Emporia, Virginia
Emporia is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, surrounded by Greensville County, United States. Emporia and a predecessor town have been the county seat of Greensville County since 1791. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,766, making it the third-least populous city in Virginia. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Emporia with surrounding Greensville County for statistical purposes. History Emporia has long been a transportation crossroads. The Meherrin River, like the Nottoway River and the Blackwater River, empties to the southeast into Albemarle Sound. The Town of Hicksford (originally Hicks' Ford) was settled by Captain Robert Hicks (1658-1739) in the Virginia Colony, where the Fort Road of eastern Virginia crossed the Meherrin River en route to Fort Christanna. The road was a major north–south trail used by native peoples and sometimes called the "Halifax road". Captain Hicks was an Indian trader who resided in Prince George Co. prior to moving his family to Hicksford upon becoming the Commander of Fort Christanna. (His surname is spelled both "Hicks" and "Hix" in colonial records.) In 1709, Hicks purchased a land tract of 1280 acres along the northside of the Meherrin River that has been previously