Fort Henry was established at the Falls of the Appomattox on Thomas Pitt’s land, to protect the settlers and prevent the Indians from fishing in the Appomattox River. Captain Abraham Wood was designated as the commander. Fort Henry was the beginning of Petersburg.

The General Assembly passed an act calling for a garrison to again occupy Fort Henry, with Major Peter Jones as the commander.

Blandford Church was built in 1735, Petersburg’s oldest structure.

In 1738, William Watson laid out 46 lots in Old Towne Petersburg for Abraham Jones, Jr., and the sale of these lots continued for many years. These lots are on both sides of Old Street west from the intersection of North Market Street.

The Governor of Virginia signed the act founding Petersburg and Blandford, December 17, 1748

1781, Major General William Phillips and his 2500-man British army defeated 1000 American militia under the command of Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg at the Battle of Petersburg.

Union forces numbering approximately 1300 soldiers under Brigadier General August Kautz conducted the first attack on Petersburg Jun 9, 1864. Approximately 125 men of the Second Class Militia commanded by Major Fletcher H. Archer delayed the attack until Confederate reinforcements arrived.

March 7, 1960, The Civil Rights Movement Launches in Petersburg when 40 African-Americans entered the white section of the William McKenney Library and sat in all the seats to protest its “whites only” policy. This was the beginning of the civil rights movement in the city.