Boydton

History

Boydton was founded in 1812. It was home the original campus of Randolph-Macon College and Boydton Academic and Bible Institute which succeeded it after its move to Ashland, Virginia. The school was small and barely stayed in operation during the Civil War as its focus abruptly changed from a Methodist seminary to military cadet training. In the difficult post-war Reconstruction years the trustees relocated the remote and struggling school to its present location in Ashland, closer to railroad service. Boydton/Clarksville was the terminus of the 19th-century "Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road" leading to Petersburg. This 80-mile (130-km) Plank road was covered with wooden planks, making it superior to other roads which were just unpaved dirt and rutted. Boyd's Tavern is an early 19th-century structure originally operated by merchant Alexander Boyd, a Scottish immigrant, which in recent years has been restored by his descendants and opened to public tours. In 1952 the large Kerr Lake was created nearby, drawing many boaters, campers, and fishermen to the local area (see Clarksville, Virginia). In addition to Boyd's Tavern, the Boydton Historic District and the Mecklenburg County Courthouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Geography

Boydton is located at (36.667997, −78.389001). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2), all land.

Race & ethnicity