Historical Markers and War Memorials in Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Chatham is the county seat for Pittsylvania County
Adjacent to Pittsylvania County, Virginia
Bedford County(190) ► Campbell County(22) ► Danville(59) ► Franklin County(25) ► Halifax County(40) ► Henry County(10) ► Caswell County, North Carolina(41) ► Rockingham County, North Carolina(43) ►
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On Business U.S. 29 south of Lawless Creek Road (County Route 719).
The house to the east was Beavers Tavern, 1800–1840. This was the muster ground of the county militia and a popular stage station. John C. Calhoun Was a frequent visitor here. — — Map (db m104464) HM
On Martinsville Highway (Business U.S. 58) 0.3 miles east of Berry Hill Road (U.S. 311), on the right when traveling east.
Berry Hill is situated 5¼ miles to the south on the Dan River. The original portion of the main house was built in 1745 and there have been several additions. The property was used as a hospital for General Nathanael Greene's army during the spring . . . — — Map (db m66054) HM
On Callands Road (State Highway 57) at Sago Road (County Route 969), on the right when traveling west on Callands Road.
Pittsylvania was cut off from Halifax in 1767 and the courthouse was built here. In 1769 a town named Chatham was established here on lands of James Roberts. A few years later Samuel Calland opened a store and the town took his name. In 1777 Henry . . . — — Map (db m64657) HM
On Sago Road, 0.5 miles north of Callands Road (Virginia Route 57), on the left when traveling north.
World War II
Korea
Vietnam
This memorial is dedicated to
those who have given the
supreme sacrifice to
their country
and
to honor all those from the
Callands community
who served their country.
"If ye break faith, . . . — — Map (db m66093) WM
On Sago Road, 0.5 miles north of Callands Road (Virginia Route 57), on the left when traveling north.
Site of first County Seat of Pittsylvania County. The building that served as the debtor's prison,1767-1771, and later as the clerk's office, 1771-1777, remains. Nearby stands the debtor's gaol, built in 1773. It later served as Samuel Calland's . . . — — Map (db m66055) HM
On Main Street at Center Street, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
When the Civil War erupted, the South seriously lacked sufficient quantity of modern weaponry. The Confederate government attempted to correct this deficiency by purchasing arms overseas. While this "cotton for cannon" trade resulted in the . . . — — Map (db m168460) HM
On U.S. 29, 0.4 miles north of Main Street (Business U.S. 29), on the right when traveling south.
A native of Pittsylvania County, Claude Augustus Swanson (1862-1939), practiced law in Chatham until he won election to Congress in 1892. He served seven terms in the House of Representatives (1893-1906); was governor of Virginia (1906-1910) and . . . — — Map (db m55732) HM
On Military Drive at Hargrave Boulevard, on the left when traveling north on Military Drive.
One of the few private military academies in Virginia, Hargrave Military Academy was founded in 1909 by John Hunt Hargrave and the Rev. T. Ryland Sanford as Chatham Training School. It was chartered in 1911 and became affiliated with the Baptist . . . — — Map (db m64212) HM
On Spring Garden Road, 0.4 miles south of Halifax Road (Virginia Route 57), on the right when traveling south.
One half mile west is the grave of Elder John Weatherford (1740?-1833) Baptist preacher for 70 years and early advocate of religious liberty. Jailed five months in Chesterfield in 1773 for unlicensed preaching, his release was secured by Patrick . . . — — Map (db m66058) HM
On U.S. 29 Bypass, on the right when traveling north.
Some miles northeast is the site of Markham, where was born Rachel Donelson, wife of President Andrew Jackson, 1767. Her father, John Donelson, leaving Virginia, became one of the first settlers of Tennessee. Fort Donelson was named for him. — — Map (db m20775) HM
On U.S. 29 Bypass, on the right when traveling north.
Nearby to the east once stood the community
of Peytonsburg a part of Halifax County when
the county was formed in 1752. Peytonsburg
was incorporated as a town in 1759 by the Virginia
General Assembly and became part of Pittsylvania
County in . . . — — Map (db m20774) HM
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 29) at Court Place, on the right when traveling north on North Main Street.
