Amherst County is a county in Virginia, United States, in the Piedmont region near the center of the Commonwealth, with its western edge climbing into the Blue Ridge Mountains. It had a population of 31,307 at the 2020 census and covers 479 square miles (1,240 km2) — 474 square miles of land and 4.9 square miles of water — centred near 37°37′N 79°08′W.<\/p>\n
Amherst is the county seat, and its postal code is 24521. The county has one incorporated town (Amherst), one census-designated place (Madison Heights), and dozens of smaller unincorporated communities and crossroads settlements. Amherst County observes Eastern Time.<\/p>\n
Amherst County has one incorporated town, one census-designated place, and a large scatter of unincorporated communities — mill sites, crossroads stores, and rural neighborhoods that never grew large enough to incorporate. The table below marks incorporated and CDP status separately from the many small Unincorp. communities, most of which have no separately reported census population.<\/p>\n
| Place<\/th>\n | Type<\/th>\n | Pop.<\/th>\n | ZIP<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amherst<\/td>\n | Town · seat<\/td>\n | 2,231<\/td>\n | 24521<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Madison Heights<\/td>\n | CDP<\/td>\n | 15,744<\/td>\n | 24572<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Monroe<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 24574<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sweet Briar<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 24595<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Clifford<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | 24533<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Elon<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Riverville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Stapleton<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Agricola<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Alhambra<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Allwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Alto<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Angelo<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Beverlytown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Brandywine<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Brightwell Mill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Browntown<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Buffalo Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Colony<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Coolwell<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Edgewood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Fancy Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Faulconerville<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Five Forks<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Forks of Buffalo<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Galts Mill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Glenwood<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Great Oaks<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Holiday Acres<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ivanhoe Forest<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Joshua Falls<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lakeview<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Lamont Acres<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Magruder Hills<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Martins Shop<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Martins Store<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Meadowview Hills<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Melwood Manor<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Merry Moor<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Monitor<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Montrose Heights<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Naola<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| New Glasgow<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Old Stage Run<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Oronoco<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pedlar<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pedlar Mills<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pera<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Pleasant View<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Prices Store<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Ruritan<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Salt Creek<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sandidges<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sandusky Park<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sandy Bottom<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sardis<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Snowden<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Sweet Briar Station<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Union Hill<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Walkers Ford<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| West Bethel<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| West Briar<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Westview<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Williamsburg Manor<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Willow<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Winesap<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Woodson<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Wright Shop<\/td>\n | Unincorp.<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n | —<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n Two names on the county’s own community list resemble neighboring-county places and are worth a note: Sweet Briar and Sweet Briar Station are the same locality (home of Sweet Briar College), listed separately here because both forms appear in postal and historical use. “Alhambra” and “Ivanhoe Forest” are subdivision names rather than historic crossroads, but both sit inside Amherst County and are kept.<\/p>\n ZIP Codes<\/h2>\nMost of the small unincorporated communities listed above have no ZIP code of their own and are served by the nearest post office town above.<\/p>\n Geography<\/h2>\nAmherst County straddles the boundary between the rolling Piedmont plateau and the Blue Ridge Mountains, which rise along its western edge inside the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs along the county’s mountain crest, and about 25 miles of the Appalachian Trail cross its western districts. The James River forms part of the county’s southern boundary, and the Pedlar and Buffalo rivers drain the interior toward it.<\/p>\n Amherst County borders Rockbridge County<\/a> and Nelson County<\/a> to the north, Appomattox County<\/a> to the southeast, Campbell County<\/a> and the independent city of Lynchburg to the south, and Bedford County<\/a> to the southwest.<\/p>\n Amherst County had 31,307 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 66 people per square mile of land. Madison Heights, an unincorporated CDP bordering Lynchburg, is the county’s largest community at 15,744 people; the town of Amherst is second at roughly 2,200. Median household income in the county runs below the Virginia median of $89,931, reflecting its mix of rural farming areas and a smaller manufacturing and services base than the Lynchburg metro core it adjoins.<\/p>\n Amherst County’s economy has shifted from its 19th- and early-20th-century base of tobacco farming, apple orcharding, timber, and soapstone mining toward manufacturing, healthcare, and services tied to the neighboring Lynchburg metro area. Sweet Briar College, a private liberal-arts college founded in 1901, anchors the Sweet Briar community and remains one of the county’s most visible institutions. Amherst County High School and Amherst County Public Schools serve as the county’s largest public employer outside of local government.<\/p>\n Amherst County was formed in 1761 from Albemarle County and named for Jeffery Amherst, the British general who commanded North American forces during the French and Indian War. The county’s early economy centered on tobacco, and the arrival of the railroad in the late 19th century diversified it into apple growing, timber, and mineral extraction. Sweet Briar College opened in 1906 on a former plantation estate bequeathed for the purpose, and remains a defining institution in the county’s western end.<\/p>\n U.S. Route 29 runs north–south through the county, connecting Amherst and Madison Heights to Lynchburg, while U.S. Route 60 crosses the county east–west toward the Blue Ridge Parkway. Approximate distances:<\/p>\n The nearest commercial airport is Lynchburg Regional Airport (LYH), just south of the county line.<\/p>\n Where is Amherst County, Virginia?<\/strong> What is the population of Amherst County?<\/strong> How big is Amherst County?<\/strong> What is the county seat of Amherst County?<\/strong> How many towns and communities are in Amherst County?<\/strong> |