On North Main Street (State Highway 45) at River Road (County Route 600), on the right when traveling south on North Main Street.
Near here is the site of Bizarre, owned in 1742 by Richard Randolph of Curles. In 1781, his grandson, John Randolph of Roanoke, took refuge at Bizarre with his mother on account of Arnold's invasion. John Randolph lived here until 1810, when he . . . — — Map (db m30204) HM
On North Main Street (Route 45) at Early Street, on the right when traveling north on North Main Street.
The cemetery just east of here was established in 1862 to inter Confederate soldiers who died at the Farmville General Hospital. The hospital, open from 1862 to 1865, could accommodate 1,500 patients, many of whom suffered from contagious diseases . . . — — Map (db m171706) HM
On Cumberland Road (Virginia Route 45), on the right when traveling south.
Union troops arrived here after crossing the Appomattox River at High Bridge and found Lee’s army entrenched around the church. After a series of Union attacks, Lee was forced to delay his movement until nightfall when he began marching towards . . . — — Map (db m171711) HM
On Cumberland Road (Virginia Route 45), on the left when traveling north.
Here at Cumberland Church, in the afternoon of April 7, 1865, part of the Army of Northern Virginia entrenched to protect the route west to Appomattox Station, where supplies awaited the men. The Confederate line, across the road behind you, . . . — — Map (db m171712) HM
On North Main Street (State Highway 45) at River Road (County Route 600), on the right when traveling south on North Main Street.
Cumberland County. Area 293 square miles. Formed in 1748 from Goochland, and named for the Duke of Cumberland, second son of King George II. The earliest call for independence came from this county, April 22, 1776.
Prince . . . — — Map (db m30212) HM
On Cumberland Road (Virginia Route 45), on the right when traveling south.
After successfully crossing the Appomattox River at nearby High Bridge, Maj. Gen. Andrew A. Humphreys’ II Corps attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. William Mahone that were entrenched on the high ground around Cumberland Presbyterian Church. . . . — — Map (db m11861) HM
On River Road (County Route 600), on the right when traveling west.
From here you can see the 1914 steel railroad bridge that spans the Appomattox River above the brick piers of the antebellum High Bridge, which carried the South Side Railroad. The old wooden bridge and the wagon bridge, just to the east of it, were . . . — — Map (db m29934) HM
Near River Road (County Route 600), on the right when traveling east. Reported permanently removed.
The "High" Bridge "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 . . . — — Map (db m29915) HM
On Cumberland Road (State Highway 45), on the right when traveling north.
James F. Lipscomb was born a free black on 4 December 1830 in Cumberland County. He worked first as a farm laborer, then as a carriage driver in Richmond. In 1867 he returned to Cumberland County, where he accumulated more than 500 acres of land. . . . — — Map (db m30244) HM
On Jackson Avenue, 0.1 miles west of Longstreet Road, on the right when traveling south.
Hundreds of men were interred here after dying in the Farmville Confederate Hospital 1862 - 1865
Sesquicentennial Remembrance by Farmville Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy — — Map (db m171707) HM WM
On Cumberland Road (State Highway 45), on the right when traveling south.
Just east of here is Needham, location of Virginia's first proprietary law school and home of founder Judge Creed Taylor (1766 - 1836), politician, jurist, and legal educator. Taylor's law school at Needham, which opened in 1821 and closed by 1840, . . . — — Map (db m30239) HM
On Cumberland Road (Virginia Route 45) north of Thompson Road (County Road 699), on the right when traveling south.
Samuel P. Bolling was born enslaved in Cumberland County and became a skilled mechanic. After the Civil War he purchased several lots in Farmville, where he established a successful brickyard by 1874. He later acquired more than 1,000 acres in . . . — — Map (db m238093) HM
Near River Road (County Route 600) at Jamestown Road (County Route 657), on the left when traveling south.
“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 1854 the . . . — — Map (db m83635) HM
On High Street (County Road 643) at Randolph Street, on the right when traveling west on High Street.
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
On College Road (County Route 692) 0.3 miles south of Five Forks Road (County Route 658), on the right when traveling south.
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
Near River Road (County Route 600) at Jamestown Road (County Route 657), on the left when traveling south.
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
On Griffin Boulevard, 0.1 miles north of South Main Street (Business U.S. 15), on the right when traveling north.
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
On South Main Street (U.S. 15) at 4th Street, on the right when traveling south on South Main Street. Reported permanently removed.
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
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 15) at 4th Street, on the right when traveling south on North Main Street.
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
Near River Road (County Route 600) at Jamestown Road (County Route 657), on the left when traveling south.
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
On Farmville Road (U.S. 15) at Worsham Road (County Route 665), on the right when traveling north on Farmville Road.
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
On College Road (County Road 692) at Atkinson Avenue (County Road 1002), on the left when traveling north on College Road.
