternoon of April 6, 1865, a Union detachment tried and failed to burn High Bridge – where the South Side Railroad crossed the Appomattox River – and restrict the Confederate retreat to the south side of . . . — — Map (db m11820) HM
In this ground, the Confederate column and wagon train became bogged down while crossing Sailor’s Creek. The Union forces in pursuit then assailed the Southerners and captured a large number of prisoners and wagons before darkness put an end to the . . . — — Map (db m11808) HM
Late in the afternoon of April 6, 1865, the Confederate wagon train that had passed Holt’s Corner and then turned south at James S. Lockett’s farm toward Rice’s Station began crossing the two bridges here, across Little Sailor’s Creek and Big . . . — — Map (db m117559) HM
On Thursday, April 6, 1865, this high ground above Little Sailor’s Creek was protected by troops from the Richmond fortifications under Confederate General Richard S. Ewell. They hurriedly threw up a line of breastworks consisting of fence rails and . . . — — Map (db m11793) HM
One mile north stood the Southside Railroad Bridge, spanning the 75-foot-wide Appomattox River. On 6 April, 1865, nine hundred Union soldiers attempting to burn the 2500-foot-long, 126-foot-high structure were captured by Confederate cavalry. . . . — — Map (db m10221) HM
Two miles north are the battlefields of Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865. There Grant captured more men than were captured in any other one day's field engagement of the war. — — Map (db m10222) HM
Here, around the home of James S. Lockett, desperate fighting occurred near sundown on April 6, 1865, when the Union corps commanded by Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys almost overwhelmed Gen. John B. Gordon’s Confederate corps. The house, just across the . . . — — Map (db m11804) HM
While Confederate troops were attempting to cross Sailor’s Creek on the bridges below, the fighting between the two forces began here and continued into the bottomlands. After the battle, James Lockett’s bullet-ridden house was then pressed into . . . — — Map (db m11805) HM
Union cavalry found Confederate infantry posted here along the road to Rice’s Depot. While others fought along Little Sailor’s Creek at Hillsman’s farm, the horse soldiers attacked this portion of Lee’s army which eventually withdrew from the field . . . — — Map (db m11794) HM
Prince Edward County. Area 356 Square Miles. Formed from Amelia, and named for Prince Edward, son of Frederick, prince of Wales, and younger brother of King George III. General Joseph E. Johnston was born in this county; . . . — — Map (db m10223) HM
Confederate troops began entrenching on the high ground across the road from Burkesville Junction. Upon the approach of the Union army, the forces skirmished briefly until darkness ended the fighting. General Lee headquartered here before his march . . . — — Map (db m11814) HM
Gen. James Longstreet’s corps, leading the Confederate retreat westward, reached Rice’s Depot along the South Side Railroad and entrenched on April 6, 1865, while the Battle of Sailor’s Creek raged to the east. Here Longstreet guarded the road from . . . — — Map (db m11829) HM
Here Lee fought his last battle, April 6, 1865. Ewell almost won a great vic- tory but was overwhelmed by Sheridan. Nottoway Chapter U.D.C. 1928 — — Map (db m11806) HM
