"Clarksville VA" a Clarksville Travel Page by gipper84

Clarksville was the first incorporated town in the county of Mecklenburg. From about 1250 to 1670, the Occoneechee Indians lived on an island on the Roanoke River near what is now Occoneechee State Park. In 1676, Virginia Councilman Nathaniel Bacon led a group of men from Henrico County to destroy the Occoneechees. In 1818, the town was named after its founder, Clarke Royster. By 1832, Clarksville became one of the fastest growing towns in Virginia. The Clarksville Tobacco Market was so large and important that they had to build an entire infrastructure to get the tobacco to other parts of the region. Before 1850, Clarksville was not only known as a large market for leaf tobacco but also a great tobacco-processing center. Large shipments of tobacco were also exported to Europe. By 1860, the R.H. Moss and Brother Factory in Clarksville was producing more manufactured tobacco than any other establishment in Virginia or the Carolinas. On entering the Clarksville area on Route 15, the welcome sign into Mecklenurg County still boasts of its ties to tobacco.

My first experience with Clarksville was in July, 2005. This had to be one of the best weekends I had without Jessi at my side. I couldn't go to the Virgilina Summerfest that May, but Nat and I agreed to go to the Clarksville Lakefest. This was the first whole weekend we spent together.

Clarksville has so much more going for it than most Southside towns. Since damming the river made Buggs Island Lake, the water obviously draws sportsmen and tourists, but I was struck by all the family-owned antique shops along Virginia Avenue, the main drag, not to mention the architecture of some of the older homes. There is a new bridge across the lake which bypasses the downtown area, but I make it a point to go through the downtown when I pass through. (I have been back at least to pass through three times since then: September, 2005 and twice in May, 2006.) I was so impressed on my first visit that I may just retire to here!