Fun fact: The winning entry of the world’s largest potato pancake competition at the 1986 Amelia County Fair weighed over 2 tons and used 4 truckloads of potatoes.

We spent a day in Amelia County and rated our impressions below. Ratings are based on diversity and quality of each category. We explain reasons when we awarded fewer than 5 stars to some of our categories.

• Accommodations ⭐️⭐️ We rated 2-stars because Amelia County offers few places to stay. This factored in our decision to return home the same day as our visit.
• Dog Friendly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• History ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Recreation ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ We rated 4-stars overall because the pier at Lake Amelia was destroyed during a storm and had not been replaced. As a result, there was almost nowhere to fish except from a boat. However, narrowing down for biking, hiking & kayaking, it’s a super duper 5-stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
• Restaurants ⭐️⭐️⭐️ We rated 3-stars because Amelia County has limited dining options & we couldn’t find any dog friendly places to dine.
• Sightseeing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Amelia Court House

16000 Court St. Amelia Court House

Amelia Court House still maintains pre-Civil War documents. While passing through Amelia, the Union soldiers, in haste to catch the Confederate Army, had no time to destroy records. Many other courthouses in the South did not fare so well.

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Before the Civil War, mineral springs at Amelia Court House served as spa vacation destinations. This prompted the building of a railroad to the region. Today, bottled water from Amelia Springs sells at local Virginia grocery stores.

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During the Civil War, the railway serving Amelia Court House became a crucial supply line for the confederate troops. Before General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, he spent April 4th and 5th at Amelia Court House awaiting desperately needed supplies which never arrived.

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Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park

photo from Facebook – Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park, 6541 Saylers Creek Rd., Rice

After leaving Amelia Court House, Lee’s famished troops headed west in an attempt to find supplies and meet up with reinforcements. Union troops continued their pursuit.

Map courtesy of The American Heritage New History of the Civil War, 1996 edition. For scale, Amelia Court House is approximately 40 miles from Richmond. Red arrows indicate Lee’s flight. Black arrows indicate Grant’s indirect pursuit of Lee. Grant intended to block Lee’s attempted rendezvous with additional confederate forces.

Crossing Sailor’s Creek proved difficult as recent rains had strengthened this tributary of the Appomattox River. On April 6, 1865, the Union troops took advantage of the Confederate troops’ vulnerability and attacked. This devastating blow effectively ended the Civil War. Lee surrendered three days later in nearby Appomattox.

The Visitors Center at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park is dog friendly!

Visitors can experience these battle sites firsthand at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park. In addition to living history programs about the final major Civil War battles, the park provides several dog friendly hiking trails and a driving tour.

The Union Army used the Hillman House as a hospital during the battles of Sailor’s Creek while the Hillman family took refuge in the basement.

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Amelia Wildlife Management Area

Amelia Wildlife Management Area, Amelia Court House

What’s not to like about a one hundred-acre secluded lake, and mile upon mile of scenic hiking trails? Plus, there are no crowds and it’s free!

Map found at: https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/Amelia-WMA-Map.pdf

The Amelia Wildlife Management Area includes Lake Amelia for fishing and boating, miles of trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding, dove fields, shooting ranges, and primitive camping sites. I like this video by Virginia’s Department of Wildlife Resources because it shows exactly what to expect during a visit.

However, we had bad luck with the timing of our visit. The fishing pier had been hauled away after storm damage and it had not yet been replaced.

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LOVEworks

16501 Church St., Amelia Court House. Photo from: Virginia Love Signs (LOVEworks) – Facebook. Photographer: Kristen Jane Condrey

Amelia County now has its LOVEworks on display at its Historical Society but didn’t have one during our visit.

My consolation prize: I got to see this fantastic pink house near the Courthouse

Know before You Go

GPS is great but we also used a county road map to get around.

15415 Patrick Henry Hwy., Amelia Court House

Amelia County is part of the Civil War driving tour that follows Lee’s retreat to Appomattox in April 1865.

The pizza at Mario’s is divine, but the restaurant does not have dog friendly seating. We ordered it to go, watched the sunset, and savored each bite.

Amelia Wildlife Management Area does not have any bathrooms. Also you must have a fishing license to access the area.

Plan to visit during the Amelia County Fair, the Amelia Day Festival, the Amelia Frightfest, Amelia Historical Society events, or when Morefield Mine opens occasionally to sell its minerals. This mine—the gem of Amelia County—is the best source of the ornamental stone Amazonite in the United States. Follow Morefield Mine on Facebook to learn popup dates to buy Amazonite and other minerals. The mine is no longer open to the public for recreational mining, but served in this capacity for 30 years.

Amelia County Animal Shelter

The Amelia County Animal Shelter accepts monetary donations and items such as dog food, towels, and blankets. Pets are available to meet by appointment only and the shelter is not open on weekends.

Road Trip Reads

These books, all available at Audible, for easy road trip listening each provide insights into different aspects of Amelia County.

Cold Case Corner

Please review and share the details on these unsolved homicides. Someone out there knows something.

Annamaria Phelps and Daniel Lauer were citizens of Amelia County who were murdered on Labor Day weekend 1989. It is suspected that they were murdered by the Colonial Parkway Killer, who has never been caught. This serial killer is the suspect in at least 8 homicides that occurred between 1986 and 1989. These cases were covered in the Crime Junkie podcast as well as by the Oxygen Network and Bravo.

(Update: In January 2024, DNA evidence linked Alan Wilmer Wade, Sr., who is deceased, to two Colonial Parkway homicides. He continues to be a suspect in the other cases, including those of Annamarie Phelps and Daniel Laurer.)