Local history guide History · Town
Blackstone grew from a tavern crossroads into a railroad tobacco center
Virginia's district record traces the town from Schwartz Tavern through the 1881 rail era and 1888 incorporation.
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Image & publication standards →The commercial sequence
Virginia DHR describes Blackstone's early settlement around Schwartz Tavern in the late 18th century. Growth accelerated after formation of the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1881, and the community was renamed and incorporated as Blackstone in 1888.
The town developed as a tobacco market as transportation and commercial networks expanded. The register record explains that economic pattern; it does not establish the operating history of every business, a surviving rail service or a current tobacco market.
Those questions need later business, rail and municipal records.
Sources & verification
Official register page checked November 2, 2026 for Schwartz Tavern, railroad, incorporation and tobacco-market history.
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