1861 Virginia 1865
Confederate Dead
We crown the heroes of the past
with the laurel wreath of memory
Go tell the listening worlds afar
of those who died for truth and right
In memory of
Co. "I" 53rd VA. Regiment . . . — — Map (db m66094) WM
On Main Street at Court Place, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
This Greek revival building was erected in 1853 as the third court house of Pittsylvania County. The county, formed in 1767, and the town of Chatham were named for William Pitt, First Earl of Chatham. The present court house replaced a structure . . . — — Map (db m64656) HM
On South Main Street (Business U.S. 29) at Franklin Place, on the right when traveling south on South Main Street.
Here stands Morea, the home of Lt. Col. Rawley W. Martin (1835-1912), a physician who served with Pittsylvania County soldiers during the Civil War in the 53d Virginia Infantry Regiment of Brig. Gen. Lewis A. Armistead's brigade. At Gettysburg, Pa., . . . — — Map (db m66057) HM
On North Main Street (Business U.S. 29) 0.2 miles north of Lakeside Drive (County Road 1506), on the left when traveling north.
Robert S. Hamlett •
Paul Thacker •
C.W. Gibson •
Daniel Elliott •
Luke Elliott •
George Brown •
Elwood D. Reynolds •
Elisha Abbott •
William A.J. Brown •
Wilson J. Wells •
Paul M. Goolsby •
Loyd Brumfield •
Jesse Mills, . . . — — Map (db m171921) WM
On U.S. 29 near Dry Fork Road (County Route 718), on the right when traveling south.
By the latter decades of the 19th century, bright-leaf tobacco harvested across Southside Virginia
was typically cured in hand-hewn log barns outfitted with wood-burning stoves. Inside these
barns, tobacco leaves were hung from sticks that
rested . . . — — Map (db m104462) HM
On East Gretna Road (Virginia Route 40) at Hickeys Road, on the right when traveling east on East Gretna Road. Reported missing.
Hickey’s Road, first laid off by court order in 1749, followed this general path. Named after John Hickey, a merchant who operated a store at its western limits and peddled his wares along its length, the road stretched more than 100 miles from . . . — — Map (db m66059) HM
On Vaden Drive (Virginia Route 40) 0.1 miles west of Fitzgerald Street, on the right when traveling west.
Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative was charted March 1, 1938, by a group of Mecklenburg County residents. The first office was located in Boynton, Virginia, The group's state purpose was "To advance the position of agriculture to enrich the life of . . . — — Map (db m165420) HM
On U.S. 29 at U.S. BUS 29, on the right when traveling south on U.S. 29.
Located three and one half miles south through Gretna, this fully restored 18th century building is believed to be the only historic building in Virginia with a second story overhang or jetties. It is listed on the National Register of Historic . . . — — Map (db m165419) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 29) south of West Hurt Road, on the left when traveling south.
The house on the hill three hundred yards to the west was the home of Captain Benjamin Clement, who was one of the first makers of gunpowder in Virginia, 1775. The land grant was made in 1741. — — Map (db m104437) HM
On Ford Road (County Route 908) 1.7 miles north of Yorkshire Road (County Route 777), on the right when traveling west.
Appalachian Power Company constructed Smith
Mountain and Leesville Dams on the Roanoke
River between 1960 and 1963 to generate hydroelectric energy, Between the dams, the river
rose to form 3,400-acre Leesville Lake. West of
Smith Mountain Dam, . . . — — Map (db m104452) HM
On U.S. 29, 0.2 miles south of Tight Squeeze Road, on the right when traveling north.
One mile east stands Belle Grove, the home of Whitmell Pugh Tunstall (1810-1854). Educated at Danville Academy and the University of North Carolina, Tunstall was admitted to the bar in 1832. He served in the House of Delegates (1836-1841; 1845-1848) . . . — — Map (db m55730) HM
On Whitmell School Road (County Route 750) at Sunset Drive (County Route 703), on the left when traveling south on Whitmell School Road.
Founded in 1878 as a two- room school and
named for state senator Whitmell P. Tunstall,
in 1918 the Whitmell Farm-Life School became
the first rural consolidated school in
Pittsylvania County. Sarah Archie Swanson
Beverley, who between 1916 and . . . — — Map (db m104455) HM
