Living in Halifax County

Our rich quality of life results in one word consistently heard from newcomers and visitors: Surprised.

Conveniently located in the center of Southern Virginia on the North Carolina border, Halifax County offers a relaxed lifestyle with easy access to larger cities like Richmond and Charlottesville, Virginia, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. With 5 commercial airports within a 2-hour drive, it's also easy to make longer trips.

The Prizery

The Prizery cultural and performing arts center is Virginia's fastest growing professional arts center; it offers live performances, art and music lessons, an art gallery, the Crossing of the Dan historical exhibit, and venue space for rent.

This 38,000 square foot gem in the town of South Boston is a testament to our community's commitment to repurposing historical buildings. The Prizery is an historical building where tobacco was "prized," or pressed layer by layer into hogshead barrels often weighing up to 1000 pounds. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the South Boston Historic Tobacco Warehouse District, and is considered to be the most architecturally prominent and interesting of the 15 buildings in the 20 acre district.

The Chastain Theatre, seating 326 people, attracts people from throughout the country for live performances including our own Summer Theatre Celebration featuring a resident professional company.

Tobacco Heritage Trail

The Tobacco Heritage Trail provides a great place for walking, running, biking, horseback riding, or just enjoying nature.

This multi-purpose regional trail is being constructed primarily on abandoned railroad corridors through Southside Virginia as a tourism project

Currently 2.6 miles of trail have been completed in South Boston; the trail follows the Dan River and runs behind Berry Hill Plantation. When completed the Trail will connect the counties of Halifax, Brunswick, Charlotte, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg with more than 150 miles of trail.

VIRginia International Raceway

Recently chosen as one of Car & Driver’s Top 6 tracks in the nation, VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility.

VIR hosts a wide range of professional and amateur auto and motorcycle racing and track events, and is well established as “America’s Motorsport Resort. At 4.2 miles, VIR is America's longest road racing course.

Also located within the facility are the VIR Raceplex , a motorsports-oriented industrial park; The Lodge at VIR , a hotel overlooking the track; the Paddock Suites and Garages; the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the Plantation Clubhouse; and the VIR Kart Track , a 5/8-mile, 24-foot-wide karting circuit with 30 feet of elevation change.

South Boston Speedway

The 4/10 mile South Boston Speedway offers a variety of racing opportunities including NASCAR, USAC and ARCA.

South Boston Speedway is steeped in tradition, earning a reputation as the home of the best NASCAR sanctioned short track racing in the country. It has served as the training ground for many of yesterday's and today's top NASCAR drivers for over 50 years.

SoBo provides fans, sponsors and competitors with the same level of professionalism that is now the norm at America's Super Speedways, but in the warm and hospitable setting of a 4/10-mile oval

Race fans can enjoy incredible short track action, combined with modern facilities and wholesome family fun and excitement, for less than the cost of taking the family to a movie.

Lakes and Rivers

The Dan, Banister and Staunton Rivers all flow through Halifax County. Banister Lake is located in the Town of Halifax, our county seat.  Buggs Island Lake, Virginia's largest lake, is accessible in Halifax County through tributaries or at Staunton River State Park.

These waterways provide unlimited fun for those who like fishing, boating, water skiing, canoeing and kayaking.

Halifax County also has Lake Conner, a small 100-acre lake with a public boat landing. It holds the state record largemouth bass (16 pounds, 4 ounces) was caught there.

Staunton River State Park is located on 1,597 acres along the shoreline of Buggs Island Lake (John H. Kerr Reservoir), as well as the Dan and Staunton rivers. The park's attractions include a swimming pool, camping, cabins, picnic shelters and nature trails.

Historic Repurposing

In addition to projects that have repurposed historical buildings like The Prizery and Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, the historic Halifax School and The Imperial Tobacco Company have both been developed into market-rate luxury apartment homes. For more information on these redevelopments click the links below.

Imperial Lofts

Research and Development

Unique R&D assets to propel your business into the future

C-CARE

The National Center for Coatings Application, Research, and Education (C-CARE) is a one-of-a-kind coating and finishing technology center, housing 11,000 square feet of environmentally controlled space, and a suite of state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing coating and finishing equipment. Learn more.

