Long before Nottoway County officially came into existence, the land that would become the county was already part of the story of America.
When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, this region was still part of Amelia County. The landscape was a mixture of frontier farms, forests, and Native American settlements connected by ancient paths that had existed for generations. The Nottoway and Saponi peoples lived, traded, hunted, and traveled throughout Southside Virginia long before the arrival of European settlers.
As tensions grew between the American colonies and Great Britain, local men answered the call to service. Residents of the area that would later become Nottoway County joined Virginia militia units and supported the Revolutionary cause through military service, farming, transportation, and supplying troops. Though no major Revolutionary War battles were fought within the county’s present boundaries, the people who lived here were part of the larger struggle for independence.
The Revolution transformed Virginia and led to the creation of new counties as the young nation expanded westward and reorganized its government. In 1788, just five years after the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War, Nottoway County was formed from a portion of Amelia County. The new county took its name from the Nottoway people, whose history in the region stretched back centuries before the founding of the United States.
The county’s earliest leaders, landowners, judges, merchants, and farmers helped shape the institutions of the new republic. The courthouse system, local government, churches, and schools that developed during these years reflected the opportunities and challenges of a nation still defining itself.
Many of the families whose names appear throughout Nottoway’s history trace their roots to the Revolutionary era. Their descendants would continue to influence the county through public service, agriculture, business, education, and military service for generations.
As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, Nottoway County offers a unique opportunity to reflect on both national and local history. The story of independence was not written solely in Philadelphia or on famous battlefields. It was also written in rural communities like this one, where ordinary citizens helped build a new nation from the ground up.
The fields, roads, and courthouse greens of Nottoway County may seem quiet today, but they remain part of the enduring story of America’s founding and the generations who carried that legacy forward.
