Waverly, VA

Waverly is a Sussex County town whose downtown grew around the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad in the nineteenth century. The rail line connected the town with Norfolk and points west, while local warehouses and stores handled the region's agricultural products and timber. A 1904 fire reshaped much of the center, but the buildings that followed created the Waverly Downtown Historic District, with storefronts, warehouses, and civic spaces along Main Street.

Today Waverly is the concentrated service center for this part of Sussex County. U.S. 460 and West Main Street carry retail, restaurants, banks, gas stations, a post office, and small shops through the town, while Allen W. Gibson Memorial Park, the Ruritan ballfields, and the Sussex County Young Men's Athletic Club Park give residents places for sports and gatherings. The Waverly Medical Center and rescue squad add health and emergency services to the local map. Waverly's character comes from the old depot-town pattern still meeting present-day county life: rail history downtown, farm country beyond it, and everyday services gathered along the main roads.