Petersburg, VA

At the time the English arrived in Virginia in the early 1600s, the site was occupied by a significant Powhatan settlement, shown on Captain John Smith's map as Appamatuck. It was the seat of a sub-tribe of Native Americans of the same name, and governed by a "queen" who was affiliated with Chief Powhatan and the Powhatan Confederacy.

Petersburg grew from the former Fort Henry, established by the English on the south bank of the Appomattox River in 1645. The city developed rapidly. The Virginia General Assembly formally organized it in 1748. The Battle of Petersburg in 1781 was a part of the British attempt to regain control of Virginia.

The Port of Petersburg became renowned as a commercial center for transporting and processing cotton, tobacco and metal, produced and shipped from the region. As travel technology developed, Petersburg became established as a railroad center, with links completed to Richmond to the north, Farmville and Lynchburg to the west, and Weldon, North Carolina to the south. The last major line was to the east, when the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was completed in 1858.

Paved streets began to appear in 1813, soon followed by a canal bypassing the Appomattox Falls. Railroad lines linking the city to all points of the compass came next, gaslights were introduced in 1851, and a new municipal water system was installed by 1857. All these civic improvements helped attract and hold a substantial business community, based on manufacture of tobacco products, but also including cotton and flour mills and banking.

Civil War

Petersburg's 1860 population was 18,266, half of whom were black. Nearly one-third of them were free blacks. Petersburg had the highest percentage of free African American men and women in the slave-holding states of the Confederacy and the Union. Ninety percent of the white half were native Virginians. Their devotion to the cause during the War of 1812 inspired the nickname "Cockade City" in honor of the rosette they wore on their caps.

When the Civil War started in 1861, Petersburg's men again responded. They provided the South several infantry companies and artillery units, as well as three troops of cavalry. In 1864, Petersburg was a significant target during the Overland Campaign of Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Because of its railroads, Petersburg was the lifeline to Richmond, the Capital of the Confederacy.

After the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant stayed east of Richmond and headed south to Petersburg. Grant decided to cut off the rail lines into Petersburg, and thus Richmond's supplies. On June 9, troops under William F. "Baldy" Smith, of the 18th Corps, attacked the Dimmock Line, a set of defensive breastworks originally constructed in 1861 and 1862 to protect Petersburg against the Army of the Potomac under General George McClellan during the Peninsula Campaign. in early April 1865 The Confederate troops numbered around 2,000. The lines could have easily been taken, but with the memory of Cold Harbor still fresh, Generals Smith and Hancock were reluctant to attack a fortified line. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard alerted Lee that he was facing the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg. Lee later arrived, and the 292-day Siege of Petersburg began.

On the Eastern Front, the trench lines were very close together. One soldier in the 48th Pennsylvania, a coal miner in civilian life, remarked aloud, "We could blow that battery into oblivion if we could dig a mine underneath it." Colonel Henry Pleasants, division commander, took this idea seriously and moved it up the chain of command. The plan was given the go ahead. On July 30, the mine was exploded. Due to poor Union leadership and the timely arrival of Confederate General William Mahone, the Union lost the Battle of the Crater. They suffered more than 4,000 casualties. This famous battle was portrayed in the motion picture Cold Mountain.

In early April 1865, Union troops pushed successfully on their left flank to reach both the railroad to Weldon, North Carolina and the South Side Railroad. These were Petersburg's crucial lifelines to the rest of the Confederacy and supplies. With these developments, the Siege of Petersburg ended. The fall of Petersburg also signaled that the Confederate capital of Richmond could not be defended, and precipitated Robert E. Lee's last retreat march which ended later that month with surrender at Appomattox Court House and essentially, the end of the war. Confederate General Ambrose P. (A.P.) Hill died on the last day the Confederates occupied the Petersburg trenches. The use of an extended network of fortified entrenchments around Petersburg established a warfare precedent. Trenches would be used extensively in Europe during World War I (qv. Trench warfare).

Postbellum history

The city was ringed with a series of fortifications during the years of "Reconstruction" following the war. Many of these have been preserved within Petersburg National Battlefield Park and in neighboring Dinwiddie County.

