Virginia
Buying Land in Prince Edward County, Virginia
County seat Farmville, home to Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University, and to the Moton Museum, a National Historic Landmark commemorating the county's pivotal role in the Brown v. Board of Education era. Outside Farmville's own town limits, the county's own zoning ordinance governs a genuinely rural, agricultural landscape.
A rural county with a pivotal place in American civil rights history
Prince Edward County, seated in the town of Farmville, is home to two colleges -- Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University -- and carries genuine national historical significance. In 1951, students at the county's Robert Russa Moton High School staged a walkout protesting unequal, segregated school conditions, leading to a lawsuit, Davis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, that became one of the five cases consolidated by the U.S. Supreme Court into Brown v. Board of Education. Rather than comply with subsequent desegregation orders, Prince Edward County took the extraordinary step of closing its entire public school system from 1959 to 1964, denying an education to thousands of the county's children -- predominantly Black students, many of whom had no alternative schooling available to them for years. The former Moton High School building is now the Moton Museum, a National Historic Landmark, and stands as one of the most significant civil-rights-era historic sites in the country.
That history has no direct bearing on zoning or septic permitting, but it is genuinely worth knowing as context for the place, and it is a distinctive enough fact that this page treats it as more than a footnote. Outside Farmville and its immediate surroundings, Prince Edward remains a rural, agricultural Southside Virginia county, with farmland, forestland, and the kind of open rural acreage this site generally covers.
Zoning: Farmville's own town rules, and the county's separate ordinance
Unlike several other jurisdictions covered in this same batch -- Norton, Petersburg, Poquoson, and Portsmouth, all independent cities with no surrounding county -- Farmville is an incorporated town that sits inside Prince Edward County. That means Farmville has its own town-level zoning ordinance and government covering land within town limits, while the rest of the county, including most of its rural and agricultural land, is governed by Prince Edward County's own separate zoning ordinance. A buyer should be clear about which side of that line a specific parcel falls on before assuming either government's rules apply.
As with any Virginia locality, production agriculture and silviculture are protected by-right in the county's agricultural zoning district under the state Zoning Enabling Act, and cannot be made subject to a special-permit requirement. Confirm the specific district, its non-farm use list, and any minimum-lot or road-frontage requirements directly with the county's Planning Department for land outside Farmville, or with the Town of Farmville's own planning office for anything inside town limits.
Septic, well, and the practical due-diligence sequence
Septic and private well permitting in Prince Edward County is a state function under Virginia's standard model, handled by a Virginia Department of Health local health district rather than a county or town department. This page describes Prince Edward as likely served by the Piedmont Health District, which this session confirmed covers neighboring Nottoway County and regionally groups together several Southside Virginia counties -- but this specific pairing for Prince Edward was not independently re-confirmed this session, so verify the current district and department contact directly with VDH.
For a rural Prince Edward County parcel outside Farmville, the practical sequence mirrors most rural Virginia counties: confirm the zoning district and any special-permit requirements with the county Planning Department first, then confirm septic feasibility with the relevant VDH health district office before finalizing a purchase contingent on either.
Who to Call Before Buying Land in Prince Edward County
Direct WebFetch to the county's own site and to Wikipedia both returned network-egress errors this session; department details reflect general knowledge rather than a source confirmed this session. Confirm current department structure, hours, and contact details directly, and confirm Prince Edward's VDH health district assignment directly with VDH.
Planning & Zoning
Prince Edward County Planning Department
County zoning district lookups and building/zoning permits for land outside Farmville town limits.
Planning & Zoning
Town of Farmville Planning Office
Town-level zoning district lookups and building/zoning permits within Farmville town limits.
Septic / Onsite Wastewater
Virginia Department of Health (local health district serving Prince Edward County)
Septic and private well permitting -- confirm the current district assignment directly.
Recorder / Clerk / Land Records
Prince Edward County Circuit Court Clerk
Recorded deeds, easements, and plats for a specific parcel.
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Get local guidanceSources
- Moton Museum — Robert Russa Moton Museum (accessed 2026-09)
- Piedmont Health District — Virginia Department of Health (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09