Paineville is a rural

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 ...

in western

Amelia County Amelia County is a county located just southwest of Richmond in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The county is located in Central Virginia and is included in the Greater Richmond Region. Its county seat is Amelia Court House. Ameli ...

in the U.S. state 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 ...

. It is located in Leigh District around the intersections of SR 616 (S. Genito Road) with SR 644 (Fowlkes Bridge Road / Rocky Ford Road). Paineville straddles the border of ZIP codes 23002 ( Amelia Court House) and 23083 ( Jetersville). The community has its own fire station, Amelia County

Volunteer Fire Department A volunteer fire department (VFD) is a fire department of volunteers who perform fire suppression and other related emergency services for a local jurisdiction. Volunteer and retained (on-call) firefighters are expected to be on call to respond t ...

Company 5. A portion of the segment of

U.S. Bicycle Route 1 U.S. Bicycle Route 1 (often called U.S. Bike Route 1, abbreviated USBR 1) is a cross-country bicycle route that will run the length of the United States eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine. It is one of the two original U.S. Bicycle Routes ...

that runs southwest from

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, ...

follows SR 616 through Paineville.

History

Paineville was among the first towns in Amelia to get its own post office; as early as 1803, a "Painville" in Amelia County appeared on the official "List of Post-Offices in the United States" published by the Post Office Department. The town was commonly noted as "Painesville" in 19th-century sources. The branch there has since closed. On April 5, 1865, during the final days of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, as

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

and his army continued their westward retreat,

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

troops attacked and destroyed a

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

wagon train near Paineville. The engagement was one of the few, if not the only one, to involve Black Confederate troops, and was among a number of skirmishes in the last week before the surrender to

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

Appomattox Court House Appomattox Court House could refer to: * The village of Appomattox Court House, now the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, in central Virginia (U.S.), where Confederate army commander Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union commander Ulyss ...

on April 9, 1865. In the 1960s, after desegregation, the property of historic Paineville School, on Route 616, was put up for auction along with several other small schoolhouses in Amelia County. Although all the properties advertised were of similar description and most were Rosenwald Schools, it is unclear whether Paineville School was itself a Rosenwald. During the early 20th century, the Rosenwald School project constructed thousands of facilities across the South primarily for the education of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

children. As of 2023 the original Paineville structure was still intact, serving as an outbuilding for an adjacent house, and the property was again listed for sale.

References

Unincorporated communities in Amelia County, Virginia {{AmeliaCountyVA-geo-stub