University of Virginia Library

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108

Scottsville Township.

THE large township of Scottsville occupies the southern
portion of the county of Albemarle and reaches from
the banks of the James river to within a short distance
of Charlottesville.

The town of Scottsville is situated on the north bank of the
James, and whilst it is in the county of Albemarle, it is on the
borders of Fluvanna, and Buckingham is on the other side of
the river, both of these counties contributing to the trade of
Scottsville.

The Richmond and Alleghany railroad passes through the
southern part of the county for over twelve miles, and takes
the place of the old James river and Kanawha canal. The
train service is very good, there being three passenger trains
each way during the day. Scottsville is the starting point for
the local traffic on the line and thus obtains greater accommodation
than any place further from Richmond.

The picturesque character of the country is well known,
comprising mountain as well as river scenery, being in what
is called the Midland section of the State, and it is much resorted
to in summer by city people for its pleasant breezes
and cool shades as well as its convenient distance from Richmond,
only seventy-nine miles.

Scottsville is situated in the centre of a district noted for
many fine farms, its uplands and especially its river low grounds
being unsurpassd in fertility by any in the world. All ordinary
farm crops are produced with excellent success, grand
crops of corn and tobacco, as well as timothy and clover, and
grape-growing and orcharding have taken permanent hold in
the district. The whole country is well watered, there being
actually a spring in every field, and visitors rarely fail to notice
the brightness and purity of the water. There are in Scottsville
good graded and other schools, six churches, with several

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For a considerable period before the opening of the Chesapeake
and Ohio railroad, Scottsville possessed a large trade
and was the shipping point on the old canal for all produce
grown this side of the mountains as far back even as Staunton,
and many will remember seeing wagon trains a mile long
laden with wheat, corn or tobacco, and other produce destined
for Richmond, and which rarely turned homeward until a
goodly supply of groceries and dry goods had been bought
in the then prosperous Scottsville. Her woolen mills produced
goods of well known excellent quality, and the Confederate
soldiers were largely supplied with clothing from its
looms, but Sheridan in a raid laid waste the town and gave it
a blow from which it is only now promising to recover.

The James River Valley Fair was organized in Scottsville
in the year 1883, and it has each year ever since been a
great source of pleasure and profit to thousands of the people
for miles around. Although the usual attractions of horse
racing, games, music and public speaking have annually
formed part of its programme, the fair has depended mainly
for its success upon its exhibition of horses, cattle, sheep,
poultry, fruit, vegetables, farm produce, ladies' work, both
fancy and domestic, manufactures and other things usually
forming part of this kind of enterprise. Under the stimulus
of premiums offered by the association 100 to 103 bushels of
corn have been raised per acre, and 35 to 37 bushels of wheat.

Each year there has been a marked improvement in the
farm produce exhibited, and the greatly superior quality of
the corn shown last year bears ample testimony to the great
benefit which is being wrought by the fair.

J. L. Moon, of Scottsville, real estate agent, will cheerfully
answer any information in regard to lands in this section.