Lynchburg

Lynchburg, independent city (1990 pop. 66,049), in but administratively not a part of Campbell co., central Va., on the James River; settled 1757, inc. as a city 1852. It is a trade center and tobacco market in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mts. Its varied manufactures include shelving, heating and communications equipment, sheet metal, conveyor systems, nuclear power products, crushed limestone, lumber and wood products, power transformers, automated teller machines, and pharmaceuticals. Lynchburg was a Confederate supply base in the Civil War; in 1864, a Union attempt to take the city failed. Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg College, Virginia Theological Seminary and College, Lynchburg Baptist College, and Liberty Univ. are in the city. A fine arts center and several notable old houses are there, including Poplar Forest, built by Thomas Jefferson.