Callands is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Pittsylvania County Pittsylvania County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 60,501. Chatham is the county seat. Pittsylvania County is included in the Danville, VA Micropolitan Statistical A ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It was named after Samuel Calland, a native of Scotland that immigrated during the 18th century, whose general store became a popular fixture of the community. The area around the store served as the county seat of Pittsylvania County until the end of 1776. Before the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Callands was also the seat of the Antrim Parish, which later became the Camden Parish, of the Virginia colony's established church, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The parish priest lived here, and traveled to other churches of the parish in rotation, including the Old Chapel Church in Penhook, Virginia. "The larger building, on the other side of present-day VA 969, appears (by its exterior and interior design, and by local tradition) to be the courthouse, constructed during 1772 by Roberts after five years' procrastination, but incomplete records of Roberts' tumultuous business and public dealings make it difficult to identify the building for certain as the courthouse structure. By 1777 the court had been moved to present-day Chatham, and by 1788 the large brick building had come into the ownership of James Smith and Samuel Calland. By 1792 Calland was sole owner, and in subsequent years his store and post office in this building gave the community the name used to this day."Mitchell, Henry
Whispers of the 1700s in Central Pittsylvania County: A Self-Guided Tour
/ref> The Callands Festival (Autumn Potpourri Festival) is held there on the first Saturday of each October.

External links

Virginia is for Lovers: Callands Festival

References

* Unincorporated communities in Virginia Unincorporated communities in Pittsylvania County, Virginia {{PittsylvaniaCountyVA-geo-stub