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Virginia County
Southampton County, Virginia
Nat Turner Rebellion and Southampton's peanut heritage - from the Nat Turner Rebellion (on August 21, 1831, enslaved preacher Nat Turner led the most significant slave rebellion in American history across Southampton County, resulting in the deaths of approximately 60 white residents and over 100 enslaved people killed in reprisal - the rebellion and its aftermath profoundly shaped American history and the national debate over slavery, and Southampton County's Nat Turner Rebellion sites are recognized on the National Register of Historic Places) to Southampton County's peanut farming heritage (the county is in the heart of Virginia's peanut belt, and peanut cultivation has been a defining agricultural activity since the late 19th century, contributing to Virginia's status as a major peanut-producing state).
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Office: Southampton County Emergency Management – Courtland, VA | (757) 653-3015
Sheriff’s Office (non-emergency): (757) 653-2100
Notes: Coordinates emergency management and disaster preparedness countywide.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-58 and US-460 are primary corridors; the county surrounds the independent City of Franklin
Transit: No dedicated fixed-route county transit identified; confirm current regional options directly with the county
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Southampton County Department of Community Development – 24283 Cheroenhaka Drive (formerly Old Bridge Road), Courtland, VA 23837 | Main: (757) 742-6777 | Inspection line: (757) 742-6751 | Hours: Monday–Friday 8:30 AM–5:00 PM
Services: Issues permits for buildings and structures, provides life-safety inspections, issues Certificates of Occupancy/Completion; secures the E-911 address for all new construction as part of plan review – note that power utility companies require a current address before connecting new service
Staff: Building Official Lee Freddie Gray, (757) 742-6754; Environmental Engineer/ESC-SWM Administrator Regan Prince, (757) 742-6756; Building Inspector Willis Scott, (757) 742-6753; Permit Techs Shelia Baker and Leesa Barnes, (757) 742-6777
Notes: The Environmental Services Division separately administers Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management, holding a pre-design conference with the property owner or design consultant to confirm compliance before permitting.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
State VSO: Virginia Department of Veterans Services – dvs.virginia.gov (statewide office locator for the nearest Veterans Service Representative)
Notes: Confirm current local point of contact directly with dvs.virginia.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Walter Cecil Rawls Library & Museum, part of the Blackwater Regional Library – 22511 Main St, Courtland, VA 23837 | (757) 653-2821
Services: Art classes for all ages, exhibits, trips to the Virginia Museum, an incredible children’s area
Notes: Founded through the joint vision of two childhood friends from Ivor, Virginia – Walter Cecil Rawls, a successful St. Louis businessman who had polio as a child, and Junius W. Pulley, who suggested expanding Rawls’s original $5,000 gift for a small Ivor library into a countywide library headquartered in Courtland. The library opened to the public June 13, 1958, and pioneered a Bookmobile service starting in 1959 (launched during National Library Week) that eventually paved the way for additional branches across Southampton, Surry, Sussex, and Isle of Wight counties plus the City of Franklin – now a genuinely successful 9-branch regional system, Blackwater Regional Library.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Southampton County holds a place of major significance in American history as the site of Nat Turner’s Rebellion, which began the night of August 21-22, 1831 – the deadliest slave uprising in U.S. history. Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher who believed he had received a divine call, led a group of followers through the county; roughly 55-60 white residents were killed before state and federal militia suppressed the revolt within about a day. In the rebellion’s aftermath, white militia killed an estimated three dozen or more Black Virginians, many with no connection to the uprising, without trial; formal trials followed, resulting in dozens of convictions and executions. Turner evaded capture for over two months before being found near Cabin Pond and hanged in the county seat, then called Jerusalem (renamed Courtland in 1888), on November 11, 1831. His rebellion prompted the Virginia General Assembly to debate abolishing slavery in the state – ultimately rejected in favor of far harsher slave codes – and it strengthened the American abolitionist movement nationally. Today the Nat Turner Insurrection Trail allows visitors to retrace the rebellion’s path through Courtland, and artifacts including a machete attributed to the revolt are on public display; separately, Southampton County is Virginia’s #1 county for the number of family-owned farms held over 100 years, earning many the “Virginia Century Farm” designation, and consistently ranks among the state’s top producers of peanuts, soybeans, corn, cotton, and timber
Notes: This is genuinely pivotal American history, presented here factually; the county’s own tourism materials and a dedicated heritage trail actively engage with and interpret this history today.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Southampton County GIS – accessible via southamptoncounty.org
Parcel Search: Southampton County Commissioner of the Revenue records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Community Development as part of new-construction permitting
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Office: Southampton County Animal Control – (757) 653-2100 (via Sheriff’s Office)
Notes: The independent nonprofit Southampton County Humane Society, EIN 85-0711513, is a small volunteer group coordinating veterinary care, placement, transport, and adoption with local rescue partners for county animals – confirm current shelter facility details directly with Animal Control, as a standalone county shelter address was not independently confirmed in available sources.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Southampton County Solid Waste and Recycling – (757) 653-3015 (refuse site information)
Environmental Complaints: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality – deq.virginia.gov
Notes: Contact county administration directly for current refuse site hours and accepted recycling materials.