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
On Randolph Street at High Street (County Road 643), on the left when traveling south on Randolph Street.
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
On Johnston Drive, 0.1 miles north of Milnwood Road, on the right when traveling north.
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
Near Johnston Drive, 0.2 miles north of Milnwood Road, on the right when traveling north.
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 High Street (County Route 643) at Venable Street, on the right when traveling east on High Street.
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
On North Main Street (Virginia Route 45), on the left when traveling north.
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
On North Main Street (Virginia Route 45), on the right when traveling south.
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
Near High Street (County Route 643) south of St George Street. Reported permanently removed.
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
On High Street (County Road 643) near Randolph Street, on the right when traveling east.
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
On South Main Street (U.S. 15) at 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on South Main Street. Reported permanently removed.
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
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 15) just south of 4th Street, on the right when traveling north.
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
On High Street (County Route 643) at Buffalo Street, on the right when traveling east on High Street.
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
On West 3rd Street (Business U.S. 15) at Layne Street (County Route 695), on the right when traveling east on West 3rd Street.
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
Near Farmville Road (U.S. 15) at Kingsville Road (Virginia Route 133), on the left when traveling south.
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
On College Road (County Route 692) 0.3 miles south of Five Forks Road (County Route 658), on the right when traveling south.
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
On College Road (County Route 692) 0.3 miles south of Five Forks Road (County Route 658), on the right when traveling south. Reported permanently removed.
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
On College Road (County Route 692) near Via Sacra (County Route 1001), on the right when traveling north.
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
On College Road (County Road 692) 0.1 miles south of Crawley Drive, on the right when traveling south.
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
On North Main Street (Virginia Route 45) at Depot Street, on the left when traveling north on North Main Street.
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
On Farmville Road (U.S. 15) at Worsham Road (County Route 665), on the right when traveling north on Farmville Road.
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
On Farmville Road (U.S. 15) at Kingsville Road (Virginia Route 133), on the right when traveling south on Farmville Road.
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
On Johnston Drive, 0.1 miles south of Longwood Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
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
On South Main Street (U.S. 15) at Franklin Street, on the right when traveling south on South Main Street.
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
On Johnston Drive, 0.1 miles south of Longwood Avenue, on the right when traveling south.
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
On South Main Street (U.S. 15) at Redford Street, on the right when traveling south on South Main Street. Reported missing.
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
On South Main Street (Business U.S. 15) at 4th Street, on the right when traveling north on South Main Street.
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
On Race Street at Franklin Street, on the right when traveling south on Race Street.
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 Griffin Boulevard at South Main Street (Business U.S. 15), on the right when traveling north on Griffin Boulevard.
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
On Via Sacra (County Route 1001) near College Road (County Route 692), on the left when traveling west.
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
Near Zion Hill Road (County Route 628) 0.1 miles east of McClendon Drive. Reported permanently removed.
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
On Zion Hill Road (County Road 628) 0.1 miles west of McLendon Street, on the right when traveling west.
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
On Farmville Road (U.S. 15) at Worsham Road (County Route 665), on the right when traveling north on Farmville Road.
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
Near Griffin Boulevard at Barrow Street. Reported permanently removed.
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 Griffin Boulevard at Barrow Street, on the right when traveling north on Griffin Boulevard.
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
On North Main Street (Virginia Route 45) at Depot Street, on the left when traveling north on North Main Street.
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 South Main Street (U.S. 15) at Griffin Boulevard, on the right when traveling south on South Main Street.
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
On Barrow Street at Griffin Boulevard, on the right when traveling east on Barrow Street.
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
On College Road (County Road 692) at Atkinson Avenue (County Road 1002), on the right when traveling south on College Road.
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
On North Main Street (State Highway 45) at East Second Street, on the right when traveling north on North Main Street.
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
On Farmville Road (U.S. 15) 0.8 miles south of Worsham Road (County Route 665), on the right when traveling south.
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
On College Road (County Route 692) just north of County Road 1006, on the left when traveling north.
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
Near College Road (County Route 692) near Via Sacra (County Route 1001).
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
On North Main Street (Virginia Route 45) at Depot Street, on the right when traveling south on North Main Street.
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
Near River Road (County Route 600) at Jamestown Road (County Route 657), on the left when traveling south.
“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
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 15) just south of East 3rd Street (Business U.S. 460), on the right when traveling north.
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
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 15) just north of High Street (County Road 643), on the left when traveling south.
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
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 15) just north of High Street (County Road 643), on the left when traveling south.
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
On College Road (County Road 692) at Atkinson Avenue (County Road 1002), on the left when traveling north on College Road.
To the brave all homage render
— Thompson.
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
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 15) just north of High Street (County Road 643), on the right when traveling south.
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