R&D CAMEE

The R&D Center for Advanced Manufacturing & Energy Efficiency (R&D CAMEE), an initiative of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC), provides advanced manufacturing and energy efficient solutions to manufacturers by means of innovative technology and techniques. Located in the SVHEC's Innovation Center, which is equipped with an advanced machining center, computer labs, multi-use classrooms, research assistant support spaces, 80-seat conference center, a student studio & and prototype space. Learn more.

International Employers

Halifax County is home to a number of international businesses,

including Swiss company ABB which has been a member of our community since 1968. 

Other international businesses include Gloster (United Kingdom), BHK (Germany), Tvilum (Denmark), Hilden  (France), and 2bKool (New Zealand).

Virginia Economic Development Partnership offers a number of international services:

VEDP's Division of International Trade conducts international trade missions to promote Virginia products and services in foreign markets. The VEDP also hosts foreign trade delegations and arranges meetings between Virginia firms and these potential foreign buyers.

The VALET Program is an Innovative program to assist companies throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia as they expand their business with international export trade. It offers a powerful combination of capital resources from the state and professional services from private-sector partners to enhance the international efforts of up to 15 companies per year. This program is the first of its kind in the United States.

Other helpful links for international business:

Virginia Business Resources

The Virginia Port Authority provides port operations, services, stats and international trade development news. 

Virginia Stat provides statistics on business, demographics and the economy of Virginia. 

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services promotes economic growth and development of Virginia's agriculture. 

Customs and Licensing

U.S. Customs handles issues from duties, import clearance, and required Shipper's Export Declaration (SED); the Customs website also has general export information and links to other Federal Government web sites.  

The Trade Compliance Center helps U.S. exporters benefit from trade agreements; the website includes a trade agreement database, market access information and links. 

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security controls exports, develops export control policies and issues export licenses; the website includes search options and press releases. 

The Institute for Standards and Technology works with industry to develop and apply technology, measurements and standards; the website includes links, search options, publications and upcoming events.

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce is a statewide business organization that represents businesses at both the state and federal level; the website covers government affairs, publications, news releases and Virginia links. 

The World Trade Organization provides a forum for trade negotiations, handles trade disputes and monitors trade policies in cooperation with other international organizations.

Financing

The Virginia Dept. of Business Assistance - Financing provides a one-stop-service for technical assistance related to business formation, access to capital, and workforce development. 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) places a priority on helping small business exporters by providing a number of loan programs specifically designed to help them develop or expand their export activities. 

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) funds various forms of technical assistance, early investment analysis, training, reverse trade missions and business workshops that support the development of a modern infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. 

The Export-Import Bank of the United States supports the financing of U.S. goods and services, turning export opportunities into real transactions. Assumes credit and country risks the private sector is unable or unwilling to accept. 

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is the U.S. Government's development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical world challenges. 

The World Bank offers loans, advice, and an array of customized resources to more than 100 developing countries and countries in transition. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, and facilitate international trade. 

BAFT-IFSA is a global financial services association formed by the merger of the Bankers' Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT) and the International Financial Services Association (IFSA). Provides advocacy, education and community-building opportunities for financial services institutions and suppliers around the globe. 

The Inter-American Development Bank provides the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Associations

The American Association of Exporters and Importers is a national association representing U.S. corporations involved in importing and exporting before the Executive Branch, Congress and regulatory agencies. 

The Virginia State Bar regulates the legal profession in Virginia.  Site includes Virginia Lawyer Referral Services as well as law-related information. 

The Virginia Society of CPA's is the professional association for Certified Public Accountants in the Commonwealth of Virginia; use their wesite to find a CPA who is licensed to practice in Virginia. 

The American Translators Association is the largest professional association of translators and interpreters in the U.S. 

The Federation of International Trade Associations promotes international trade by strengthening the role of associations in North America that have an international mission. 

The Export Legal Assistance Network (ELAN) is a program through which international trade attorneys from the Federal Bar Association provide free initial consultations to small businesses interested in starting export operations.

Target Sectors

Manufacturing

          Wood Products

          Metals

          Plastics

Value Added Agriculture

          Agribusiness & Forestry

Data & Professional Services

          Service Centers

           Data Centers

           IT & Business Services

Supply Chain Management

          Warehouse and Distribution

          Logistics