Maplewood, Virginia
Unincorporated community
Maplewood, Virginia is located in Virginia
Maplewood, Virginia
Maplewood, Virginia
Location within the Commonwealth of Virginia
Maplewood, Virginia is located in the United States
Maplewood, Virginia
Maplewood, Virginia
Maplewood, Virginia (the United States)
Coordinates: 37°18′56″N 78°02′56″W / 37.31554°N 78.04884°W / 37.31554; -78.04884
CountryUnited States
StateVirginia
CountyAmelia
Elevation
397 ft (121 m)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
23002, 23083
Area code804
GNIS feature ID1477518

Maplewood is a mostly rural unincorporated community in southwest central Amelia County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located at the intersection of SR 640/SR 697 (Maplewood Road, a short loop segment of old US 360) and SR 640 (Buckskin Creek Road), just off the four-lane current US 360. Maplewood straddles the border between ZIP codes 23002 (Amelia Court House, the county seat, 4 miles northeast) and 23083 (Jetersville). The nearest volunteer fire station is Amelia County Volunteer Fire Department Co. 3, at Jetersville, just over 2 miles southwest.

At the turn of the 20th century, Maplewood was a post village and a freight station (Milepost 40.0)[1] on what was then the Southern Railway,[2] originally the Richmond and Danville Railroad. The railroad track is still used by freight trains;[3] it parallels Maplewood Road and is now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.[4]

History

Civil War

Maplewood lies along the route followed by Confederate general Robert E. Lee and his army in their retreat during the final days of the Civil War, a phase known as the Appomattox campaign. Numerous roadside historical marker signs have been erected along the route, including an official one on modern-day US 360 at Maplewood that reads as follows:[5][6]

Near here Lee, moving south toward Danville, in the afternoon of April 5, 1865[,] found the road blocked by Sheridan. He then turned westward by way of Amelia Springs, hoping to reach the Southside (Norfolk and Western) Railroad.

The last major battle fought by Lee's army occurred a few miles west at Sayler's Creek, on the border of Amelia and Prince Edward counties, on April 6, just before the surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9.

Tornadoes

Amelia County is located in a small Central Virginia tornado alley and has had numerous tornado touchdowns. Tornadoes of note include the twister of April 30, 1924, which killed one person and injured seven others. Traveling from Jetersville to Chula, it destroyed seven homes in Maplewood and then passed east of the courthouse area.[7]

Landfill

In 1993, despite legal action by local residents,[8] the Maplewood Recycling and Waste Disposal Facility opened, replacing the previous county-operated landfill. With entrance from Maplewood Road west of Buckskin Creek Road, the complex currently covers a total area of 794 acres (321 ha),[9] more than a square mile, and is owned and operated by Waste Management of Virginia, Inc. In the aftermath of the 2014 coal-ash spill in Eden, North Carolina, in which some 39,000 tons of waste flowed into the Dan River, Duke Energy shipped 750 tons of the remaining coal ash via rail from its containment pond at the Dan River Steam Station in Eden to the Maplewood facility.[10]

References

  1. ^ John Stewart. "Milepost 40.0: Maplewood", Jefferson Davis's Flight from Richmond: The Calm Morning, Lee's Telegrams, the Evacuation, the Train, the Passengers, the Trip, the Arrival in Danville and the Historians' Frauds. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2014. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  2. ^ Henry Gannett. A Gazetteer of Virginia, US Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 232, Series F: Geography, 40, page 96. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Audrey T. Hingley. "Jetersville: An oasis of calm amid encroaching development". Archived from "Crossroads", Cooperative Living Magazine, October 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "Front of rail map print" (PDF). Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). September 24, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 18, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  5. ^ J.J. Prats, editor and publisher. "Lee's Retreat", Virginia marker M-12, The Historical Marker Database, Powell, Ohio. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  6. ^ Marker M-12, Marker Online Database Search, Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  7. ^ Bill Sammler (July 1, 2008). "Tornado History". Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM)-Vaemergency.gov. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  8. ^ "Decision May Be Appealed", The Farmville Herald, Volume 101, Number 42, 27 February 1991, page 1. Retrieved from Virginia Chronicle, Library of Virginia, April 28, 2023.
  9. ^ "Getting to Know Your Maplewood Landfill", Amelia County Department of Environmental Management, May 24, 2021. Amelia County, Virginia: Official government website. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
  10. ^ Charles A. Grymes. "Maplewood Recycling and Waste Disposal Facility in Amelia County", Virginia Places. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
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