Prince Edward County/Nottoway County

Prince Edward County Prince Edward County, formed in 1753 from Amelia County, was named for a brother of King George III. It is home to Hampden-Sydney College (1775), the oldest remaining men's college in the United States, and Longwood University (1839), the first state institution of higher learning for women in Virginia. From this county Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant first wrote to propose that Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrender in April 1865. A protest by students at the county’s all-black R. R. Moton High School in 1951 helped lead to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown decision prohibiting public school segregation; in response, county authorities closed the public school system for five years. Reverse: Nottoway County Nottoway County was formed from Amelia County by the General Assembly in 1788. In July 1781, American Revolutionary soldier Peter Francisco encountered about nine of British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton’s dragoons at Ward’s Tavern. Using his legendary strength and cunning, Francisco single-handedly bested his enemies. The county seat is Nottoway. The Roman Revival courthouse there was completed in 1843 by Branch H. Ellington to replace a 1798 courthouse. The new structure included elements of Thomas Jefferson's architectural style in its design. Former Virginia Governor William Hodges Mann (1843-1927) lived in the county.

Department of Historic Resources, 2016