Editing Brookneal, Virginia (section)

==History==

On January 14, 1802, "Brooke Neal" was established by the Commonwealth of Virginia in Chapter 65 of the [[Virginia General Assembly|Acts of Assembly]].<ref name="dls.state.va.us">{{Cite web |url=http://dls.state.va.us/lrc/charters/Brookneal.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=March 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926162207/http://dls.state.va.us/lrc/charters/Brookneal.pdf |archive-date=September 26, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was named after John Brooke and his wife, Sarah (née Neal) Brooke, who established a tobacco warehouse which became known as "Brooke's Warehouse".<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=https://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?021%20ful%20SJ12ER%20pdf|title=Legislative Information System|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> It was located near the boat landing and ferry crossing on the [[Staunton River]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.co.campbell.va.us/Pages/historicresources.aspx |title=Campbell County, Virginia - Historic Resources |access-date=March 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320053751/http://www.co.campbell.va.us/Pages/historicresources.aspx |archive-date=March 20, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The "Town of Brookneal" was incorporated and a charter issued in 1908.<ref name="dls.state.va.us" /> Later to become the smallest [[incorporated town]] in the Central Virginia region,<ref name="townofbrookneal.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.townofbrookneal.com/|title=Home|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> Brookneal served as the closest center of commerce for portions of Campbell, [[Charlotte County, Virginia|Charlotte]], and [[Halifax County, Virginia|Halifax]] counties.<ref name="townofbrookneal.com" /> As transportation modes developed, Brookneal's location offered proximity to waterways, roads and [[railroad]]s.

From the earliest days of settlement of the area by Europeans in the [[Colony of Virginia]], through the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] era, and extending through most of the first half of the 19th century in Virginia, waterways were a major transportation resource for commerce.  Roads were primitive and poorly maintained.  Upstream from the [[Atlantic Seaboard fall line|fall line]], which marked the western reaches of the [[Tidewater region of Virginia|coastal plain of Virginia]] (and adjacent areas of [[North Carolina]]), canals and other improvements were constructed to aid navigation upriver by [[batteaux]] and other watercraft.  In the later 19th century, railroads supplanted river transportation in the [[Piedmont region of Virginia|Piedmont region]] east of the mountains.

Just south of Brookneal lies the [[Roanoke River]] (also known as the [[Staunton River]]), which flows east to its mouth at [[Plymouth, North Carolina]], and the Atlantic Ocean via the [[sound]]s in eastern North Carolina. Through the efforts of the Roanoke Navigation Company, established with the assistance of both states in 1815,<ref name="oldhalifax.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.oldhalifax.com/county/CatRockSluice.htm|title=Staunton River Tour|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> passage was made possible to as far west as [[Salem, Virginia|Salem]] in [[Roanoke County, Virginia|Roanoke County]].<ref name="oldhalifax.com" /> By 1828, boats were traversing {{convert|124|mi}} of "tolerable good and safe navigation" of the Roanoke River between Brookneal and Salem.<ref>[http://www.salemmuseum.org/hist_timeline.html "Timeline"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212225044/http://www.salemmuseum.org/hist_timeline.html |date=December 12, 2008 }}, Salem Museum</ref>

[[Patrick Henry]], the first [[Governor of Virginia]] after statehood, was an early advocate of the waterway.  In 1794 he retired to the nearly 3,000-acre [[Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial|Red Hill Plantation]], located near Brookneal in rural Charlotte County.<ref name="oldhalifax.com" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.redhill.org|title=Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation - Red Hill|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> (The plantation is now operated as a historic museum known as the [[Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial]]). He established a ferry on the Staunton River to connect Red Hill Plantation with Campbell and Halifax counties on the other side.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

By the 1850s, the new technology of railroads was rapidly overtaking the canal systems in many areas; it provided access to additional places.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiaplaces.org/rail/|title=Railroads of Virginia|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref>  In 1887 the construction of the Lynchburg and Durham Railroad began at Lynchburg, passing south through Brookneal. Just south of town, the railroad crossed the Staunton River into Halifax County. It was completed in 1892, and almost immediately was leased to the [[Norfolk and Western Railway]], and merged into it in 1896.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oldhalifax.com/county/Nathalie.htm|title=Nathalie, Virginia|access-date=July 14, 2016}}</ref> In 1904, the [[Tidewater Railway]] was formed by the industrialist financier [[Henry Huttleston Rogers]], to transport [[bituminous coal]] from southern [[West Virginia]] to [[coal pier]]s on the ice-free harbor of [[Hampton Roads]]. Planned by [[William Nelson Page]] of Campbell County, the right-of-way selected for favorable grades passed along the north bank of the river, crossing the L&D track. In 1907, the Tidewater Railway was combined with the [[Deepwater Railway]] (initially a [[West Virginia]] short line railroad) to form the new [[Virginian Railway]]. By 1908, construction was nearing completion, and the new line officially began service on July 1, 1909. In 1959, the Virginia Railway was merged with the Norfolk and Western. Each later became part of the modern [[Norfolk Southern]] system in the early 1980s.

In the late 19th century, Brookneal became the site of [[textile mill]]s that used the water power of the river. These were important to the Piedmont economy for decades.  The town of Brookneal suffered a series of disasters in 1912, culminating in a fire that destroyed much of the town.  When residents rebuilt, they constructed substantial brick houses to replace many of the old wooden structures.<ref>[http://files.usgwarchives.org/va/campbell/history/chronicles-villages.txt "History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829123736/http://files.usgwarchives.org/va/campbell/history/chronicles-villages.txt |date=August 29, 2009 }}, Campbell County, US GenWeb Archives</ref> Soon, the small town resumed its growth.<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Served for many years by passenger trains and freight service on both railroad lines, and later by [[U.S. Highway 501]] and [[Route 40 (Virginia)|State Route 40]], Brookneal developed a diverse economy with manufacturing, agriculture, service firms and retail offerings. The proximity to the river enhanced its recreational opportunities for residents and visitors as well.<ref>[http://www.co.campbell.va.us/Pages/brooknealinformation.aspx "Brookneal Information"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008033056/http://www.co.campbell.va.us/Pages/brooknealinformation.aspx |date=October 8, 2012 }}, Campbell County</ref>

Brookneal has suffered an economic downturn due largely to the dissolution of the Virginia Tobacco Co-Op, which made tobacco warehouses defunct, and the late-20th century decline of the American textile industry, which resulted in the closing of the Dan River mill in Brookneal. The Dan River [[textile mill]] employed nearly 400 workers.

Along with Red Hill, the [[Brookneal Historic District]], [[Cat Rock Sluice of the Roanoke Navigation]], [[Staunton Hill (Brookneal, Virginia)|Staunton Hill]], and [[Westview (Brookneal, Virginia)|Westview]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>