Editing Nottoway County, Virginia (section)

== History ==
Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the land that would become Nottoway County was inhabited by American Indians of the Nadowa tribe, an [[Iroquoian peoples|Iroquoian people]]. They lived along the county's only river, the Nadowa, an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] word meaning rattlesnake, and became associated with the area they inhabited. The name was anglicized to 'Nottoway', and from this the name of the county was derived. The people of this "[[Nottoway Tribe]]", now numbering between 400 and 500, call themselves Cheroenhaka, meaning "People At The Fork Of The Stream".

Before the county established its own government, it was known as Nottoway Parish, a district of [[Amelia County, Virginia|Amelia County]]. Nottoway Parish became Nottoway County by legislative act in 1788. The county contained numerous early crossroads settlements connecting the new western frontier with the population centers of [[Petersburg, Virginia|Petersburg]] and [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]] to the north and east and until recent times owed much of its prosperity to tobacco. First coming to Nottoway in the 1850s, railroad construction and associated industries eventually came to represent a major portion of business in the area. In the 1860 census, 73.2% of the total population of Nottoway County were slaves, the highest percentage of any Virginia county.<ref name="popofvirginia1860">{{cite web|last1=Grymes|first1=Charles|title=Population of Virginia - 1860|url=http://www.virginiaplaces.org/population/pop1860numbers.html|website=Virginia Places|access-date=October 29, 2017}}</ref>

One of the county's larger towns, [[Crewe, Virginia|Crewe]], owes its existence to the railroad siding established at Robertson's Switch in the 1880s. In recent decades, however, the decline of tobacco, the railroads, and [[Fort Barfoot]] (formerly known as Fort Pickett), has presented the county, like much of [[Southside Virginia]], with economic difficulties and led many Nottoway families to seek jobs and homes in Richmond and other prospering cities in central Virginia.

During the [[American Civil War]], the county raised two infantry companies for the [[Confederate Army]], the Nottoway Rifle Guards and the Nottoway Grays, Jeffress' artillery battery, and the Nottoway Company E of the [[3rd Virginia Cavalry]]. Both infantry companies served in the [[18th Virginia Infantry|18th Virginia Infantry Regiment]] and saw extensive service throughout the Eastern Theatre, most notably at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]] where they were at the forefront of [[Pickett's Charge]]. The famous charge was disastrous to the 18th Virginia, and many families in Nottoway County lost relatives in it. The 18th Regiment's colors were captured at the stone wall on Cemetery Ridge and are now displayed in Gettysburg. The county was the site of only one major skirmish, the "Battle of the Grove," which was fought near Blackstone (then known as Blacks and Whites) for control of the rail line that supplied [[General Robert E. Lee]]'s Army of Northern Virginia, then entrenched around Petersburg and Richmond. The war's last major battle before the surrender at [[Appomattox Court House National Historical Park|Appomattox]] was fought at Sayler's Creek, west of [[Burkeville, Virginia|Burkeville]] near the Nottaway County line, on April 6, 1865 (see article on [[Burkeville, Virginia|Burkeville]]).

Nottoway's three towns were incorporated in the late 1800s, all along what was to become the [[U.S. Highway 460]]/[[Norfolk Southern Railway]] corridor that bisects the county. Industrialization blossomed at the same time, exploiting the ease of moving raw materials in and finished products out. County manufacturing often utilized the area's abundant natural resources, particularly agricultural products, timber, and wood products.

The 20th century saw an increase in the diversification of the county in its agricultural, industrial and commercial sectors. During this time, major state and federal facilities were created in the county. [[Fort Pickett]], established at the outbreak of World War II, is now headquarters of the Virginia National Guard.