Southside (Virginia)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Southside, or Southside Virginia, has traditionally referred to the portion of the state south of 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 ...
, the geographic feature from which the term derives its name. This was the first area to be developed in the colonial period. During the colonial era, Southside was considered the area where entrepreneurs settled, as opposed to some of the more established and wealthier families in the Tidewater counties. Many early Southside settlers were younger sons of established Tidewater families. A major portion of the territory was formed in 1703, when
Prince George County, Virginia Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. sta ...
was organized from Charles City County. Four other counties and three independent cities were formed from this territory, the counties in the 18th century and some of the independent cities in the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 21st century, however, some people use a more limited definition of the region that is confined to the Piedmont area: those counties lying south of the James River, west of the
Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...
, and east of the
Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a Physiographic regions of the United States, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern ...
. This is the southern portion of Virginia's
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
region. This definition describes an area often considered to be the heart of Southside. It also accounts for social and economic changes as the eastern counties developed dense populations, and the
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 ...
suburbs expanded to occupy large portions of Chesterfield and Powhatan counties. Southside Virginia is also known as Virginia's Black Belt, as it has long had a high concentration of
African-Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
relative to other regions of the state. Southside represents the northeastern extremity of the American Black Belt, a heavily African-American region stretching from Virginia to
East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...
.


Counties

Counties considered part of the region began with those divided from Prince George County: Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Nottoway, Amelia, and Prince Edward, formed from parts of Prince George County. In addition to Richmond, the independent city of
Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...
was established in this region. In addition, the western part of Southside has long been reputed for its isolated, rural, and culturally conservative character. Associated counties are
Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...
,
Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...
,
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
, Pittsylvania, Halifax, Charlotte,
Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin, Neubrandenburg, Wismar and Güstrow. ...
, Campbell, Lunenburg, Appomattox,
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
,
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...
,
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
, and Greensville counties. The independent cities of Danville, Emporia, and Martinsville are also considered to be in the western part of the region. The more rural, western areas of Southside are noted for sharing similarities and connections with
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. For instance, residents of Danville and Martinsville frequently visit the
Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and ...
for amenities and the
Piedmont Triad International Airport Piedmont Triad International Airport (; commonly referred to locally as "PTI") is an airport located in unincorporated Guilford County, North Carolina, west of Greensboro, serving the Piedmont Triad region of Greensboro, High Point and Winsto ...
. Residents of
South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
and
Clarksville, Virginia Clarksville is a town in Mecklenburg county in the U.S. state of Virginia, near the southern border of the commonwealth. The population was 1,139 at the 2010 census. Since the town has numerous buildings of the 18th-, 19th-, and early 20th-cen ...
travel to the
Research Triangle The Research Triangle, or simply The Triangle, are both common nicknames for a metropolitan area in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Anchored by the cities of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh an ...
for amenities, including use of the
Raleigh–Durham International Airport Raleigh–Durham International Airport , locally known by its IATA code RDU, is an international airport that serves Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, Durham, North Carolina, Durham, and the surrounding Research Triangle region of North Carol ...
.


Climate

Southside Piedmont region has a climate different from the coastal areas of Virginia. Summers are typically hot, with highs generally in the upper 80s to low 90s Fahrenheit or low 30s Celsius; quite often hotter than in
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 ...
. Winters are moderately cold, and nighttime lows often drop below freezing; frequently cooler than
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. Much of this has to do with the distance of the region from the temperature-moderating effect of the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. Snow and frozen precipitation (usually less than ) usually falls every year in Southside, with the western and northern fringes of the area getting several inches more snow than the rest.


