Disputanta is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Prince George County

Prince George County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the Richmond-Petersburg

Richmond-Petersburg

The Greater Richmond Region is a region located in a central part of the state of Virginia in the United States. As of 2010, it had a population of 1,258,251, making it the 43rd largest MSA in the country...

 region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The postal ZIP Code of Disputanta, Virginia is 23842.

History

Popular legend has it that William Mahone

William Mahone

William Mahone was a civil engineer, teacher, soldier, railroad executive, and a member of the Virginia General Assembly and U.S. Congress. Small of stature, he was nicknamed "Little Billy"....

 (1826–1895), builder of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad

Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad

The Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad was built between Norfolk and Petersburg, Virginia and was completed by 1858.It played a role on the American Civil War , and became part of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad in 1870. The AM&O became the Norfolk and Western in 1881...

 (now Norfolk Southern), and his cultured wife, Otelia Butler Mahone (1837–1911), traveled along the newly completed Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad naming stations. Otelia was reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Walter Scott

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

. From his historical Scottish novels, Otelia chose the place names of Wakefield

Wakefield, Virginia

Wakefield is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,038 at the 2000 census.Wakefield is famous for being the "Peanut Capital of the World" and the location of the famous , as well as the site of Airfield Conference and 4-H Educational Center...

 as well as Windsor

Windsor, Virginia

Windsor is an incorporated town in Isle of Wight County in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States. It is located near the crossroads of U.S. Route 460 and U.S. Route 258. The population was 916 at the 2000 census...

 and Waverly

Waverly, Virginia

Waverly is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,309 at the 2000 census.-History:Popular legend has it that William Mahone , builder of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad , and his cultured wife, Otelia Butler Mahone , traveled along the newly...

. She tapped the Scottish Clan "McIvor" for the name of Ivor

Ivor, Virginia

Ivor is an incorporated town in Southampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 320 at the 2000 census.- Overview :Popular legend has it that William Mahone , builder of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad , and his cultured wife, Otelia Butler Mahone , who had been raised in...

, a small town in neighboring Southampton County

Southampton County, Virginia

As of the census of 2010, there were 18,570 people, 6,279 households, and 4,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 people per square mile . There were 7,058 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile...

.

As they continued west, they reached a station just west of the Sussex County

Sussex County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,504 people, 4,126 households, and 2,809 families residing in the county. The population density was 26 people per square mile . There were 4,653 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...

 line in Prince George County where they could not agree on a suitable name from the books. Instead, they became creative, and invented a new name in honor of their dispute. This is how the tiny community of Disputanta was named.

The N&P railroad was completed in 1858. William Mahone later became a Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, and later, a Senator in the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

. A large portion of U.S. Highway 460 between Petersburg

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

 and Suffolk

Suffolk, Virginia

Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...

 is named General Mahone Highway in his honor.

Disputanta was a thriving rail town in the first half of the twentieth century. It was an important stop along the Norfolk and Western Railroad due to its two 50,000 gallon water tanks that supplied water to steam locomotives. Disputanta once had several hundred residents, two schools, nine stores, three banks, two peanut warehouses, a saw mill, and a number of other businesses. In the mid twentieth century as Norfolk and Western replaced their last steam locomotives with modern diesel locomotives and ended passenger rail service, trains no longer stopped at the Disputanta station anymore and its population declined as rail workers left. Today the town only consists of approximately 75 homes, a fire station, an elementary school, and a modern post office built in the 1990s. A large Food Lion

Food Lion

Food Lion LLC is an American grocery store company headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina that operates approximately 1,300 supermarkets in 11 Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states as well as Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia under the Food Lion, Harveys Supermarket, Bloom, Bottom Dollar...

 warehouse and an auto parts factory operated by Standard Motor Parts are located along Highway 460 a few miles west of Disputanta.

In the late 19th Century a large number of Czech

Czech people

Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...

 and Slovak immigrants moved to Prince George County due to the availability of cheap farmland. The area is still largely rural and many of the descendants of these Czech and Slovak immigrants continue to farm the land around Disputanta.

The historic Chester Plantation located on U.S. Route 460

U.S. Route 460

U.S. Route 460 is a spur of U.S. Route 60. It currently runs for 655 miles from Norfolk, Virginia at U.S. Route 60 at Ocean View to Frankfort, Kentucky at U.S. Route 60. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky...

 just west of Disputanta is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.