Palmyra 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 Fluvanna 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 population as of the 2010 census was 104. Palmyra lies on the eastern bank of the

Rivanna River The Rivanna River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the James River in central Virginia in the United States. The Rivanna's tributaries o ...

along

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 or U.S. Highway 15 (US 15) is a United States Numbered Highway, serving the states of South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from US ...

. The ZIP code for Palmyra and surrounding rural land is 22963. The Fluvanna County Courthouse Historic District,

Glen Burnie Glen Burnie is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 72,891 at the 2020 census. History In 1812, Elias Glenn, a district attorn ...

, Pleasant Grove, and Seay's Chapel Methodist Church 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 ...

History

Before being named "Palmyra", the area was owned by the Timberlake family, and Reverend Walker Timberlake started a business there in 1814 called "Palmyra Mills". The village of Palmyra was founded and became the county seat of Fluvanna County in 1828, and its historic courthouse was built in 1830-1831. By 1835, there were fourteen homes, a church, three factories, and various other businesses, though only two families owned all the land other than the public buildings. In the mid-19th century, it was a stop along the

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

route between

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 ...

and Staunton. The Virginia Air Line Railway, which operated from 1908 to 1975, ran through Palmyra. The train traveled from Strathmore on the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

, to Cohasset, to Carysbrook, to Palmyra, to

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, and on to Gordonsville or

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

. A fire in 1930 destroyed many of the buildings on Main Street. As a result of 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 ...

, a smaller version of Palmyra was rebuilt after the fire.

Geography

Palmyra is in central Fluvanna County, on a hillside rising to the northeast above the

passes through the community, crossing the Rivanna at the south end of town. US 15 leads north to Gordonsville and south to

Farmville ''FarmVille'' is a series of agriculture-simulation social network games developed and published by Zynga in 2009. It is similar to '' Happy Farm'' and ''Farm Town''. Its gameplay involves various aspects of farmland management, such as plo ...

Virginia State Route 53 State Route 53 (SR 53) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. Known as Thomas Jefferson Parkway, the state highway runs from Virginia State Route 20, SR 20 near Charlottesville, Virginia, Charlottesville east to U.S. Route ...

intersects US 15 just south of the Rivanna River and leads northwest to Charlottesville. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the Palmyra CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.70%, is water.

Demographics

Palmyra 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.

Climate

Palmyra's climate is characterized by a notable change in seasons and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. 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 ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfa"(Humid Subtropical Climate).

Notable residents

Chris Adler Christopher James Adler (born November 23, 1972) is an American musician, best-known as a founding member and the longtime drummer of Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Lamb of God (band), Lamb of God from 1994 to 2019. He was also a Grammy A ...

, from the band Lamb of God * Willie Adler, from the band Lamb of God *

Chris Daughtry Christopher Adam Daughtry (; born December 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and comic book artist. He is the lead vocalist and a guitarist for the rock band Daughtry, which he formed after placing fourth on the fi ...

, musician (''American Idol'', Daughtry), graduated from

Fluvanna County High School Fluvanna County High School is a public school about two miles west of Palmyra, Virginia on Virginia State Route 53. It opened in 1934 as one of the first county consolidated high schools in the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. The school is n ...

in 1998. His parents still live in the area. *

Texas Jack Omohundro John Baker Omohundro (July 27, 1846 – June 28, 1880), also known as "Texas Jack", was an American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia, he served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He late ...

(1846-1880), frontier scout, actor, and cowboy born on the Pleasure Hill farm in Palmyra

References

{{Authority control Census-designated places in Fluvanna County, Virginia County seats in Virginia