Lodore, Virginia

History

Post office

The community was listed as a post village called Houston before the name was changed to Lodore about 1845. On Civil War–era maps, however, "Lodore" was used only as a reference to the home of one of the landowners along Genito Road; an intersection just under a mile away was noted as Giles Crossroads or Giles Chapel, after William Branch Giles, U.S. senator and governor of Virginia, whose former home is a short distance northeast. The Lodore post office remained in operation until at least the turn of the 20th century, but was among the thousands of small "fourth class" facilities that were closed in the early 1900s after the advent of rural free delivery. The Lodore area is now served by the post office several miles south at the county seat, Amelia Court House, ZIP code 23002.

Civil War

The immediate vicinity of Lodore appears to have been spared significant action during most of the Civil War, although several skirmishes and bloody engagements were fought only a few miles to the south and west during the final days of the war in early April 1865, as General Robert E. Lee and his army continued their westward retreat and Federal troops pursued. A Confederate wagon train carrying desperately needed supplies from Richmond, forced to bypass the Lodore area because wet weather had rendered the Genito bridge over the Appomattox River uncrossable, was destroyed by Union troops near Paineville, southwest of Lodore, on April 5.

Tornadoes

Amelia County is located in a small Central Virginia tornado alley and has had numerous tornado touchdowns. No tornado fatalities have been reported at Lodore, but an EF1 destroyed a carport and damaged an outbuilding northeast of the community on January 12, 2018.

Historic structures

Several structures near Lodore are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including:

• The Wigwam, historic residence of William Branch Giles, 24th governor of Virginia, approximately 4 miles northeast.
• Haw Branch plantation house, approximately 2 miles south by straight-line distance.
• Grub Hill Church, approximately 4 miles southeast.
• Egglestetton plantation house, approximately 4 miles southeast.

Other historic churches at Lodore include Flower Hill Baptist, an African American congregation whose building stands on S. Genito Road just east of N. Lodore Road.

Notable residents

• William S. Archer (1789 – 1855), United States senator from Virginia, born and buried at "The Lodge" (or "Red Lodge") off present-day SR 609 (Royalton Road) northeast of Lodore
• William Branch Giles (1762 – 1830), U.S. senator and governor of Virginia

Businesses

Oakmulgee Dairy Farm, 4 miles northeast of Lodore atop a hill on SR 637 (Giles Road) above the remnants of the former community of Giles Mill, is the oldest of several working dairy farms in Amelia County, having been in operation since 1898.

References

References

1. Virginius Cornick Hall Jr. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4247768 "Virginia Post Offices, 1798-1859"], ''The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography'', vol. 81, no. 1, page 70. [[Virginia Historical Society]], January 1973. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
2. William L. Booker. [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3883a.la001202 "A map of Amelia County, Virginia"]. Philadelphia: R.L. Barnes, circa 1850. Library of Congress permalink=https://lccn.loc.gov/2014588019. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
3. [https://www.loc.gov/item/gvhs01.vhs00339/ "Amelia County" (map)]. Confederate States Of America. Army. Dept. Of Northern Virginia. Chief Engineer's Office & D. E. Henderson (1864). [S.l.: Chief Engineer's Office, D.N.V] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, January 5, 2022.
4. D. E. Henderson, et al. [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3883a.la001204 "Map of Amelia Co., Virginia"]. Virginia Historical Society, 1860. LCCN Permalink=https://lccn.loc.gov/2012591111. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, January 5, 2022.
5. [[Henry Gannett]]. [https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0232/report.pdf#page=90 ''A Gazetteer of Virginia''], [[U.S. Geological Survey]], Bulletin No. 232, Series F: Geography, 40, page 90. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1904. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
6. [https://www.21cpw.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/RISC-WP-19-007-usps-origins-oig-wp.pdf#page=8 ''Rural and Urban Origins of the U.S.Postal Service. Report Number RISC-WP-19-007''], page 6ff. Office of Inspector General, [[U.S. Postal Service]]. August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
7. [http://www.historicpetersburg.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Map-of-Petersburg-to-Appomattox.pdf "From Richmond and Petersburg to Appomattox" (map)], Historic Petersburg Foundation, Inc. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
8. 978-1-61121-252-5. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
9. [https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=734647 "Virginia Event Report: EF1 Tornado"], Storm Events Database, National Centers for Environmental Information, National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Wakefield, Virginia. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
10. Marquis – Who's Who]] (A.N. Marquis Company), 1963. {{LCCN. 43003789. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
11. [https://www.dandb.com/businessdirectory/oakmulgeedairyfarminc-ameliacourthouse-va-16595620.html "Oakmulgee Dairy Farm Inc"]. Dairy Farms Business Directory, Amelia Court House, VA. Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2023.