THE HISTORY OF LYNCHBURG VIRGINIA-AN OVERVIEW

In the mid-1750's, the colonial village of New London in Central Virginia was an important trading center, however, it was difficult to reach from northern towns (such as Charlottesville) due to the necessity of fording the Fluvanna (now James) River, which passed twelve miles north of the village. John Lynch, son of land-owner Charles Lynch and Quaker Sarah Clark Lynch, decided to remedy this problem, and in 1757, established a ferry service on the James a few hundred yards upstream from the ford, on property owned by his father.

The ferry service remained profitable for many years, and by the end of the American Revolution, the village at Lynch's Ferry had itself become an important center of trade. Lynch saw the possibilities of establishing a town on the hill overlooking the ferry site, and in late 1784 petitioned the General Assembly of Virginia for a town charter. In October, 1786, the charter was granted, founding the town of Lynchburg.

The year in which Lynch began operation of his ferry (1757) also saw the beginning of regular meetings of the South River Society of Friends (Quakers) in which John's mother Sarah played a key role. The third and last South River meeting house was built in 1798, and served the Quakers until 1839 when it was abandoned (most Quakers had left the area in the 1820's due to their opposition to slavery).

The building soon fell into ruins (pictured to the left), but was restored in the early 1900's after the land was purchased by area Presbyterians (across from the intersection of Fort Avenue and Sandusky Drive). The town of Lynchburg grew slowly between 1786 and the turn of the century, with the addition of a tobacco warehouse, a few stores, homes, taverns, a Masonic Lodge and one small church. 1798 saw the creation of the town's first newspaper, and the following year saw initial efforts to supply the town with water from springs and wells.

By the early 1800's, tobacco was the city's major economy, with numerous warehouses processing and shipping the product east to Richmond by river batteaux. 1817 saw the beginnings of construction of the Salem Turnpike (the roadbed of what is now U.S. 460 between Lynchburg and Roanoke) as well as a toll bridge across the James River (this bridge was at 9th street, at the original ferry site).

John Lynch (founder of the ferry, the town, and who also headed the toll bridge project) died on October 31, 1820, and was buried in the cemetery beside the Quaker Meeting House

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