The Tri-Cities of Virginia (also known as the Tri-City area or the Appomattox Basin) is an area in the

Greater Richmond Region The Greater Richmond Region, the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond, Virginia, Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the ...

which includes the three

independent cities An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell and portions of the adjoining counties of

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

, Dinwiddie, and Prince George in south-central

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 ...

. Other unincorporated communities located in the Tri-Cities area include Ettrick, Fort Lee, and

City Point City Point of CityPoint may refer to: United Kingdom * CityPoint, an office tower in London, England United States *City Point (New Haven), a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut * City Point, a section of the South Boston area in Boston, Massac ...

, the latter formerly a historic incorporated town which was annexed to become part of the City of Hopewell.

Regional description

The Tri-Cities area is centered on the

Appomattox River The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia in the United ...

about south of

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, ...

. The Appomattox has its confluence with the

James River The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...

near historic

in Hopewell. The applicable

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 ...

for the Tri-Cities area is the

Richmond, VA MSA The Greater Richmond Region, the Richmond metropolitan area or Central Virginia, is a region and metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Virginia, centered on Richmond. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the area as the Richm ...

, which includes Richmond and counties generally to the north of the Tri-Cities area. Economic diversity is typical of the entire Richmond-Petersburg region, and helps to insulate it from hardship due to economic fluctuation in particular sectors of the economy.The tri-city region has been undergoing a opioid epidemic for several years now as well. The region's central location also allows it to benefit from growth in other regions of Virginia and the state as a whole.

Transportation in the Tri-Cities

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 ...

is the major north-south highway. Interstate 85 and Interstate 295 also pass through, as does U.S. Route 1 (The Boulevard in Colonial Heights),

U.S. Route 301 U.S. Route 301 (US 301) is a spur of U.S. Route 1 running through the South Atlantic States. It runs from Biddles Corner, Delaware at Delaware Route 1 to Sarasota, Florida at U.S. Route 41. It passes through the states of Delaware, Mar ...

, State Route 144 (Temple Avenue). Major east-west highways are

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 ...

State Route 10 Route 10, or Highway 10, can refer to routes in the following countries: International * European route E10 * European route E010 Argentina * La Pampa Provincial Route 10 Australia Queensland * Smith Street Motorway (Queensland) * Scenic H ...

, and State Route 36. Major river crossings include the

Martin Luther King Memorial Bridge The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge carries U.S. Route 1 and U.S. Route 301 (Jefferson Davis Highway) across the Appomattox River at the Atlantic Seaboard fall line. It joins Colonial Heights and Petersburg, Virginia. Originally constru ...

and the twin

Charles Hardaway Marks Bridges Charles Hardaway Marks Bridges are twin spans which carry State Route 10 (Virginia), State Route 10 across the Appomattox River in Virginia. The bridges are in Chesterfield County, Virginia, Chesterfield County, Prince George County, Virginia, Pr ...

across the

, and the

Varina-Enon Bridge Varina-Enon Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge which carries Interstate 295 across the James River near Dutch Gap between Henrico County near Richmond and Chesterfield County near Hopewell, Virginia. It was opened to traffic in July 1990. The Vari ...

and the

Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. The bridge carries vehicle traffic of State Route 106 and ...

across the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

passenger

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

service is provided with a station at Ettrick, 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 Chesterfield County adjacent to both Petersburg and Colonial Heights. Freight railroad service is provided by both

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. ...

and Norfolk Southern Corporation. Bus Transportation is provided by the Petersburg Area Transitbr>
There are nine routes serving parts of Petersburg, Ettrick, Colonial Heights (Southpark Mall area), Fort Lee, and Prince George County that all have their intersection in Old Town. PAT and

GRTC The Greater Richmond Transit Company, known locally as GRTC Transit System, is a local government-owned public service company which operates an urban-suburban bus line based in Richmond, Virginia. In , the system had a ridership of , or about pe ...

together provide express bus service between Richmond and Petersburg, with some express buses stopping at John Tyler Community College in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

Media

Periodicals include: * The ''

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

'', local daily paper for

. * ''

The Progress-Index The ''Progress-Index'' is a daily newspaper published in Petersburg, Virginia. Its print edition is published Monday through Sunday morning, and its website is updated regularly throughout the day with breaking news, feature stories, photographs a ...

