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Waverly is an incorporated town in Sussex County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,309 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), 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 Waverly, as well as Windsor and Wakefield. She tapped the Scottish Clan "McIvor" for the name of Ivor, a small town in neighboring Southampton County. When they could not agree, it is said that they invented a new name, which is how the tiny community of Disputanta was created. The N&P railroad was completed in 1858. Waverly is the 2nd largest of the towns Gen. Mahone founded. William Mahone became a Major General in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, and later, a Senator in the United States Congress. A large portion of U.S. Highway 460 between Petersburg and Suffolk is named in his honor. Research Tips
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