Life in Farmville

The Quintessential College Town

America’s first two-college town offers much more than the campuses of Longwood and nearby Hampden-Sydney College. Outdoor adventures, a bustling Main Street that features several new hotels and restaurants, and quintessential town activities make Farmville a home for families, young employees and seasoned professionals alike.

Recreation

Whether your idea of outdoor recreation is a 30-mile bike ride, or taking your pup with you to the local coffee shop, or anything in between, Farmville has something for everyone. Learn more at: https://visitfarmville.com/outdoor-adventures/

Farmville for Families

Farmville is a great place to raise a family. The town has a strong sense of community, offers the resources of a two-college town, and is located within easy visiting distance of communities like Richmond and Charlottesville.

Pre-school options include the Andy Taylor Center, Longwood’s early childhood development center for children ages 2-5, as well as other child care options with connections to the Longwood community.

The greater community’s K-12 options include Prince Edward County, Cumberland County and Buckingham County public schools, as well as some private schools. Learn more here. 

Other family resources on the Longwood campus include the Longwood Center for Community Music, summer camps, and a range of children’s activities organized by the Moton Museum and the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts.

Dining & Entertainment

The historic downtown has been designated a Virginia Main Street community, and has plenty of dining and shopping options for visitors. Farmville is booming. At least a half-dozen new restaurants, boutiques and shops have been developed in recent years, all expanding on the broad audience Green Front Furniture has already built for Farmville.

Many of the local spots offer a variety of live music. With everything from open mic nights showcasing local amateur talent to concerts featuring professional musicians to choose from, you're sure to find something to suit your taste. Learn more at: https://visitfarmville.com/live-music-in-farmville/

Arts & Culture

Also located in town are two nationally accredited museums, along with art galleries, theatres and more.

The Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA) provides full access to the visual arts in the region. The Robert Russa Moton Museum, a National Historic Landmark, is the student birthplace of America's civil rights revolution. The museum's mission is to preserve and constructively interpret the history of civil rights in education.

Mainly Clay and Red Door 104 showcase local artistic talent in their galleries as well as provide a place to explore your own creative side through workshops and classes. The LCVA provides similar opportunities with workshops for adults, and seasonal workshops and summer-long studio sessions for children. You'll also see evidence of love of art in the numerous murals around the downtown area.

Love the performing arts? There are plenty of opportunities to catch a show or release your inner performer. Waterworks Players, Longwood University theatre and Hampden-Sydney College theatre stage performances year-round in their venues, while Unified Theatre Company uses various locations in the area for productions. Just 30 minutes away in Appomattox, Wolfbane Productions mixes local talent and professionals from New York to stage live entertainment experiences in their outdoor and indoor venues. All offer open auditions for community members to get involved!

Community Activities & Festivals

While strategically managing growth, Farmville retains some small-town fun. Events throughout the year bring the community together. Here are just a few examples:

• The Virginia Children's Book Festival, a free festival held on Longwood's campus each October, brings the top names in children's literature to Farmville.
• The Heart of Virginia Festival celebrates the arts, crafts, food and music of Southside Virginia. The festival takes over Farmville's downtown on the first Saturday of May every year.
• The Summer Garden Opera brings classic opera to the backyard of an elegant Colonial-style home open for one evening to local opera-lovers.
• The Farmville Wine Festival brings together selections from Virginia's best wineries with entertainment and good food. The event raises money for the local Meals on Wheels service.

Other events include First Fridays concerts by the river, an outdoor film festival, a community dinner held downtown on the High Bridge Trail and a parade of costumed children celebrating Halloween. If sports are your thing, Longwood athletics offers NCAA Division I competition with plenty of home games. If you like to tailgate, head over to Hampden-Sydney College pregame and stay for the football. Whatever you enjoy, you'll find something to do year-round in Farmville.

History

Farmville is a deeply consequential place in American history, witnessing the final days of the Civil War as well as key events during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s. The Farmville Freedom Monument, constructed by Longwood in 2018, honors the full range of that history, from Patrick Henry to Barbara Johns.

The R.R. Moton Museum, on the south end of Longwood’s campus, is the site of the 1951 student strike led by the 16-year-old Johns, which helped launch the modern civil rights movement, and eventually became part of the Brown vs. Board of Education lawsuit that struck down school segregation. A National Historic Landmark and Virginia’s only civil rights museum, the Moton Museum works closely with Longwood faculty, staff and students to share the story of Prince Edward County’s civil rights history.