'', local daily paper for the Tri-Cities and Sussex located in

. * ''The Colonial Voice'', a weekly for Colonial Heights. * The
Fort Lee Traveller
', for U.S. Army post and headquarters Fort Lee. * The
Chester Village News
', for Chesterfield County. *
The Hopewell News & Patriot
', (defunct) for Hopewell,

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 ...

and Colonial Heights. Radio and television stations are the same as those listed for

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 ...

Culture

Like many cities in the United States, the city of

is a city that has sought to revitalize its downtown area by promoting its arts scene. In the 1990s and 2000s, several areas including the "Old Town" area has seen increased remodeling and renovating of old, abandoned buildings into loft apartments and eclectic restaurants. In 2004, the Shockoe Bottom Arts group moved from downtown Richmond to downtown Petersburg due to lower real estate prices there. Several

antique An antique ( la, antiquus; 'old', 'ancient') is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely ...

shops, a former train station, and a theater are the centerpiece of "old town" See Also:

Similarly, Hopewell has commenced a revitalization projects with renovations of their harbor complex, "Town Triangle," and the historic Beacon Theater. Other cultural productions in the tri-cities occur at local colleges and at the Fort Lee Playhouse on Fort Lee.

Education

Educational facilities in the region are listed as follows: *K-12 **

Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology The Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts And Technology (locally and colloquially sometimes known as ARGS, Appomattox, or the Governor's School) is a public regional magnet high school in downtown Petersburg, Virginia, United State ...

Chesterfield Public Schools Chesterfield County Public Schools is the state school, public school system of Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. As of 2020, there are about 63,000 students enrolled in 64 schools. There are 39 elementary schools (grades K-5), 12 midd ...

** Hopewell Public Schools ** Petersburg Public Schools **

Prince George Public Schools A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

Dinwiddie Public Schools Dinwiddie may refer to: * Ettleton, a village in the Scottish Borders * Dinwiddie, Indiana, unincorporated community * Dinwiddie County, Virginia, a county in Virginia, United States ** Dinwiddie, Virginia, the county seat of Dinwiddie County * F ...

** Colonial Heights Public Schools *Colleges and Universities **

Richard Bland College Richard Bland College is a public junior college associated with the College of William & Mary and located in Prince George County, Virginia. Richard Bland College was established in 1960 by the Virginia General Assembly as a branch of the College ...

(Petersburg) **

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of high ...

(Ettrick) ** John Tyler Community College (Chester) ** Army Logistics Management College (Fort Lee)

Infrastructure

The area is served by several

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

John Randolph Medical Center John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(a HCA Hospital) (Hopewell),

Hiram Davis Medical Center Hiram may refer to: People * Hiram (name) Places * Hiram, Georgia ** Hiram High School, Hiram, Georgia * Hiram, Maine * Hiram, Missouri * Hiram, Ohio ** Hiram College, a private liberal arts college located in Hiram, Ohio ***Hiram Terriers, the ...

(Acute Care) (Petersburg),

Southside Regional Medical Center Bon Secours - Southside Medical Center is a 300-bed hospital near the Petersburg, VA tri-cities, VA area. The hospital was originally started in 1948 by the city of Petersburg, but was sold to Community Health Systems (a conglomerate based in Te ...

(Petersburg), and Poplar Springs Hospital (psychiatric facility) (Petersburg).

Southpark Mall

Southpark Mall is a large regional

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

in the tri-cities area. Built in 1988 at the intersection of State Route 144 and

, the

mall complex Mall commonly refers to a: * Shopping mall * Strip mall * Pedestrian street * Esplanade Mall or MALL may also refer to: Places Shopping complexes * The Mall (Sofia) (Tsarigradsko Mall), Sofia, Bulgaria * The Mall, Patna, Patna, Bihar, India * M ...

has expanded significantly to include many

big box Big Box, Big box, or Big-box may refer to: *Big-box store A big-box store (also hyperstore, supercenter, superstore, or megastore) is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, ...

retailers. While the mall itself is located in Colonial Heights, Virginia, other development has increased throughout the tri-cities.

