Nelson County

Nelson County location. Nelson County was created from Amherst County in 1807, and it was named for Lord BotetourtÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s successor as VirginiaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s governor, Thomas Nelson, Jr. Some towns located in Nelson County include Lovingston, the county seat, and Arrington, Gladstone, Norwood, Wingina, and Rockfish, among others.

During the 1930’s Earl Hamner, Jr. began writing of his experiences growing up in Nelson County during the Depression. Those writings eventually provided the substance for the The Waltons TV series. In 1969, a flood created by Hurricane Camille devastated Nelson County. The flood waters killed 153 people in this county alone. Since Camille, Nelson County has slowly recovered its land, its infrastructure and the will to grow and prosper again.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,228 kmÃ‚Â² (474 miÃ‚Â²). 1,223 kmÃ‚Â² (472 miÃ‚Â²) of it is land and 5 kmÃ‚Â² (2 miÃ‚Â²) of it (0.41%) is water. Nelson County is bordered on the east by the James River and on the west by the Blue Ridge Mountains. A large portion of the western section of the county is located in the George Washington National Forest.

Circuit Court
84 Courthouse Square
Lovingston, VA 22949
Telephone: (434) 263-7020

General

Nelson County Official Website (this is an all-encompassing Website)
Nelson County Resources
Census Bureau Profile
Nelson County Wikipedia
E-Podunk
NACo

Genealogical

Nelson County RootsWeb
Nelson County GenWeb Archives
Nelson County VA GenWeb
Nelson County Vital Records

Historical

Nelson County Historical Society
Nelson County National Register of Historic Places
American Memory - Built in America - Nelson County images from the Library of Congress
Nelson County Storms (1950-2006)

Free Online Research Sources

Nelson County Census Online
Nelson County Confederate Units
WW II Casualties Army and Air Force

Cemeteries

USGS GNIS Nelson County Cemeteries
Nelson County Political Graveyard
Nelson County Find a Grave
Nelson County at Interment.net

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