Industries

Southside, along with much of Upper South, was long known for its
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
crop. The nutrient-rich soil, along with frequent spring rains, provided ideal growing conditions for tobacco, as well as
soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...
s and some cold-hardy
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
plants. Tobacco exhausts the soil, however, and in the early 19th century, planters moving into the Piedmont area shifted to mixed crops. The
Fall Line A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is noticeable especially the place rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the ...
was the area where the first industries were established, with mills running off the water power of rivers, in Richmond and
Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...
, for instance. Petersburg was an industrial city with a large proportion of free blacks even before the American Civil War. Beginning in the 1940s, various
textile mill Textile manufacturing or textile engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful good ...
s opened up in the Piedmont area of Southside, most notably the enormous Dan River Mills in Danville. Martinsville was also known for its textile mills as well. Companies like Tultex, Pannill Knitting Company, Fieldcrest, and Bassett-Walker. The city as called the " Sweatshirt Capital of the World". The textile industry, formerly located in New England and the Northeast, shifted to the South because of cheaper labor costs and less union organization. The cost of living in much of Southside is still low compared to most metropolitan areas. The Southside workforce found textile work to be much more lucrative than the low incomes associated with farming by that time. Mechanization required larger farms to be profitable. Along with
tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
manufacturing, textile mills added to the prosperity of the Southside region to become more prosperous. Beginning in the 1970s, however, many of the textile mills closed, outsourcing work to other countries where labor costs were cheaper, such as
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and other nations in Southeast Asia, and China. The waning demand for tobacco products due to health issues affected the Southside economy. Furniture manufacturing was another major industry, Kenlea Furniture operated for many years in Kenbridge and the Bassett Furniture company continues to operate in the town of Bassett. The Army bases
Fort Gregg-Adams Fort Lee (formerly Fort Gregg-Adams), in Prince George County, Virginia is a United States Army post and headquarters of the United States Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM)/ Sustainment Center of Excellence (SCoE), the United States Ar ...
and
Fort Barfoot Fort Pickett, formerly Fort Barfoot, is a Virginia Army National Guard installation, located near the town of Blackstone, Virginia. Home of the Army National Guard Maneuver Training Center, Fort Pickett was originally named for the United ...
employ many people. They were built up to a large extent during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Some residents commute from this area to the Philip Morris factory in south
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 ...
. In the 1990s new manufacturing jobs were established in the area, with manufacturing of industrial-grade metals and ceramics. Numerous
prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
were established in the area, and employed local people in relatively high-paying security jobs.


Media

Television stations A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...
are receivable from all parts of Southside, with the eastern parts receiving Richmond stations and the western parts receiving Roanoke/Lynchburg stations. In addition, some viewers on the northern edges of the region receive
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 ...
stations, while viewers on the southern edge receive
Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
/
Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...
/ High Point and Raleigh/Durham stations. While most people receive large-market
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
s from the same places as their TV stations, Southside has a large variety of local radio.
Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
stations tend to dominate Southside radio, though local
classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
,
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
,
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
, and
public radio Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
formats exist. All of Southside can receive Virginia's largest newspaper, the ''
Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-highest circul ...
''. Southside is also covered b
Cardinal News
a nonprofit newsroom that covers Southwest and Southside Virginia. In addition, all the towns listed below (and others) have local newspapers, and they are generally weekly publications.


Higher education

Colleges in the Southside region include: * Averett University *
Central Virginia Community College Central Virginia Community College (CVCC) is a public community college in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is part of the Virginia Community College System The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) oversees a network of 23 community colleges in Vi ...
*
Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...
*
Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...
*
Longwood University Longwood University is a public university in Farmville, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary and colloquially known as Longwood or Longwood College, it is the third-oldest public university in Virginia and one of ...
*
Lynchburg College The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and located in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It has approximately 2,800 undergraduate and graduate ...
* Patrick & Henry Community College * Randolph College *
Southside Virginia Community College Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC) is a public community college with two campuses in Virginia, one near Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of t ...
*
Virginia University of Lynchburg Virginia University of Lynchburg (VUL) is a private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Christianity, Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia. VUL offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctora ...


Cities and towns

*
Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
*
Altavista AltaVista was a web search engine established in 1995. It became one of the most-used early search engines, but lost ground to Google and was purchased by Yahoo! in 2003, which retained the brand, but based all AltaVista searches on its own sear ...
* Amelia Court House * Appomattox *
Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...
* Blackstone * Boydton * Bracey * Brookneal * Burkeville * Charlotte Court House * Chase City * Chatham * Clarksville *
Crewe Crewe () is a railway town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the parish had a population of 55,318 and the built-up area had a population of 74,120. ...
* Danville * Dillwyn * Dinwiddie * Drakes Branch * Emporia *
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 ...
* Gretna * Halifax *
Hurt Hurt may refer to: * Suffering * Pain * Injury Film and television * ''Hurt'' (2003 film), a Canadian drama film * ''Hurt'' (2009 film), an American horror film * ''Hurt'' (2015 film), a Canadian documentary film * ''Hurt'' (2018 film), an ...
* Kenbridge * Keysville * Lawrenceville * Lynchburg * Martinsville *
McKenney McKenney is an incorporated town in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, United States. The population was 483 at the 2010 census. History McKenney is located along a former railroad mainline. The Richmond, Petersburg and Carolina Railroad, passing throu ...
* Petersburg *
Powhatan Powhatan people () are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands who belong to member tribes of the Powhatan Confederacy, or Tsenacommacah. They are Algonquian peoples whose historic territories were in eastern Virginia. Their Powh ...
* Rocky Mount * Rustburg *
South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...
* South Hill *
Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...
*
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
* Virgilina


See also

*
Southern Virginia Southern Virginia is a region in the U.S. state of Virginia located along the border with North Carolina. The region includes the counties of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, and Pittsylvania, and the ...


References

{{Virginia Regions of Virginia