In 1874 during Reconstruction, James M. Wilkerson, Sr. founded a business named the Wilkerson Undertaking Company. It continues to operate as the James M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc. [1] and is one of the oldest black-owned firms in the United States. Central State (psychiatric) Hospital and Fort Lee, housing the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Center and School, are also located nearby.

The Petersburg area is home to Virginia State University, founded in 1882 (in Ettrick) as Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute. It was one of the first fully state-supported four-year institutions of higher learning for African Americans. In 1888, the school's first president, John Mercer Langston, became the first African American to be elected to the United States Congress from Virginia.

Petersburg was named an All American city in 1958. Retail and industry prospered there until 1983. Like many American cities, racial tensions flared from 1968 to 1980, due in part to public school desegregation. Traditional white families fled the town starting in 1977 to neighboring communities and to Richmond. City leaders were unable to keep Brown & Williamson tobacco company, a top employer, from relocating to Macon, GA in 1985. An attempt to annex a large section of neighboring Prince George County in 1986, failed. And when negotiations to build a new regional mall in Petersburg soured, retail merchants left in 1989 to the new Southpark mall area, north of town. Petersburg suffered an economic setback.

As of 2007, Petersburg is an evolving small city. The former downtown area, once vibrant near the north end of Sycamore Street, had declined into desolation by the late 20th century because suburban development drew off retail. Structural changes caused loss of local jobs.

Like some other old, East Coast small downtowns, lately Petersburg has been having a rebirth. Many restaurants, specialty shops, and up-scale apartments and condos have been developed, with more underway. Southern Living magazine recently featured this area, as did HGTV's "What You Get For The Money". The area has also become a booming arts center. It has both an area Arts League as well as a Performing Arts Center and restaurant, the Sycamore Rouge. The city celebrates a "Friday of the Arts" on the second Friday of each month, in which many locations feature local artwork and live music.

Wellotson Holdings, LLC, an investment firm based in Petersburg, has purchased many buildings in the area. It has renovated several into stores, restaurants, and a large antique mall, called The Oak Antique Mall. Wellotson Holdings is renovating other buildings in Old Towne for both housing and commercial development.

Location

Located along the eastern seaboard, approximately halfway between New York and Florida, Petersburg is at the juncture of Interstates 95 and 85, just 23 miles south of Virginia's state capital, Richmond. The city is one of 13 jurisdictions that comprise the Richmond-Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Petersburg is a part of the Tri-cities, Virginia regional economy known as the "Appomattox Basin" that includes the counties of Dinwiddie and Prince George, the southern part of Chesterfield County, and the cities of Hopewell and Colonial Heights.

Industry and revitalization

Petersburg has a long history as an industrial center for Virginia. It was home to many tobacco companies, including tobacco giant Brown & Williamson. The Southern Chemical Co., the original maker of Fleets Phoso-soda (used in hospitals world wide), was a well known brand name associated with the town. Arnold Pen Co., Seward Trunk Co.,Titmus Optical, Brenco Ball bearings, and Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the top twenty pharmaceutical manufacturers, call Petersburg home.

Since the departure of Brown & Williamson, Petersburg has invested heavily in historic preservation of architecture, as the city has a large inventory of 18th, 19th and 20th century structures in its historic neighborhoods. Groups like Historic Petersburg Foundation and Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities have worked to restore many of the city's buildings.

Geography

Petersburg is located at 37°12′46″N, 77°24′1″W (37.21295, -77.400417)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.2 square miles (60.1 km²), of which, 22.9 square miles (59.3 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (1.29%) is water.

Petersburg is located on the Appomattox River at the fall line, which marks the area where an upland region (continental bedrock) and a coastal plain (coastal alluvia) meet. The fall line is typically prominent where a river crosses its rocky boundary as there are rapids or waterfalls. River boats could not travel any farther inland, making the location the head of navigation. The need of a port and abundant supply of water power causes settlements to develop where a river crosses the fall line.

The most prominent example of fall line settlement was the establishment of the cities along the eastern coast of the United States where the Appalachian Rise and the coastal plains meet.

