The Railroad Tracks at Dry Fork, Jim’s Warehouse, and the old Post Office/Barbershop, 2021

“I reckon, if people outside of Dry Fork didn’t know the people inside, they’d think you made up half of what you say.”

Garland Grant (1929-2020), storeowner & lifelong resident of the community

I’ll preface this page with a few thoughts on what Dry Fork means to me. Dry Fork is the community I spent the first twenty years of my life within. It is my favorite place in the world and my family is greatly entwined with the bountiful history of the tiny place. The buildings, people, and memories that remain are what sparked my interest to preserve the past and learn more about my identity. Here are some of my memories that paint Dry Fork for the place it is within my mind.

My family has always enjoyed visiting the local cemeteries and graveyards. About a third of a mile from our property are two churches where four of my great-great grandparents are buried, also my great-grandparents, as well as many notable Dry Fork residents. At most of the church graveyards I can find an ancestor, distant aunt, uncle, or cousin. So, within a half-mile circle of my home I could trace six generations back.

To conclude, a lot of my memories of Dry Fork are about the seclusion of the land and the abandoned monuments which pointed to the idea of life. I did not get more acquainted with the local community until I found my passion for history and began doing genealogy research. I’ve since spoken with many distant cousins and descendants of the early Dry Fork settlers and seen how abundantly deep the roots are. I’ve wondered how deep they must be in every other little community like Dry Fork. However, I also realized that the Dry Fork I knew–while still my favorite place–is a shell of what it was about a century ago. 

A History of the Village of Dry Fork

Today, the definition of the land of “Dry Fork” is determined more in terms of voting precincts. A modern search on the area will say there are thousands of residents and it may appear like some big place. However, the core of Dry Fork Road remains, and dozens of surrounding communities that historically had their own individual names are now classified as Dry Fork as well. 

There could be a book in itself recounting the conditions of the Dry Fork vicinity prior to the development of the railroad. Before the founding of Pittsylvania County in 1767 the frontier land was sparse with settlers and grist mills along the branches of Banister River. As a newly independent nation, small tobacco farming communities developed nearby as local settling families married and grew throughout the early 19th century. Of course, every major war took its toll on the families of Dry Fork as well. We cannot forget the lives cut short and the generations severed from growing up in a community to make their own.

As the story goes with hundreds and thousands of small rural communities throughout the United States: once the railroad was constructed new business development really took place. In 1874 the first Dry Fork Depot was constructed at the new railroad and local resident John E. Jones was appointed as Postmaster. New materials and new people were on freight through Dry Fork for the first time, so a community hub formed there at the depot.

The 1880 Census 

The vicinity of Dry Fork was considered part of the Callands District in the 1880 Census. The majority of men kept farms or worked as farm laborers and the women kept house. A handful of men were railroad workers and several worked in tobacco factories. Some of the notable occupations were listed as follows (keep in mind, ages were typically estimates on the census):

The Dry Fork vicinity sprouted new communities with their own identities. For example, the communities of Hopewell, Oakland, Whitmell, and Concord were centered around the churches of the same name. Some of the local communities were named after the prevailing settled families of that area, such as Hinesville, Piggs, Blairs, and Swansonville. Some of the other communities have names which have origins unknown to me. These old communities sustained stores, churches, and shops like the rest, including Weal, Wilmer (or “Wilma”), and Caddo. Other communities are descriptive of the landscape, for example Spring Garden and Pleasant Gap, which travels over White Oak Mountain.

Dry Fork Town

By the turn of the 20th century, the Dry Fork Road was bustling with mules, carts, and small business. The following excerpt is from a book entitled “Yes There is a Dry Fork Virginia” by Charles B. Motley (1977). He described the covered wagons of Dry Fork from memory and his words form a scene that is easy to imagine.

“Covered wagons came from all directions traveling over the narrow winding and hilly dirt roads. Roads were not at all as we know them today. All were dirt with hills, knolls, and sharp bends. During late fall, winter, and early spring wagons were near hub-deep in mud, most of the remainder of the year wagons would create a cloud of dust. Wagon brakes were often insufficient to hold a heavy load when going downhill. Each wagon carried a heavy chain which would be placed through the wagon wheel and tied to the wagon in such a way as to cause the wheel to drag–not to turn. When roads were powder dry, fortunate were the men on the first wagon or two of the train, wagons to the rear traveled in a cloud of dust.”

The little village functioned as a town for a period of fourteen years. While Dry Fork was designated as a town (between 15 March 1906 and 15 March 1920) it was governed by the Chatham Magisterial District, which was one of seven districts in Pittsylvania County. The county authorities appointed a constable, supervisor, justices of the peace, and an overseer of the poor to manage the town’s administration. Dry Fork Town had a mayor, six councilmen, and one sergeant as follows:

Enumeration of Dry Fork Town – 1910 Census

Photograph taken at Dry Fork Railroad, circa 1910’s

There were 110 people in all within 19 families. Here were the heads of household within Dry Fork Town in 1910:

County officials from Dry Fork

• George W. Giles of Dry Fork served as a justice of the peace in 1908 and 1909.
• William Ward Pigg of Dry Fork served as a constable from 1908 until 1910.
• There was no constable between 1911 and 1916.
• A. H. Cox of Dry Fork, served as a fourth justice of peace from 1917 until 1919 upon request for additional law enforcement.
• Ellis Hannibal Jones of Dry Fork served as a justice of the peace in 1921
  • He was the father to postmaster and barber Charlie Hannibal Jones
• Benjamin Reaves Yeatts of Dry Fork also served as a justice of the peace from 1921 until 1923
  • He married Madie Jones Yeatts, daughter of Ellis H. Jones.

Not Incorporated – 1920 Census

Dry Fork Town was annulled as a town merely two months after the 1920 census was recorded, so someone went back, marked through the name, and wrote “not incorporated.” Here were the sixteen families living in Dry Fork during its last couple months as a town:

According to Charles Motley in “Yes There is a Dry Fork Virginia,” six passenger trains stopped in Dry Fork. Two of them were discontinued around 1923, and the other four made stops at the depot until around 1945. After the village reverted to “unincorporated community” status, small business endeavors continued to be developed and grew to establish reputations. Many Dry Fork residents hosted small stores, or woodworking shops, and other services from near their domestic properties.

Electricity did not have a presence in Dry Fork until the mid 1930’s. After this point, the local stores could refrigerate their dairy and meats. The late S. Dail Yeatts (1928-1922) remembered when the community members invested in electricity and bought radios, which “connected them to the world.”

More notable Dry Fork residents