Doswell 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 ...

Hanover County Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover Courthouse. Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region. History Located in the wester ...

in the Central Region of the U.S. Commonwealth of

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 ...

. Originally called Hanover Junction, it was located on the

Virginia Central Railroad The Virginia Central Railroad was an early railroad in the U.S. state of Virginia that operated between 1850 and 1868 from Richmond westward for to Covington. Chartered in 1836 as the Louisa Railroad by the Virginia General Assembly, the railr ...

(later, part of the C&O) at a crossing of the

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad compan ...

, a north–south route. Both railroads are now owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

, although the former Virginia Central line is leased to a short-line carrier,

Buckingham Branch Railroad Buckingham Branch Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad operating over 275 miles (443 km) of historic and strategic trackage in Central Virginia. Sharing overhead traffic with CSX and Amtrak, the company's headquarters are in Dill ...

. The area near the Doswell train station is a popular train-watching site for

railfans A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

. The name was changed to Doswell in the early 1890s in honor of Major Thomas Doswell (1823—90). The first Doswell in the area was James Doswell, a captain in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Formerly consisting primarily of farmland, Doswell currently has many residents who commute to jobs in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Attractions

Kings Dominion Kings Dominion is an amusement park located in Doswell, Virginia, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 ri ...

, a major amusement park that is owned by

Cedar Fair Cedar Fair, L.P., formally Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered at its Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. The company owns and operates eleven amusement parks, nine included-w ...

, and

Meadow Event Park The Meadow Event Park (also called "The Meadow") is an event center in Doswell, Virginia. It was first called the Meadow Stables. The park hosts the annual State Fair of Virginia. On March 14, 2013, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation bought th ...

, home of the

Virginia State Fair The State Fair of Virginia is a state fair held annually at the end of September at The Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia. Through 2008, the fair was held at the Richmond Raceway Complex, located in eastern Henrico County, just outside ...

, are located in the vicinity of Doswell. There are also several historic sites in the area, such as

Church Quarter Church Quarter is a historic home located at Doswell, Hanover County, Virginia. It was built in 1843, and is a one-story, three-bay, gable-roof, log dwelling. It has exposed logs with V-notching and two exterior end chimneys. Also on the prope ...

and

Sharp's Oakland Sharp's Oakland is a historic home located at Doswell, Hanover County, Virginia. It was built about 1890, and is a three-story, I-house frame dwelling in the Second Empire style. It features a high mansard roof still covered with patterned woo ...

which are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Major roads

* *
*
* Verdon Road * Doswell Road

Notable people

Mittie Frances Clarke Point Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller (, Point; after first marriage, Davis; after second marriage, Miller; April 30, 1850 – December 26, 1937) was the pen name of Mittie Frances Clarke Point, an American novelist. She wrote 80 dime novels during a 50-year ...

(1850-1937), dime novelist *Triple Crown champion

Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown, se ...

(born 1970)

References

External links

Hanover County Economic DevelopmentC&O Piedmont Subdivision – Doswell
Unincorporated communities in Hanover County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{HanoverCountyVA-geo-stub