NOTES
Southampton County occupies a genuinely major place in American history as the site of Nat Turner’s 1831 rebellion, the deadliest slave uprising in U.S. history, an event that reshaped national debates over slavery and directly strengthened the American abolitionist movement. This history is actively preserved and interpreted today through the Nat Turner Insurrection Trail in Courtland. Separately, the county’s rich agricultural heritage – Virginia’s leading county for century-old family farms – continues today through major peanut, soybean, and cotton production. All contact information above was sourced from official county and historical pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Southampton County
Southampton County is southeast Virginia’s Nat Turner heritage and peanut farming county – the site of America’s most significant slave rebellion carries profound historical weight while the surrounding agricultural landscape of peanut fields and timber land maintains the rural Tidewater character of one of Virginia’s historically important southern counties.
Courtland (the county seat, population ~1,300) is Southampton County’s governmental and commercial hub, a small Tidewater town serving the county’s agricultural communities in southeast Virginia.
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Southampton County Assessor at 22350 Main Street, Courtland, VA 23837, phone 757-653-3026. VA assessed at 100% fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Southampton County Circuit Court at 22350 Main Street, Courtland, VA 23837, phone 757-653-2200, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK
22350 Main St, Courtland, VA 23837
(757) 653-2200
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Southampton Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Courtland (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above). Southampton County is historically significant as the site of the 1831 Nat Turner rebellion.
Local societies
No dedicated Southampton County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Southampton Circuit Court 22350 Main Street, PO Box 190, Courtland, VA 23837 (757) 653-2200
Southampton County is in Southeast Virginia along the North Carolina border, county seat Courtland. Virginia has NO separate probate court – probate (“qualification”) is handled entirely by the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Virginia calls the probate process “qualification” rather than “appointment,” and it happens administratively at the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, not before a judge, unless a dispute arises.
Small Estate Affidavit (Va. Code § 64.2-601, the “Virginia Small Estate Act”) – available when the decedent’s entire personal probate estate (excluding real estate) does not exceed $75,000, at least 60 days have passed since death, and no personal representative has been appointed or has a pending application in any jurisdiction. If a will exists, it must first be admitted to probate (recorded with the Clerk) even though no executor is appointed. As of July 1, 2026, the affidavit must be filed on the statewide form (CC-1685).
Single Small Asset Release (Va. Code § 64.2-602) – any person or institution holding a single asset of $35,000 or less may release it directly to a successor once 60 days have passed since death and no personal representative has qualified, without any affidavit required at all.
Real Estate Affidavit (Form CC-1612) – if the decedent owned only real estate, this can be recorded directly in land records without full probate. Real estate generally cannot be transferred through the small estate affidavit process.
Full Qualification / Administration – the standard path for larger or more complex estates. The personal representative appears before the Clerk, takes an oath, files the will and death certificate, and typically posts a surety bond. The estate is then supervised by a Commissioner of Accounts throughout administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The person seeking to qualify as executor or administrator brings the original will (if any) and a certified death certificate to the Southampton Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.
The Clerk reviews the will’s validity and admits it to probate.
The personal representative takes an oath and qualifies, posting a bond if required; the Clerk issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The Commissioner of Accounts oversees the estate going forward.
The personal representative notifies creditors, pays valid debts, and manages estate assets.
Remaining assets are distributed to beneficiaries or heirs, and the estate is closed once final accounting is approved.
What it costs
Virginia imposes a PROBATE TAX on most wills admitted to probate and grants of administration: $1 state tax + $0.33 local tax for every $1,000 of estate value. No tax is imposed on estates valued at $15,000 or less.
Filing fees for qualification vary by estate size; confirm current Southampton County fees directly.
Virginia does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax – repealed for deaths on or after July 1, 2007. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
22525 Magnolia Dr, Courtland, VA 23837
(757) 653-2200
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
VOTER REGISTRAR
22350 Main St, Courtland, VA 23837
(757) 653-2200
ELECTIONS
Southampton County Electoral Board, 22350 Main St, Courtland, VA 23837
(757) 653-2200
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health District
Western Tidewater Health District, 22308 Main St, Courtland, VA 23837
(757) 653-2422
Department of Social Services
22608 Linda Dr, Courtland, VA 23837
(757) 653-9260
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Western Tidewater Health District (Virginia Department of Health) – serves Southampton County
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Notes: Virginia delivers public health primarily through regional Virginia Department of Health districts rather than standalone county health departments. Bon Secours-Southampton Medical Center, (757) 569-6100, serves the county.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Courtland
Population: 17,500
Established: 1749
Tier: 3
Public Records
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