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History
in a glance
By Bettie Woodson Weaver Midlothian, Virginia today is burgeoning upscale Chesterfield County residential and commercial community situated approximately ten miles west of Richmond on U.S. Route 60 and the Norfolk-Southern Railway. A highway historical marker states that Midlothian is probably the site of the first coal mines in the U.S. Scattered throughout the village are remnants of the Midlothian area mines—old homes, taverns, and buildings of colliery owners and a few dwellings connected with French Huguenots, among the first European settlers in the Midlothian area. Structures still standing on Old Buckingham Road are Trabue's Tavern, Melrose, Haley Cole's Free School, and the Smith-Vincent house. Fortunately, some natural landscape survives lining the roadside; day lilies, periwinkle, trumpet vines, and Queen Ann's Lace mingle in the shade of tall cedars, hollies, oaks, hickories, and other native trees. The ancient periwinkled oak grove standing sentry over coal miners' graves in Old Mt. Pisgah M.E. Church Cemetery is especially beautiful at the crest of Falling Creek Hill. Also at the crest of Falling Creek Hill on Route 60, stands Railey's Hill, a frame dwelling which once housed the superintendent of the Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company. North on Salisbury Drive is the 1870 Midlothian Public School now a residence, the 1875 Midlothian Masonic Lodge Hall and Oak Grove, the Norfolk-Southern Railway Crossing, and nearby Etna Hill and reclaimed Etna coal pits. South on Coalfield Road lays the stone ruins of the Grove Shaft of the Wooldridge family Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company. The Grove Shaft buildings ruins and park create the focal point of the developing Chesterfield Park. The Midlothian Public Library and the YMCA sports complex adjoin the park property, as does J.B. Watkins Elementary School.  On
U.S. Rt. 60 in the village are several landmarks: the c.1870 Jewett-Bass
brick store and early post office, the 19th century Jacob Baach house
and its towering elm, possibly the only surviving old elm in the village.
The rebuilt eighteenth/nineteenth century Wooldridge family home, surrounded
by ancient sycamores, currently serves as a restaurant in the center of
Sycamore Square Shopping Center.Directly across Rt. 60 in a oak grove stand the sanctuaries and educational buildings of Winfree Memorial Baptist Church, a (congregation celebrating its 150th year.) The nearby congregations of Midlothian First Baptist Church, formerly Midlothian African Baptist, and Mt. Pisgah Methodist Church date to the 1840s. Other churches located close to the village are Sycamore Presbyterian, Salisbury Presbyterian, Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, and Bethel Baptist Church, formed in 1817. Local Chesterfield County Public Schools include J.B. Watkins Elementary School, Midlothian Middle School on Rt. 60, and Midlothian High School on Charter Colony Drive. The newly constructed Midlothian branch of John Tyler Community College on Charter Colony Parkway provides for the higher educational needs of the diverse populations of western Chesterfield County and the greater region.  Numerous
shopping centers and housing developments such as Salisbury, Stonehenge,
Walton Park, the Grove, Four Seasons, Queensmill, Glamorgan, and Old Buckingham
encompass the village. Among shopping centers are the Village Marketplace,
Midlothian Station, the shops at Railey Hill, Sycamore Square, and Talbot's
Corner. Shops at Chesterfield Towne Center also serve the people of Midlothian
village and the surrounding area. Numerous garden and antique shops are
open in or near these centers. Golf enthusiasts may play on the greens
at Salisbury Country Club or Stonehenge Country Club.With the advent of circumferential highway Rt. 288 spurring increase rapid growth, Midlothian residents, under the guidance of the Midlothian Volunteer Coalition, strive to protect the village's historic buildings and natural landscape from further commercial encroachment. Local coalition volunteers comprise a steering 
committee that assists in planning, funding, landscaping, preserving,
protecting, and maintaining the Midlothian sidewalks and roadside. Members
of the Midlothian Garden Club plant and tend the flowers gracing the handsome
Rt. 60 stone entryway into the village. Plantings of crepe myrtle, dogwoods,
daylilies, and various other trees and shrubs delight the traveler's eye,
making the drive around Midlothian a memorable treat. |
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