Renan 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 ...

in the northeastern part of

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 ...

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is included in the

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

. It is contained within the Staunton River Magisterial District, and is located on a crossroads between Straightstone, Mount Airy, and Hurt. The community of Renan was named in the second half of the 19th century after

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...

, French philosopher and theologian. The name of the community is pronounced with stress on the first syllable of the word, however.Garnett, Mary Brumfield. ''Bright Leaf: An Account of a Virginia Farm'' (1971) In the 1880s, the four-room Harmony Grove School served the area, which was then replaced by the brick Renan School. This was then closed and converted into a

Virginia furniture Virginia furniture is furniture that originates from the U.S. state of Virginia. Furniture was first produced in Virginia during the Colonial period and continued through the Industrial Revolution. Furniture production has decreased in recent time ...

factory. A store served the community from 1901 until the 1980s.

References

Unincorporated communities in Virginia Unincorporated communities in Pittsylvania County, Virginia Danville, Virginia micropolitan area {{PittsylvaniaCountyVA-geo-stub