Carson, Virginia

Carson
Unincorporated community
The 1888-built Carson Depot Library where both Prince George County and Dinwiddie County can be seen.
Carson Carson Location within the Commonwealth of Virginia
Coordinates: 37°2′7.01″N 77°23′44.02″W / 37.0352806°N 77.3955611°WCoordinates: 37°2′7.01″N 77°23′44.02″W / 37.0352806°N 77.3955611°W
Country	United States
State	Virginia
County	Dinwiddie Prince George
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	23830

Carson is an unincorporated community in Prince George County, Virginia, United States, located between Petersburg and Stony Creek, just west of Interstate 95.

History

Carson was put on the map by virtue of the railroad that divides it. Carson is located on CSX's North End Subdivision, which sees approximately 30-40 trains per day, between Petersburg and the Virginia/North Carolina state line. Most of the same trains traveling between Petersburg and Richmond on CSX also pass through Carson. It is said that Carson got its name from a telegram sent during a train derailment which read "cars off cars on". On the east side of the railroad tracks is Prince George County, while on the west side is Dinwiddie County.

Bank of Southside Virginia

Carson is home to the second oldest branch of the Bank of Southside Virginia (BSV). It began as the Bank of Carson in 1911, and, in 1933, merged with the Bank of Stony Creek (started in 1905) and the Prince George County Bank (opened in 1919) to form the Bank of Southside Virginia. The Bank of Southside Virginia now has 15 branches.

Carson Depot Library

The town of Carson first received library service from the Appomattox Regional Library System through an established book mobile stop in 1975. A renovated 1888 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad train station building opened as the Carson Depot Branch Library in October 1991. An authentic Norfolk and Western Railway caboose joined it in 2002.

Schools

Carson Primary School

Carson Primary School began as k-12 in the early 20th century. It later became a primary (k-2) school within Prince George County School System. It was later closed in the early 21st century and razed in spring 2014, but the land is still owned by Prince George County. A new building on the site provide will a larger space for the Carson Volunteer Fire Department compared to their current location. The building had an opening ceremony in May 2016 during which members of the public were allowed to tour the new facility.

Rowanty Technical School

The Rowanty Technical Center is also located in Carson, Va. It is located in Prince George County however the Dinwiddie, Sussex and Prince George School Districts all utilize it. At the Rowanty Technical Center students can learn skills such as firefighting, masonry, and welding.

U.S. Post Office

Carson is home to a local post office which serves the ZIP code 23830. The service area extends from the intersection of Halifax Rd. and Lansing Rd. south to the Prince George/Sussex county line, and extends several miles east into Prince George County and west into Dinwiddie County.

The original Carson post office was attached to a local general store which caught fire and burned down both the post office and the store in the 1980s. A separate building was erected to replace the former and house the current post office which sits next to the Bank of Southside Virginia.

In summer 2012 both rural routes which serve the 23830 ZIP code were relocated to the more centralized Stony Creek post office. As a result, the Carson post office has become a strictly P.O. box and retail sales office. Outgoing mail is still accepted and dispatched from the office daily.

In February 2015, the weekday operating hours were reduced from eight to six hours per day. Saturday hours were not reduced but were realigned to better serve the community. As a result of the hours change, the Carson Post Office Postmaster position was eliminated and is now staffed instead by a single clerk.

References

• Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot; Carson, Virginia (Dynamic Depot Maps)