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Ivor is an incorporated town in Southampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 320 at the 2000 census. Popular legend has it that William Mahone (1826-1895), builder of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad (now Norfolk Southern), and his cultured wife, Otelia Butler Mahone (1837-1911), who had been raised in Smithfield, traveled along the newly completed Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad naming stations. Otelia was reading Ivanhoe a book written by Sir Walter Scott. From his historical Scottish novels, Otelia chose the place names of Windsor, Waverly and Wakefield. Otelia Mahone is said to have tapped the Scottish Clan "McIvor" for the name of Ivor. Later, when they could not agree, it is said that they became even more creative, and invented a new word in honor of their "dispute", which is how the tiny community of Disputanta was named. The N&P railroad was completed in 1858. William Mahone was born in Southampton County, in the tiny community of Monroe, which was located on the Nottoway River about 8 miles south of present-day Courtland. He attended Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and trained as a civil engineer. After building the N&P railroad, became a Major General in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, while his wife Otelia served as a nurse in Richmond. Mahone headed the state's Readjuster Party after the War and later was elected as a Senator in the United States Congress. A large portion of U.S. Highway 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk is named in honor of William Mahone. Research Tips
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