Colleen is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Nelson County,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was originally named Cabellsville.Amherst County, Virginia Heritage Vol. II (2004 Walsworth Publishing Company), p. 1 From 1761, Colleen was the first seat of government of the original

Amherst County Amherst County is a county, located in the Piedmont region and near the center of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The county is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, and its county seat is also named Amhers ...

, when the county court first met at Henry Key's home near this central location in the newly formed county and ordered William Cabell to survey the line dividing it from the former

Albemarle County Albemarle County is a United States county located in the Piedmont region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is Charlottesville, which is an independent city entirely surrounded by the county. Albemarle County is part of the Ch ...

. The new courthouse was erected on Lunsford Lomax's land by March 1762. In 1807, Virginia's legislature formed Nelson County, so the county seat had to be relocated. The Amherst County judges met at

New Glasgow New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,471 ...

(sometimes called Cabellsburg) and ordered a new courthouse built nearby. That frame courthouse was finished in 1810 and replaced by the current courthouse in 1870. Meanwhile, the Nelson County seat was transferred to Lovingston, and a courthouse built in 1809.

References

GNIS reference
Unincorporated communities in Nelson County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia {{NelsonCountyVA-geo-stub