Sussex County is a rural county located in the southeast of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,829. Its county seat is Sussex. It was formed in 1754 from Surry County. The county is named after the county of Sussex, England.
Sussex County is included in the Greater Richmond Region.
History
Native Americans may have settled near Cactus Hill along the Nottoway River as long as 10,000 years ago. This area later was organized by English colonists as Sussex County. The historic Nottoway people, although they spoke an Iroquoian language, were loosely part of the Powhatan Confederacy. It was composed mainly of Algonquian-speaking peoples from the coastal zone.
When colonists arrived from England in 1607, some traveled along the Nottoway River. But when they established the first counties in the colony, James City County included both sides of the James River to the North Carolina line. The south side of the James River later was organized as Surry County in 1652. Virginia's General Assembly formed Sussex County in 1754 from the southwestern end of Surry County.
Sussex County has maintained a predominantly agricultural economy, once based in tobacco and cotton commodity crops, with work primarily done by enslaved African Americans. It has preserved some of its historic heritage for centuries. Important sites include the Nottoway Archeological Site, Sussex County Courthouse Historic District and the Waverly Downtown Historic District, and six historic homes, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The largest forest fire in Virginia's recorded history occurred on April 5, 1943, destroying more than 12,000 acres in six hours. Fire were usually fought by recruiting workmen from Gray Lumber Company, but the mill was closed and most were attending the funeral of Ella Darden Gray, matriarch of one of the county's leading families. Her son Senator Garland Gray helped bring attention to the state's need for more protection for valuable forests.
About a decade later, Senator Gray became a leader in the Massive Resistance of whites against desegregating Virginia's public schools.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.
Adjacent counties
- Dinwiddie County - northwest
- Prince George County - north
- Surry County - northeast
- Southampton County - southeast
- Greensville County - southwest
Major highways
- , the major north–south highway on the Eastern Seaboard, enters Sussex County from Greensville County. Access to the county is available at Exits 17, 20, 24, 31, and 33 before the road crosses the Sussex-Prince George County Line.
- , this was the principal south–north route Sussex County until it was supplanted by I-95. A spur of US Route 1, it enters Sussex County from Greensville County, serves mainly as a frontage road along I-95, and leaves at Prince George County south of Carson.
- , a major west-to-east corridor that has a brief southeastern run in the northeastern section of Sussex County, as a connecting route between the Central Appalachian Mountains and the Hampton Roads area. A spur of US 60, it enters Sussex County from Disputanta in Prince George County, serves the communities of Waverly and Wakefield before leaving the county at Southampton County, northwest of Ivor.
- , a south–north state road that runs northeast from US 460 along East Main Street, then turns north onto Birch Island Road into Surry County towards the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry and Williamsburg.
- , a south–north state road that enters the state from North Carolina and the county from the cotton fields of Southampton County. The route runs mainly northwest along Jerusalem Plank Road through the communities of Homeville and Lambs before leaving the county at the Sussex-Prince George County Line.
- , the west–east state road that runs from Dinwiddie County through Stony Creek, West Hope and Sussex, then enters Surry County after passing through Waverly. A business route of SR 40 exists within Stony Creek.
- , a local west–east state route in Jarratt running northeast along South Allen Road, then turns southeast along Jarratt Avenue both in Sussex and Greensville Counties, the latter of which is where it ends at US 301.