Books related to Dinwiddie County

This section is dedicated to published works that shed light on the people, places, and past of Dinwiddie County. Whether you're researching family lines, studying the county's Civil War history, or exploring how communities developed over time, books can provide rich detail and valuable context beyond primary records.

Here you’ll find bibliographies, links to digitized books, book transcripts, and references to works available in libraries and archives.

• Dinwiddie County: The Countrey of the Apamatica a historical work compiled by the Virginia Writers' Program under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s and 1940s. This publication offers a comprehensive exploration of Dinwiddie County's rich heritage, encompassing its early exploration, settlement, and development.
• Dinwiddie County: Carrefour of the Commonwealth by John R. T. Rives – A comprehensive history authored by Richard L. Jones and published in 1976 by the Board of Supervisors of Dinwiddie County. This work was commissioned in connection with the celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the American Revolution and offers a general history of the county, including early settlement, agriculture, and war involvement. "Carrefour" is a French word meaning "intersection" or "crossroads," and in this context, it highlights Dinwiddie County's significant role as a crossroads of transportation and commerce in early Virginia.
• Green Rives of Dinwiddie County and his Descendants by Ronald R. Seagrave – Green Rives, Jr. was the father of Jefferson Randolph Rives, and his descendants have been documented in a genealogy book called "Green Rives of Dinwiddie County, Virginia and Lincoln County, Tennessee and His Descendants". Green Rives, Jr. also had other children, including John Rives and William Rives. The book, written by John Robert Thomas Rives, provides details on Green Rives's lineage and descendants. Besides this transcript, you can view a copy of the book at Internet Archives
  
• Home to the Cockade City! by M. Clifford Harrison – This partial biography of Petersburg, Virginia, explores the city’s colonial heritage, Civil War history, and the civic pride that earned it the nickname “Cockade City.” The book captures the character and transformation of a Southern town through the eyes of its citizens. An excerpt from the book, titled "The Graves of Blandford," is available here.
  
• The Pegrams Of Virginia And Their Descendants by Samuel W. Simmons. The previous site coordinators (Brenda Bond, Nola Duffy and Carol Morrison), worked with Dr. Simmons when he was doing the research for this book and Winona Solomon, their co-host was especially helpful. Dr. Simmons was very proud of his family and ancestry. There is a lot of information in the book that may be helpful to others and the book touches on many of the early families of Dinwiddie Co. We still need to link the index to the pages but it is all online. Enjoy! © Samuel W. Simmons. No portion of this material may be used except for personal information. No portion of the material is to be used, copied or reposted in any form or any media without specific written consent of the author or his successors and assigns.
  
• Plantation Houses Around Petersburg in the Counties of Prince George, Chesterfield and Dinwiddie, Virginia strong>by Edward A. Wyatt, IV (1955). Reprinted from articles in The Petersburg Progress-Index. In his foreword, Wyatt describes this as “a partial inventory of the surviving plantation houses (with a few churches and sites) in the vicinity of Petersburg” that stand out for their history, architecture, or both. He deliberately keeps the accounts brief—resisting deep dives into biography or chains of title—to spark further interest rather than claim final authority. Drawing from county records, old insurance policies, newspapers, and other sources, Wyatt highlights both well-known estates and overlooked smaller or nineteenth-century homes, offering glimpses into vanished ways of life in Southside Virginia’s classic plantation country.

  A true volunteer-contributed treasure, digitized and freely available through FamilySearch (requires a free account to view).

  
  

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