Farmville, Virginia

Farmville is a town located in Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 6,845. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County{{GR|6}}.

Historical Notes

Civil war history

Farmville was the object of the Confederate Army's desperate push to get rations to feed its soldiers. The rations had originally been destined for Danville, but an alert quartermaster ordered the train back to Farmville. Despite a desperate advance of the cavalry commanded by Fitzhugh Lee, the Confederate army was checked by the arrival of Union cavalry commanded by Gen. Philip Sheridan, and 2 divisions of infantry. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia found itself surrounded soon thereafter, and surrender was affected at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

Related Topics:
Confederate Army - Danville - Fitzhugh Lee - Union - Philip Sheridan - Robert E. Lee - Army of Northern Virginia - Appomattox Court House - April 9 - 1865

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Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County

Farmville was the source of Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, a case incorporated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case which overturned school segregation in the US. Moton High School, an all-black school in Farmville suffered from terrible conditions due to underfunding. The school did not have a gymansium, cafeteria, or teachers' restrooms. Teachers and students did not have desks or blackboards, and due to overcrowding, some students had to take classes in an immobile school bus parked outside. The school's requests for additional funds were denied by the all-white school board.

Related Topics:
Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County - Brown v. Board of Education

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As a result of the Brown decision, in 1959, the Board of Supervisors for Prince Edward County refused to appropriate any funds for the County School Board at all, effectively closing all public schools rather than integrate them. White students often attended all-white private schools that formed in response. Black students had to go to school elsewhere or forgo their education altogether. Prince Edward County schools remained closed for five years.

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