South Boston, formerly Boyd's Ferry, is a town in
Halifax County,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
, United States. The population was 8,142 at the 2010 census,
down from 8,491 at the 2000 census. It is the most populous town in Halifax County.
History
On December 8, 1796, the
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1 ...
authorized eight commissioners to establish at Boyd's Ferry on the south side of the
Dan River the town of South Boston, named for
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
,
. Because this site proved vulnerable to flooding, it was eventually abandoned in favor of a new settlement on the north side. By the 1850s the
Richmond and Danville Railroad passed through South Boston, which eventually developed into an important market for brightleaf tobacco. In 1884 it was incorporated as a town; in 1960 it became an
independent city; and in 1995 it made history by being the first city in Virginia to revert to town status and rejoined Halifax County.
Within the town limits
Berry Hill Plantation
Berry Hill Plantation, also known simply as Berry Hill, is a historic plantation located on the west side of South Boston in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The main house, transformed c. 1839 into one of Virginia's finest examples o ...
,
E. L. Evans House,
Reedy Creek Site
The Reedy Creek Site (44HA22) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site located in Halifax County, Virginia, near the town of South Boston. The site was first inhabited in the Late Archaic period from 2000 to 1000 B.C. Later, from 900 to 1400 A.D. ...
,
South Boston Historic District
South Boston Historic District is a national Historic district (United States), historic district located at South Boston, Virginia, South Boston, Halifax County, Virginia. The district includes 594 contributing buildings and 7 contributing struc ...
, 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 artist ...
.
Fourqurean House
The Fourqurean House, once part of the Little Plantation, is a historic house on Bold Spring Road, southwest of South Boston, Virginia. It is a modest -story wood-frame structure, with a clapboarded exterior, end chimneys, and gabled roof. It h ...
,
Glennmary,
Glenwood,
Tarover, and
Seaton are nearby.
South Boston was home to the National Tobacco Festival (a typically three day annual festival held every Fall) from its inception in 1935 to 1941, when it was suspended during World War II. In 1948, the festival was moved to
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
when it outgrew the town. It was held in Richmond until 1984, when it was canceled due to rising production costs and decreased interest.
South Boston was the second largest producer of tobacco in the United States until the
Great Depression.
Geography
South Boston is located south of the center of Halifax County at (36.707722, −78.903388).
It is bordered to the south by the unincorporated community of
Riverdale.
U.S. Route 501
U.S. Route 501 (US 501) is a spur of U.S. Route 1. It runs 355 miles (571 km) from Buena Vista, Virginia at U.S. Route 60 to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at U.S. Route 17 Business.
It passes through the states of Virginia, North Carolina a ...
passes through the center of the town, leading north to
Halifax, the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
, and south to
Roxboro, North Carolina.
U.S. Route 360 crosses the southeast corner of the town limits, leading northeast to
Keysville and west to
Danville.
U.S. Route 58
U.S. Route 58 (US 58) is an east–west U.S. Highway that runs for from U.S. Route 25E just northwest of Harrogate, Tennessee, to U.S. Route 60 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Until 1996, when the Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened, US 58 ran only ...
passes through the southernmost part of South Boston with US 360, leading west with it to Danville but running east to
South Hill.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy
An economy is an area of th ...
, South Boston has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.74%, are water.
The
Dan River, a tributary of the
Roanoke River, flows to the east along the southern edge of the town.
Climate
Major highways
*
*
*
*
*
*
Demographics
As of the census
of 2000, there were 8,491 people, 3,502 households, and 2,185 families residing in the town. The population density was 694.7 people per square mile (268.3/km
2). There were 3,946 housing units at an average density of 322.8 per square mile (124.7/km
2). The racial makeup of the town was 50.63%
White
White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 47.25%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.21%
Native American, 0.48%
Asian, 0.51% from
other races, and 0.92% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or
Latino of any race were 1.45% of the population.
There were 3,502 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 20.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.6% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $25,964, and the median income for a family was $34,848. Males had a median income of $28,212 versus $20,371 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,872. About 15.3% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 23.9% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Jeremy Jeffress, former pitcher for the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...
and
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
*
Michael Tucker, Major League Baseball player
*
William M. Tuck
William Munford Tuck (September 28, 1896 – June 9, 1983) was an American lawyer and lieutenant in the Byrd Organization, who served as the 55th Governor of Virginia from 1946 to 1950 as a Democrat, and as a U.S. Congressman from 1953 until 196 ...
, 55th Governor of
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...
, born in
Halifax County, Virginia and rests in South Boston.
*
Walter B. Scates, Chief Justice of the
Illinois Supreme Court and Illinois Attorney General, born in South Boston
* Burton Family of
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...
.
Ward and
Jeff Burton
Jeffrey Tyler Burton (born June 29, 1967), nicknamed The Mayor, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and current racing commentator. He scored 21 career victories in the NASCAR Cup Series, including two Coca-Cola 600s in ...
, both brothers, are from South Boston and prepared for their racing career at
South Boston Speedway. Their children
Jeb (Ward) and
Harrison (Jeff) are from the city as well.
*
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
player
Tyrone Davis of the
New York Jets and
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...
is from South Boston.
*
Robert Llewellyn
Robert Llewellyn (born 10 March 1956) is a British actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He plays the mechanoid Kryten in the sci-fi television sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and formerly presented the engineering gameshow '' Scrapheap Challenge''. ...
, born December 29, 1945 in
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...
, is a professional photographer who grew up in South Boston and now lives in
Earlysville, Virginia.
*
Grandmaster Slice
Grandmaster Slice was an American hip-hop musician whose album ''Electric Slide (Shall We Dance)'' helped popularize the electric slide dance.Hoffmann, Frank W. (2006) ''Rhythm and blues, rap, and hip-hop, Volume 6,'' p. 109. Infobase Publishing, ...
, American hip-hop musician
*
Greg Vanney
Greg Vanney (born June 11, 1974) is an American former professional soccer player and head coach of the LA Galaxy in Major League Soccer.
A defender and one of MLS's original players, Vanney spent 10 seasons in the league and another three-and-a- ...
, former professional soccer player and head coach of the
LA Galaxy.
*
G. C. Waldrep
G. C. Waldrep (born George Calvin Waldrep III; 1968) is an American poet and historian.
Biography
Waldrep was born in South Boston, Virginia. He earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees in history at Harvard University and Duke University, resp ...
, poet and historian, was born and raised in South Boston.
* Olympic high jumper
Tisha Waller is from South Boston.
*
Jay Blackton, who won an Academy Award for
Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture in ''
Oklahoma!
''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells ...
'', is buried in South Boston.
See also
*
List of former counties, cities, and towns of Virginia
References
Further reading
Substantial Changes to Counties and County Equivalent Entities: 1970–PresentUnited States Census Bureau
External links
Town of South Boston official websiteHalifax County Department of Tourism''South Boston News & Record''''The Gazette-Virginian''Town records 1905–1999online at
Footnote.com
iArchives, Inc., formerly Automated Solutions, Inc., was an dotcom company based in Lindon, Utah, United States. iArchives was acquired on by Ancestry.com, Inc., where it was merged with Ancestry's other inhouse and purchased archive holdings ...
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Towns in Virginia
Towns in Halifax County, Virginia
Populated places established in 1796
1796 establishments in Virginia