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South Boston is a town in Halifax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,491 at the 2000 census. NASCAR drivers Ward Burton and Jeff Burton are from South Boston and prepared for their racing career at the local speedway. Baseball player Michael Tucker is also from here. In 2002 a former local tobacco warehouse was transformed into the Prizery, a regional visual and perfoming arts center. History
On December 8, 1796, the General Assembly authorized eight commissioners to establish at Boyd's Ferry on the south side of the Dan River the town of South Boston, named for Boston, Massachusetts. Because this site proved vulnerable to flooding it was eventually abandoned in favor of a new settlement on the north side. By the 1850s the Richmond and Danville Railroad passed through South Boston, which eventually developed into an important market for brightleaf tobacco. In 1884 it was incorporated as a town; in 1960 it became an independent city by court order. South Boston became a town again and rejoined Halifax County on June 30, 1995. Research Tips
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