Maplewood, Virginia

Maplewood is a mostly rural unincorporated community in 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 of ZIP codes 23002 (Amelia Court House) and 23083 (Jetersville). The telephone area code is 804.

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, before the surrender to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. 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. Numerous roadside historical marker signs line the route, including an official one on modern-day US 360 at Maplewood that reads as follows:[1][2]

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.

By the turn of the 20th century, Maplewood was a post village, a station on what was then the Southern Railway,[3] originally the Richmond and Danville Railroad. The railroad station and post office have since closed. The railroad track is still used, although only by freight trains; it parallels Maplewood Road and is now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway.[4]

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.[5]

In 1993 the Maplewood Recycling and Waste Disposal Facility opened, replacing the previous county-operated landfill. The complex, with entrance from Maplewood Road west of Buckskin Creek Road, currently covers a total area of 794 acres,[6] more than one square mile. In the aftermath of the 2014 coal-ash spill in Eden, North Carolina, Duke Energy shipped a portion of the remaining coal ash from its containment pond at the Dan River Steam Station in Eden via rail to the Maplewood facility.[7]

References
  1. Lee's Retreat, Marker VA M-12, The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  2. Marker Online Database Search, Marker VA M-12, Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
  3. A Gazetteer of Virginia, Henry Gannett, USGS: 1904, page 96. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. http://www.drpt.virginia.gov/media/2944/2019-09-24_front-of-rail-map_print-final.pdf. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  5. 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.
  6. "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.
  7. Maplewood Recycling and Waste Disposal Facility in Amelia County, Virginia Places. Retrieved November 16, 2021.

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