August 21, 2025 -- Another Trip To Durham

Charlottesville

August 22, 2025

I've gotten to know the routes to and from Durham over the past few weeks. The "back way" involves plenty of time on US 15 through southern Virginia into northern North Carolina. Yesterday I had time to exit US 15 and visit Clarksville, Virginia to answer my question -- is there a train Clarksville? Turns out there once at one point.

From Wikipedia:

Clarksville is a town in Mecklenburg county in the U.S. state of Virginia, near the southern border of the commonwealth. The population was 1,139 at the 2010 census. Since the town has numerous buildings of the 18th-, 19th-, and early 20th-century architecture, the downtown area of Clarksville has been designated a Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places and Virginia's Historic Register. Clarksville claims the title of Virginia's only lakeside town.^[6] Nearby the town of Clarksville is Occoneechee State Park.

The town is located on Kerr Lake, which is also known as Buggs Island Lake. The 50,000-acre lake is popular for boating and fishing; especially for catfish and many varieties of freshwater bass including largemouth bass, striped bass and crappie.

The Virginia Lake Festival is held annually at Clarksville during the third weekend of July. The town often attracts approximately 80,000 visitors during this three-day event, formerly and colloquially known as "Lakefest". It culminates with a fireworks show on the lake.

The festival has been named among the "Top Twenty Festivals In The Southeast" by the Southeast Tourism Society for many years.

Located along the Roanoke River, these lands were for centuries the home to the Occaneechi Native Americans. They controlled the junction of several trading paths in the area. The Eno-Occoneechee tribe are directly descendants of the original Occoneechees and currently reside in nearby Vance County, North Carolina.

Clarksville was the first incorporated town in the county of Mecklenburg. In 1818, the town was named after its founder, Clark Royster. Settlers populated the area quickly because of the temperate climate and the fine tobacco soil.

By 1832, Clarksville was recognized as one of the fastest-growing towns in Virginia. The Clarksville Tobacco Market was so large and important that the Roanoke Navigation Company was formed to transport the crop by way of the Roanoke River to Petersburg, a major export town, and other areas. A plank road was built from Clarksville to Petersburg (distance of 80 miles) for overland transport. In years to follow, the Roanoke Valley Railroad was built from Clarksville to Manson, North Carolina.

By 1848, Clarksville was known as a major market for leaf tobacco and a tobacco-manufacturing center. Large shipments of tobacco were exported to Europe. In 1860, R. H. Moss and Brothers Factory in Clarksville was producing more manufactured tobacco than any other establishment in Virginia or the Carolinas. To date, Clarksville proudly claims the title of the oldest continuous tobacco market in the world.

The Clarksville Historic District, Cedar Grove, Prestwould, Clark Royster House, Sunnyside, Patrick Robert Sydnor Log Cabin, and Judge Henry Wood, Jr. House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Several notes:

Fascinating that the little town has a bandstand with a dance floor in front of it. The town has Carolina beach bands perform there throughout the summer. Who knew?

Yes, that it tobacco growing in the field.

The day was hampered by cloud cover due to Erin, I assume.