[5] Sculptor Leslie Garland Bolling was born in Dendron, as was mayor of Hopewell, Virginia, Curtis W. Harris.

[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.2 km2), all land.

Dendron was originally a mill town, built and run by the Surry Lumber Company in to house employees of its sawmill.

By 1906, Dendron had a population of 1513 people, 298 dwellings, two hotels, eighteen Company stores and five churches.

In addition to those establishments listed above, there was also a post office, two schools, a jail, two banks, two doctors, a skating rink, a movie theater, and a number of non-company owned businesses; such as a drug store, barber shops, garages, cleaning establishments, a pool room, a restaurant, bakery and an ice cream parlor.

The company also operated a narrow gauge railroad known as Sussex, Surry and Southampton Railway that transported logs to its sawmill in Dendron, and lumber to its wharf on the James River.

With its major employer gone, the town lost population rapidly, as did nearby Sedley, Vicksville, and Central Hill.

The following year, the company began dismantling and selling its equipment and buildings, leaving Dendron without a railroad, water system or electricity.