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Appomattox is a town in Appomattox County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,761 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Appomattox County. Appomattox is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. History
The town was named for the Appomattox River, itself named for the Appamatucks branch of the Powhatan tribe - who actually lived somewhat to the east of the present town, around the area of present-day Petersburg. The area of Appomattox county, above the fall line, was actually within the territory of the Monohoac tribe, who were Siouan. The town is located three miles west of the restored village of Appomattox Court House, the site of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, signaling the end of the American Civil War. The site of the historic courthouse village is now preserved as Appomattox Court House National Historical Park and is administered by the National Park Service. At the time of the Civil War, the present community of Appomattox was the site of a railroad depot on the line between Petersburg and Lynchburg. At the end of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee made a last desperate attempt to reach this depot, hoping that he could move the Army of Northern Virginia south to meet the Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee which was then located in the Carolinas. The arrival of Federal troops blocking Lee's army from the depot was what led to his surrender. The inconvenience of the railroad's location to Appomattox Court House led to the decline of the courthouse community. After fire destroyed the courthouse building in 1892, the county relocated the court to the depot area, which formally became the county seat in 1894. In 1990 there were 295 residents reported for Appomattox County while the Town of Appomattox had 1703 residents. Research Tips
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