New Bohemia is an unincorporated community in

Prince George County Prince George County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George, Virginia ...

, Virginia, United States, along

U.S. Route 460 U.S. Route 460 (US 460) is a spur route of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles (1,054 km) from Norfolk, Virginia, at its parent route U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky, intersecting its parent route once ...

. It was also once known as Wells or Wells Station. New Bohemia was established early in the 20th century by a group of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n and Slovak immigrants who had previously settled in the industrial and mining sections of western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. In the late 19th century, over 700 Czech and Slovak families settled Prince George and neighboring counties. They had been farmers in Europe and relocated to the area due to the availability of cheap farmland. Their success in rehabilitating worn-out farms, where production had almost vanished under monoculture tobacco production, and producing new crops such as peanuts, led to the immigration of other Bohemians and Slovaks, with a sprinkling of Germans, Austrians,

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

, Russians, and

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

ns, many of whom came directly from their homelands. Some Bohemian and Slovak families who had homesteaded in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

also moved back east and bought farms in Prince George. Historically, there was a strong connection between the Czech and Slovak communities in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

and the Czech and Slovak communities in Prince George County, Virginia. The members of the two communities would often travel back and forth between Baltimore and Prince George County in order to cooperate on events. In the late 1980s Interstate 295 was built through the area which brought commercial development to the previously rural community. Several farms were taken to construct the highway and a

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

at Interstate 295 and

. Due to its location along the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the company operates 19,420 route miles (31 ...

at the junction of Interstate 295 and

, and its close proximity to the junction of

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

and Interstate 85 much of the remaining farmland and timberland around New Bohemia has since been sold for commercial development including a large truck stop, and intermodal freight transport facilities. Several large tracts of land including a parcel previously used as a drop zone by the U.S. Army at nearby Fort Lee were acquired in the early 21st century by Prince George County for the development of an Industrial Park.

References

Czech-American culture in Virginia Polish-American culture in Virginia Unincorporated communities in Prince George County, Virginia Russian-American culture Slovak-American culture in Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{PrinceGeorgeCountyVA-geo-stub