Heathsville is 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) in and 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 Northumberland 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. Heathsville is in the easternmost county of the

Northern Neck The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The P ...

of Virginia, which was the birthplace of three of the first five Presidents of the United States - George Washington, James Madison, and James Monroe. It is the county seat of Northumberland County, and has housed four county courthouses since the first was built in 1663. It is also home to numerous historical home sites, some dating to the late 18th century. The

Heathsville Historic District Heathsville Historic District is a national historic district located at Heathsville, Northumberland County, Virginia. The district includes 81 contributing buildings, 12 contributing sites, 4 contributing structures, and 4 contributing object ...

, Coan Baptist Church, Howland Chapel School, Kirkland Grove Campground, Rice's Hotel, Oakley, St. Stephen's Church, Sunnyside, and

The Academy An academy is an institution of secondary education or higher learning, research, or honorary membership. Academy may also refer to: Education * Academy (English school), formerly known as city academy, type of publicly financed but independently ...

are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Heathsville is named after lawyer and politician John Heath. The population as of the 2020 Census was 136. It is located on U.S. Route 360 (the Northumberland Highway) west of Reedville and east of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

History

In 1679, the county justices of Northumberland County sought to move their courthouse from the Hull Neck area to a more central locale in the county. To that end, local officials signed a contract with John Hughlett in 1680 to build a court house and attached prison upon "Mr. Hughlett's Indian Field," the future site of Heathsville. The court house would be completed the following year. For most of its early history, Heathsville remained a small hamlet, with fewer than 12 buildings through the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. These buildings were small, poorly maintained wooden homes that one 1784 court order described as a "public nuisance." However, the town continued to grow, and several influential residents of the county successfully petitioned 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, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

to incorporate Northumberland Court House as a town in 1797; this group included John Heath, for whom the town was named. In 1798, Anglo-American architect

Benjamin Henry Latrobe Benjamin Henry Boneval Latrobe (May 1, 1764 – September 3, 1820) was a British-American Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architect who immigrated to the United States. He was one of the first formally trained, professional architects in ...

surveyed the new town of Heathsville and divided it into 40 lots. By the early nineteenth century, Heathsville had continued its expansion, with one chronicler describing it as "a handsome post-village" with "a large church, an academy, and a mill." It was during this time in Heathsville's history that many of its historic homes ( Sunnyside, Springfield,

, and others) were built and expanded. Eventually, the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

would dampen Heathsville's continued growth, but the town largely recovered from the conflict by 1880. In 1873, an association of local women erected a new statue to the fallen soldiers of the Confederacy. Unlike many similar monuments, it did not feature a soldier, but a woman holding an anchor, symbolizing how the area's women served as an "anchor" for the community during the Civil War. Despite the area's geographical isolation, continued steamboat travel around the Northern Neck kept the town accessible during the postbellum years, but steamboat service was suspended in 1937. Also during this time, the pressures of

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from Rural area, rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

led many young residents away from Heathsville's farms and to more populated areas for employment. As the town's grist-milling, distilling, and wagon-making industries died out, the area became increasingly reliant on its courthouse to compensate for its lack of manufacturing. Today, Heathsville's population continues to shrink, having lost over one-quarter of its population since 1980. The local Chamber of Commerce describes Heathsville as "based in the 18th century but living in the 21st." The area behind the old courthouse is home to a farmer's market the third Saturday of each month from April through October. This area also hosts craft guilds dedicated to the preservation and use of pre-industrial skills, including iron forging, wood working, quilting, and weaving.

Demographics

Heathsville 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. ''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Northumberland County, Virginia County seats in Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia