On January 14, 1802, "Brooke Neal" was established by the Commonwealth of Virginia in Chapter 65 of the Acts of Assembly.

[4] Later to become the smallest incorporated town in the Central Virginia region,[7] Brookneal served as the closest center of commerce for portions of Campbell, Charlotte, and Halifax counties.

[7] As transportation modes developed, Brookneal's location offered proximity to waterways, roads and railroads.

Upstream from the fall line, which marked the western reaches of the coastal plain of Virginia (and adjacent areas of North Carolina), canals and other improvements were constructed to aid navigation upriver by batteaux and other watercraft.

In the later 19th century, railroads supplanted river transportation in the Piedmont region east of the mountains.

[8] By 1828, boats were traversing 124 miles (200 km) of "tolerable good and safe navigation" of the Roanoke River between Brookneal and Salem.

[8][10] (The plantation is now operated as a historic museum known as the Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial).

He established a ferry on the Staunton River to connect Red Hill Plantation with Campbell and Halifax counties on the other side.

[5] By the 1850s, the new technology of railroads was rapidly overtaking the canal systems in many areas; it provided access to additional places.

Planned by William Nelson Page of Campbell County, the right-of-way selected for favorable grades passed along the north bank of the river, crossing the L&D track.

In the late 19th century, Brookneal became the site of textile mills that used the water power of the river.

When residents rebuilt, they constructed substantial brick houses to replace many of the old wooden structures.

[14] Brookneal has suffered an economic downturn due largely to the dissolution of the Virginia Tobacco Co-Op, which made tobacco warehouses defunct, and the late-20th century decline of the American textile industry, which resulted in the closing of the Dan River mill in Brookneal.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.