Adjacent counties / Independent city

Chesterfield County, Virginia - northwest
Colonial Heights, Virginia - north
Dinwiddie County, Virginia - west, southwest
Prince George County, Virginia - east, southeast

National protected area

Petersburg National Battlefield Park (part)

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 33,740 people, 13,799 households, and 8,513 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,474.6 people per square mile (569.4/km²). There were 15,955 housing units at an average density of 697.3/sq mi (269.2/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 18.52% White, 78.97% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population.

In 2005 Petersburg's population was 18.4% non-Hispanic whites. African-Americans were a slightly smaller percentage of the city's total population, now only numbering 78.6% of the total. 0.9% of the population was Asian and 2.1% were Latino.

There were 13,799 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 26.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 32.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city, the population was spread out with 25.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,851, and the median income for a family was $33,955. Males had a median income of $27,859 versus $21,882 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,989. About 16.7% of families and 19.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.1% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Famous residents of Petersburg

This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Actor Joseph Cotten was born and raised in Petersburg.
Former First Lady, Nancy Davis Reagan lived in the city with her stepfather and mother, Dr. Eugene and Mrs. Davis, until age 13.
United States Army General, diplomat, and presidential candidate Winfield Scott was born nearby in Dinwiddie County and spent much time in and around Petersburg in his youth.
Victoria Gray Adams, the first black woman to run for the U. S. Senate from the state of Mississippi as well co-chairwoman with Fannie Lou Hamer found the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party in 1964 lived in Petersburg towards the end of her life.
NBA great Moses Malone was born in Petersburg.
NBA player Mark West was born in Petersburg.
Ricky Smith, general manager of the Houston Texans football team was born in Petersburg.
NFL Defensive Player Ricky Hunley was born in Petersburg.
Joseph Jenkins Roberts, the first President of Liberia lived for a time in Petersburg.
Civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Vernon Johns.
Actor Afemo Omilami (Forrest Gump, Glory) was born and raised in Petersburg.
Actor Stoney Jackson was born and raised in Petersburg.
Rev. Dr. Wyatt T. Walker civil rights activist (a confidant and deputy to Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.) and Pastor of the Historic Gillfield Baptist Church of Petersburg (as well as Senior Pastor of the Canaan Baptist Church of Harlem.
Actor Tico Wells of the Cosby Show and "Five Heart Beats" (choir boy) was born in Petersburg
Actor Blair Underwood was raised in Petersburg.
Punk Rocker Dee Dee Ramone was born at Ft. Lee Army base in Petersburg.
R&B singer Trey Songz was born in Petersburg.
R&B singer Tyra Bolling was born in Petersburg.
Keith A. Ridley,IV founder of the Ridley Funeral Estab.Inc(DC) 1993EBONY MAGAZINE bachelor was born in Petersburg
19th century railroad builder, Confederate General (hero of the Battle of the Crater), and politician William Mahone was once the mayor of Petersburg, where he and his wife Otelia Butler Mahone made their home for many years. One of their prior homes is now part of the Petersburg Public Library, and he is credited with arranging substantial state funding to found the institution which became Virginia State University.
Founder of Product World USA Carl J. Goodwyn was born in Petersburg.
Co-Founder of Product World USA Robert Crenshaw was born in Petersburg.
Professional football player of the Virginia Ravens, Jason Pulley was born and raised in Petersburg, Virginia.

References

^ ^a ^b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

External links

Petersburg, Virginia is at coordinates 37°12′47″N 77°24′02″W / 37.21295, -77.400417 (Petersburg, Virginia)Coordinates: 37°12′47″N 77°24′02″W / 37.21295, -77.400417 (Petersburg, Virginia)

v • d • e The Greater Richmond Region

Regional Divisions	The West End · The Fan · Downtown · Southside · North Side · Mechanicsville · The East End · Tri-Cities / Petersburg · Varina-Enon

Surrounding Counties	Chesterfield · Hanover · Henrico · Goochland

Other Counties	Amelia · Caroline · Charles City · Cumberland · Dinwiddie · King and Queen · King William · Louisa · New Kent · Powhatan · Prince George · Sussex