Amelia Court House (also known as Amelia Courthouse and Amelia) is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Amelia County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

and a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP). The population as of the 2010 census was 1,099. The town was named for

Princess Amelia of Great Britain Princess Amelia of Great Britain (Amelia Sophia Eleonore; 10 June 1711 (Old Style and New Style dates, New Style) – 31 October 1786) was the second daughter of King George II of Great Britain and Caroline of Ansbach, Queen Caroline. Born in ...

, the second daughter of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

's King George II, in 1735.

History

Amelia Court House was founded in a rural area of the

Virginia Piedmont The Piedmont region of Virginia is a part of the greater Piedmont physiographic region which stretches from the falls of the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region runs across the middle of the state fr ...

developed for plantations of mixed crops. In the 19th century, spas were developed around nearby mineral springs, which served as vacation destinations for travelers. Visitors arrived by railroad after one was built to serve the area. Among the planters who came to the spas with their families was

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

, the future Confederate general. By the 1850s, the new

Richmond and Danville Railroad The Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) Company was a railroad that operated independently from 1847 until 1894, first in the U.S. state of Virginia, and later on of track in nine states. Chartered on March 9, 1847, the railroad completed its ...

(later the Southern Railway) had been extended to the village. The R&D was a crucial supply line for the Confederacy during the Civil War. After General Robert E. Lee retreated from Petersburg in 1865, he spent April 4 and 5 in Amelia Court House waiting for desperately needed supplies from

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

. Those supplies never arrived. Instead, a train came through carrying government documents. The last major engagement of Lee's army with Union forces occurred April 6, 1865, on the border of Amelia County at the

Battle of Sayler's Creek A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The offices of Amelia's court clerks contain records dating before the Civil War, unlike many other Virginia courthouses, which lost such records in wartime destruction. The Union forces were rushing to catch up to Lee's

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was a field army of the Confederate States Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed agains ...

and did not ensure that the courthouse records were burned. The iron shutters and brick construction of the courthouse protected its contents . In the 20th century, the area was still known for the

amazonite Amazonite, also known as amazonstone, is a green tectosilicate mineral, a variety of the potassium feldspar called microcline. Its chemical formula is KAlSi3O8, which is Polymorphism (materials science), polymorphic to orthoclase. Its name is ta ...

produced at the Morefield Mine. Amazonite is a crystallized stone, a green variety of

microcline Microcline (KAlSi3O8) is an important igneous rock-forming tectosilicate mineral. It is a potassium-rich alkali feldspar. Microcline typically contains minor amounts of sodium. It is common in granite and pegmatites. Microcline forms during s ...

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

. A countywide festival called Amelia Day is held each May on the Saturday before Mother's Day. The festival started in the 1980s to celebrate the town's founding. Vendors, local clubs, and citizens organize to enjoy music, dancing, and socializing. At the first Amelia Day, residents signed a long roll that, along with other items, was put in a time capsule and buried in the courthouse green near the Confederate War Memorial.

Tornadoes

In 2003, Amelia Day was cancelled after the courthouse green was struck by an F1 tornado on Friday,

May 8 Events Pre-1600 * 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin. * 413 – Emperor Honorius signs a ...

, the day before the festival. The tornado destroyed most of the trees on the green. A small Virginia tornado alley exists in Central Virginia, and Amelia County has had numerous tornado touchdowns. Tornadoes of note include the April 30, 1924, twister that passed east of the courthouse area, traveling from Jetersville to Chula, killing one person and injuring seven others. A tornado hit Amelia County on October 13, 1983, one of a family of tornadoes that affected much of Central and Northern Virginia. Other strong tornadoes have affected the county, especially to the east.

Transportation

Business Routes

State Routes

(Five Forks Rd., N. Five Forks Rd., and Virginia, Court, Washington, & Church Streets)

Climate

Like much of the South, the area is characterized by long, hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Amelia Court House has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

Amelia Court House was first listed as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2010 U.S. Census.

Points of interest

* Amelia Golf & Country Club * Joe Paulette Memorial Park * Tom Scott Park * Rennie Memorial Presbyterian Church, a historic congregation south of town

Notable people

Worth McMillion Hollingsworth "Worth" McMillion (October 6, 1926 – June 5, 2015) was a NASCAR Grand National driver who participated from 1962 to 1969 for 62 races. Career His first event was the 1962 untitled race at South Boston Speedway while his final eve ...

, racing driver *

Landon Pembelton Landon Pembelton (born February 2, 2005) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the Late Model Stock Car division at South Boston Speedway and the Virginia Triple Crown, driving the No. 00 Chevrolet Camaro ...

, racing driver *

Toby Wing Toby Wing (born Martha Virginia Wing; July 14, 1915 – March 22, 2001), "Toby" being an old family nickname, was an American actress and showgirl, once called "the most beautiful chorus girl in Hollywood". Early years Wing was born in Am ...

, early 20th century actress, was born in Amelia Court House.

References

External links

Official Amelia County government website
{{authority control Census-designated places in Amelia County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia County seats in Virginia