Petersburg Profile

History

On the banks of the Appomattox River, Petersburg grew from the former Fort Henry, established in 1645. Years later, the Port of Petersburg became renowned as a commercial center for transporting and processing cotton, tobacco and metal, produced and shipped from the region. A travel technology developed, Petersburg became established as a railroad center. General Grant came in pursuit to destroy the Petersburg Transportation System. During the Battle of the Crater, Union troops tunneled under Confederate fortifications with disastrous results. The Siege of Petersburg preceded Lee's surrender and the end of the war.

Petersburg is a city eager to grow and evolve as a business, industrial, transportation and manufacturing center. The City of Petersburg welcomes you, as it continues to make history today

Location

Located along the eastern seaboard, approximately halfway between New York and Florida, Petersburg is at the juncture of Interstates 95 and 85, just 23 miles south of Virginia's State Capital, Richmond. The 23.1 square mile city is one of 13 jurisdictions that comprise the Richmond-Petersburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Petersburg is the center of the Appomattox Basin regional economy that includes the counties of Chesterfield, Dinwiddie and Prince George and the cities of Hopewell and Colonial Heights

Economy
  • City Taxable Sales - $235.1 million
  • MSA Taxable Sales - $10.3 million
  • Assessed Value of Taxable Real Estate - $882,882,500
  • Average Sales Price of Existing Home (4th qtr) - $97,400
  • *Source: Central Virginia Regional MLS
Climate Generally mild winters and warm summers.
The average annual:
Temperature 58
January Temperature 38.4
July Temperature 77.2
Rainfall 44.7"
Snowfall 9.6"

Population
City of Petersburg 37,000
Appomattox Basin Region 414,700
Richmond-Petersburg MSA 982,900

Utilities

Electricity - Virginia Power, with district headquarters in the city, is the city's predominant source of electricity. A portion of the city is supplied electricity by Southside Electric Cooperative.

Natural Gas - Natural gas is available throughout most of the city by Columbia Gas of Virginia.

Water - The City owns and maintains a water distribution and storage system. The capacity of the City's storage tanks is approximately 10.3 million gallons. The city purchases water from the Appomattox Water Authority.

Sewer - The city's wastewater treatment is supplied by the South Central Wastewater Authority which operates a treatment facility in Petersburg.