Heathsville

History

In 1679, the county justices of Northumberland County sought to move their courthouse from the Hull Neck area to a more central locale in the county. To that end, local officials signed a contract with John Hughlett in 1680 to build a court house and attached prison upon "Mr. Hughlett's Indian Field," the future site of Heathsville. The court house would be completed the following year. For most of its early history, Heathsville remained a small hamlet, with fewer than 12 buildings through the American Revolutionary War. However, the town continued to grow, and several influential residents of the county successfully petitioned the Virginia General Assembly to incorporate Northumberland Court House as a town in 1797; this group included John Heath, for whom the town was named. It was during this time in Heathsville's history that many of its historic homes (Sunnyside, Springfield, The Academy, and others) were built and expanded. The area behind the old courthouse is home to a farmer's market the third Saturday of each month from April through October. This area also hosts craft guilds dedicated to the preservation and use of pre-industrial skills, including iron forging, wood working, quilting, and weaving.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,182
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,870
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  2,789
• Eastern Bluebird

  Sialia sialis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,319
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  2,181
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  2,068
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,872
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,846

Most recent

• M 3 — 2010-10-02
  10 km NNW of Ashland, Virginia