Farmville developed near the headwaters of the Appomattox River in central Virginia; the waterway was long its main transportation access to other markets.

Enslaved African Americans built the canal system that allowed commodity crops of tobacco and farm produce to be loaded on a James River bateau in Farmville and shipped to Petersburg, Virginia.

Israel Hill was home to both White people and free African-American laborers, craftsmen, and farmers freed from the end of the Revolutionary War to around 1810.

People of African and European descent worked for the same wages, built a church together, and could have resort to the court of law within the 350-acre town.

[8] The route, which was subsidized by a contribution from Farmville, required an expensive crossing of the Appomattox River slightly downstream, which became known as the High Bridge.

The Virginia General Assembly chartered the Piedmont Coal Company for John Dalby in 1860.

[7] Confederate General Robert E. Lee retreated through Farmville as he escaped the Union Army.

Farmville was the object of the Confederate Army's desperate push to get rations to feed its soldiers near the end of the American Civil War.

The rations had originally been destined for Danville, but an alert quartermaster ordered the train back to Farmville.

Several prominent state legislators and civil rights advocates who were African American are buried in the cemetery.

[6] The Triassic clay of the Farmville Basin was mixable and plastic enough and would not shrink too much, which made it suitable for bricks.

The company built a one and a half mile spur rail line from the Farmville and Powhatan Railroad to the mine.

The lithia springs were considered as a possible destination for tourists but the investors decided to bottle the water and ship it.

Wealthy white students usually attended all-white private schools (segregation academies) that formed in response.

Prince Edward County's public schools remained closed for ten years.

Moton High School building was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1998 for its significance to the Civil Rights Movement.

It houses the Robert Russa Moton Museum, a center for the study of civil rights in education.

[20] In 2015, Longwood University and Moton Museum entered into a formal affiliation to advance understanding of the history of the struggle for civil rights.

The First Baptist Church, Farmville Historic District, Longwood House, Robert Russa Moton High School, Sayler's Creek Battlefield, and Worsham High School are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Farmville is located in northern Prince Edward County, with the town center situated south of the Appomattox River.

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

Pre 2020, the festival occurred the first weekend in May with all the traditional fare concluding with a fireworks show at the Farmville airport.

(The actual geographic center of the state is 20 miles (32 km) north at the intersection of Route 24 and 60 outside of Dillwyn in Buckingham County).

In 2022, after several cancelleations due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Heart of Viriginia Festival moved to a date in September coinciding with Longwood University's Family Weekend.

The water plant sells a portion of this removed sedimentation to be mixed with topsoil and then to be made ready for farm use.

[36] The town of Farmville is located within the Piedmont Region and has many tributaries which filter into the Appomattox River.

There are a couple of drains which are located within Farmville and its neighboring counties which are of concern, including Gross Creek, which usually exceeds the standards of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[38] The wastewater undergoes an extensive treatment process based on parameters set by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality[39] before being released back into the Appomattox River downstream of Farmville.

Contamination levels in the town's waterways are currently being checked bimonthly to monitor the water quality of creeks and streams leaving Farmville.

Tests are conducted to see if the town's water pipes are leaching any pollutants into the environment and to detect any other sources of contamination.