Nottoway County brings together railroad history, historic architecture and a landscape of rivers, streams and forests. Local and railroad traditions come to the fore in Blackstone and Crewe; other historic traces range from courthouses and churches to an archaeological site. This gives you a choice of different focuses when planning your trip: architecture, local history and landscape sit side by side.
Historic Buildings and Their Stories
The Nottoway County Courthouse was completed in 1843 on the site of an earlier courthouse built in 1798. Its Jeffersonian features include a three-part Palladian scheme and a Tuscan portico. The Nottoway Presbyterian Church, known as the Old Brick Church, dates to 1837. In 1865, Union soldiers used its pews as horse stalls. The church can be rented for weddings, worship services and other events.
The county’s houses and farmsteads also reflect a range of architectural traditions. Millbrook preserves a 19th-century farm typical of Nottoway County and the Southside region; its main house, built around 1840, features Federal and Greek Revival elements. Oakridge is a well-preserved Georgian country house clad in wooden shingles, built around 1800. Mountain Hall was the home of Dr. James Jones, a physician and politician from Nottoway County. In Blackstone, Schwartz Tavern is the oldest building.
Railroads, Local History and Heritage
The Crewe Commercial Historic District was planned and laid out in 1888 by engineers from the Norfolk and Western Railway. The historic district includes a former railroad yard belonging to the railway company. The Crewe Railroad Museum is housed in a building modeled on the original Crewe Passenger Station. At the museum, visitors can climb aboard a diesel locomotive, a caboose and steam locomotive No. 606; this opportunity may depend on current operating rules.
Blackstone was incorporated under that name in 1888 and developed into a major tobacco market. WSVS tells another local story: the radio station began broadcasting on April 6, 1947, and is the oldest continuously operating radio station in Southside Virginia. Its performance studio enabled both touring and local bluegrass acts to broadcast their music.
Hyde Park was a former tobacco plantation dating to the late 18th century. In 1938, it became a training farm for Jewish students from the Gross Breesen agricultural institute in Germany who were fleeing Nazi Germany. About 30 Jewish immigrants lived and worked there between 1938 and early 1941. The Little Mountain Pictograph Site features a red ochre handprint, a possible sun symbol and a single turkey footprint. The images probably date from the Late Woodland period, about 900 to 1600 AD; the site is a rare class of archaeological resource of national significance.
The present building of Burke’s Tavern was built around 1827 at a rural crossroads on the border between Nottoway County and Prince Edward County. Thomas A. Smythe died there on April 9, 1865. The Route of Lee’s Retreat is also part of the history of the Confederacy’s final days of war: in Nottoway County, it preserves roads, landscapes and historic sites associated with this history. In April 1865, the county lay directly along General Robert E. Lee’s retreat from Richmond and Petersburg.
Landscape and Getting Around
Rivers, streams and forests shape the natural landscape of Nottoway County. For cyclists, the county’s bike plan lists two routes: Route A runs north to south, and Route B-1 runs in and around Blackstone. Crewe can be reached via Route 360 (Hull Street Road), Route 49 South, also known as Watsons Wood Road, and U.S. Route 460. These details offer practical guidance for planning while leaving room for the county’s different historical and natural highlights, rather than reducing them to a single route.
Discover More Destinations
Blackstone, Floyd County, Clarke County, Culpeper County, Westmoreland County, Roanoke, Accomack County, Nelson County
For the main travel overview: Virginia.