Fort Lee

Fort Lee is a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

post and headquarters of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM), U.S. Army

Quartermaster Center and School The Quartermaster School (QMS) is a subordinate command of the United States Army's Combined Arms Support Command and is located at Fort Lee, Virginia. Shoulder Sleeve Insignia Description On a buff lozenge shaped field with rounded points, 2 ...

(QMCS), the Army Logistics Management College (ALMC) and the U.S. Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA). A United States Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) unit, the 49th Quartermaster Group (Petroleum and Water), is stationed here. Fort Lee also hosts two Army museums, the U.S.

Army Quartermaster Museum The United States Army Quartermaster Museum, located at Fort Lee, Virginia, is an AAM accredited museum in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The museum's aim is to preserve and exhibit the history of the Quartermaster Corps, which was formed in 1775. ...

and the U.S.

Army Women's Museum The United States Army Women's Museum is located in Fort Lee, Virginia. It provides exhibits and information related to the role of women in the United States Army, especially the Women's Army Corps. The museum was originally established in 195 ...

. The fort is named for

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 ...

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 ...

. Military personnel make up a significant presence in the tri-cities area.

Federal prisons

The Tri-cities also is home to a

federal prison A federal prison is operated under the jurisdiction of a federal government as opposed to a state or provincial body. Federal prisons are used for convicts who violated federal law (U.S., Mexico), inmates considered dangerous (Brazil), or those s ...

complex called the Petersburg Federal Correctional Complex. It consists of medium and low security

Federal Correctional Institution The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories: * United States penitentiaries * Federal correctional institutions * Private correctional institutions * Federal prison camps * Administrative facilities * Federal correctio ...

s known respectively as

FCI Petersburg Medium FCI may refer to: Companies and organizations * Falling Creek Ironworks, the first iron production facility in North America * Family Carers Ireland, Irish lobbying group * Federal Correctional Institution, part of the United States Bureau of Pri ...

and

FCI Petersburg Low FCI may refer to: Companies and organizations * Falling Creek Ironworks, the first iron production facility in North America * Family Carers Ireland, Irish lobbying group * Federal Correctional Institution, part of the United States Bureau of Pri ...

. Despite its name, the address of the Petersburg Federal Correctional Complex is actually in Prince George County. In addition, there is United States Probation Office near FCI – Petersburg, in Colonial Heights, Virginia, and the two agencies enjoy a supportive relationship.

Industries

* Puddledock Sand & Gravel, in Prince George County, Virginia is a quarry that has made significant alteration of the landscape along the

and State Route 144 (Temple Avenue). The quarry is currently owned by

Vulcan Materials Company Vulcan Materials Company () is an American company based in Birmingham, Alabama. It is principally engaged in the production, distribution and sale of construction materials. Vulcan is the largest producer of construction materials, primarily gra ...

and quarries natural

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

as well as

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

and

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...

s for

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

. Ruffin Mill Industrial Park or

Appomattox Industrial Park Appomattox, shorthand for the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant in the American Civil War, may refer to: * Battle of Appomattox Court House, a battle of the American Civil War that was a culmination of the Appomattox Campaign and resu ...

is located off Ruffin Mill Road exit from I-95 and is . Hopewell also is known for a number of

chemical manufacturing The chemical industry comprises the companies that produce industrial chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, it converts raw materials (oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, and minerals) into more than 70,000 different products. The pla ...

plants.

Civil War history

Many sites in the tri-cities area have names reflecting the region's role in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. A major logistics base for the Union Army was located at

and the City Point Railroad that enabled the siege of Petersburg is still in operation today. The history of the

Battle of the Crater The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the siege of Petersburg. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Arm ...

can be viewed in

Petersburg National Battlefield Park Petersburg National Battlefield is a National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monum ...

and is commemorated in nearby Crater Road'' and the Fort Lee entry "Mahone Gate" named after Brigadier General William Mahone, the hero of the

during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. Fort Lee itself is named after Confederate Civil War hero

References

External links

Area Map with Google Maps
{{coord, 37.2500, -77.4000, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Regions of Virginia Tri-Cities of Virginia Tri-Cities of Virginia Tri-Cities of Virginia Tri-Cities of Virginia Tri-Cities of Virginia Tri-Cities of Virginia Greater Richmond Region Tri-Cities of Virginia