the Petersburg Railroad ran through Belfield and (after crossing the Meherrin River) Hicksford
Source: University of Virginia, Plan of the Portsmouth and Roanoke Rail Road
the Petersburg Railroad ran through Belfield and (after crossing the Meherrin River) Hicksford
Source: University of Virginia, Plan of the Portsmouth and Roanoke Rail Road
Hicksford benefitted from being where roads and railroads crossed the Meherrin River
Source: Library of Congress, Rand, McNally & Co.'s North and South Carolina (1878-79)
Hicksford became railroad junction when the Petersburg Railroad built an extension (the Greensville & Roanoke Railroad) to Gaston, NC
Source: Library of Congress, Map of eastern Virginia (1862)
Meherrin River and Emporia in 1907
Source: Library of Congress, Birds eye view of Emporia, Virginia 1907
Hicksford on the south bank of the Meherrin River merged with Belfield on the north bank in 1887 to form Emporia
Source: Library of Congress, A map of the state of Virginia, constructed in conformity to law from the late surveys authorized by the legislature and other original and authentic documents (1859)