Five Interesting Facts About Lynchburg

1. The City of Lynchburg charter originally comprised only 45 acres. Lynchburg has grown to a size of 49 square miles. The charter was established in 1786.

2. World Wide Words Reports :
"Lynch is short for lynch law, the punishment of a person for some supposed crime without bothering with the niceties of a legal trial. All the evidence points to its being an archetypal American expression. For its origin we must look to Virginia in the 1780s, during the American Revolution. There is some doubt about which Lynch gave his name to the expression, since there were two: Captain William Lynch of Pittsylvania County and Colonel James Lynch of Bedford County. However, both were trying to bring order and justice to an area notoriously lacking both. It's William Lynch who is usually mentioned in scholarly discussions, mainly, it seems, because documentary evidence survives of his efforts."

3. The oldest college in Hill City is the Virginia University of Lynchburg. It was established in 1886 and is still in operation today.

4. Joseph Nichols Tavern was a frequent stop for Thomas Jefferson on his way to Poplar Forest from Monticello. It is rumored that he first tasted the "love apple" a tomato in Lynchburg Virginia.

5. Ota Benga , who was a pigmy on exhibited at the Saint Louis Fair in 1904, and later was displayed in the "monkey house" at the Bronx Zoo. His teeth were filed into points to make him look more fearsome. When he was at the Bronx zoo, 50,000 would come daily to see him. He came to Lynchburg after a uproar from Black clergy. Lived out his days between the Ann Spencer House and what is now, Virginia University of Lynchburg. People that knew him said he was the bell ringer at the then college. He played with Chauncey Spenser while Chauncy was a child. Later, Ota Benga committed suicide in Hill City.


(Interesting facts about Lynchburg)