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Exploration of the area known today as Tazewell is traced to the first groups of long hunters exploring Southwest Virginia from eastern Virginia in the early 1700s. In fact, before any actual settlement many trappers and hunters camped on the Clinch River. Indian traders were familiar with Tazewell’s topography and had even given the river its first name, the Pellissippi. Such adventurers cannot, however, in any sense be claimed as actual settlers. It was, nevertheless, in 1769 that a small group of settlers including Thomas Witten, his son-in-law, John Greenup, and other family members established the first permanent settlement by white pioneers at the Crab Orchard Tract on the Clinch River at Pisgah. This was the same site that had been a permanent settlement for the Woodland Indians as early as two hundred years before. The population of this mountain and valley community grew slowly but steadily during the eighteenth century. As a result, a new county was proposed in the heart of the Southern Appalachians to be created from portions of Russell and Wythe Counties. That new county, Tazewell, was created by the Virginia General Assembly on December 20, 1799. |
| The town of Tazewell is a picturesque community that was established to serve as the county seat for Tazewell County the following year. One of the oldest communities in Southwestern Virginia, Tazewell was first named Jeffersonville in honor of Thomas Jefferson who received every local vote cast when he was elected President in 1800—the same year the town was established. Jeffersonville secured its first charter as an incorporated municipality in 1866—just after the Civil War. Tazewell and its neighboring town, North Tazewell, merged in 1963. At that same time the communities of Riverjack and Four Way were annexed into the expansive new town boundaries. The first recorded mayor of Tazewell was A. G. May in 1874. The first mayor of North Tazewell was William L. Britts in 1894. James W. Harman, Jr. served as the first mayor of the merged municipality beginning in 1963. During the two decades history of the town of Tazewell the population increased, transportation improved, streets were paved, sewers and electricity were added, and more houses and businesses were built. New communities grew up in and around the town. One of the first additions was the Tazewell Improvement Company’s street of “new” residences today known as Tazewell Avenue. Kelly grew up on the Clinch and with the advent of the railroad and the train station became North Tazewell and the commercial center of the Tazewell area. New Town and Riverjack were later additions to the North Tazewell community. Meanwhile, to the east of town, the Burkes Garden Siding addition grew up along the Clinch at the point where the railroad came closest to the farm rich valley of Burkes Garden. This section would become a commercial center in its own right in late twentieth century Tazewell and gain the new name—the Four Way section. Today the town of Tazewell is home to more than 6,000 residents. Tazewell is also the governmental seat to a county of more than 45,000 people. Located at the headwaters of the Clinch River, the springs of Tazewell eventually became part of the Tennessee, Ohio and finally Mississippi Rivers. Tazewell today is an energetic and vibrant community, proud of it heritage and excited about its future. The community is rich in a history that is matched only by its natural beauty. The hills of Tazewell with their myriad of seasonal colors and the beauty of the Clinch River Valley make Tazewell a truly beautiful place to live or visit. (Used by Permission of Louise B. Leslie and Dr. Terry W. Mullins, and taken from Arcadia Publisher’s Images of America: Tazewell) |
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Mayor’s Letter
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From the desk of Mayor A. Donald Buchanan, Jr.It gives me great pride to welcome you to the Town of Tazewell. Tazewell Virginia is located at the head waters of the Clinch River in beautiful Southwest Virginia and surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, “The Peak” and the valleys that form the Clinch Valley and is the county seat of Tazewell County. The town is the gateway to both Burkes Garden and Thompson Valley communities and is an endpoint of the Back of the Dragon riding/driving highway along VA Route 16. Tazewell is home of the Tazewell High School Bulldogs and is within a short driving distance to Bluefield College and Southwest Virginia Community College. Tazewell offers its citizens and guests a wide variety of activities that enhances its quality of life such as Lincolnshire Park and Lake, a state of the art YMCA, a historical district, Crab Orchard Museum and Pioneer Park, and many summer time concerts on Main Street. Late Mayor Charles Grindstaff’s favorite quote about Tazewell was “ONCE A BULLDOG, ALWAYS A BULLDOG” which typifies the community’s ongoing efforts to blend its past history, citizen’s friendship, and lifetime love for the community into a community that makes Tazewell a special place to live and visit. Whether you a resident or a visiting guest, we hope you enjoy all that Tazewell has to offer. |
Dining
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Coal Bucket Deli
Tazewell Mall Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-9111
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Donnie's Place & Spirits
113 West Pine Street Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-3213
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El Mariachi
624 Riverside Drive North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-988-0889
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Italian Village
817 East Fincastle Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-6572
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Main Street Cafe
208 East Main Street Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-979-8200
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Tray Ting House
631 East Riverside Drive North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-988-4874
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Lodging
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Cavitts Creek Park/Lake Camping
750 Recreation Drive North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-988-7250
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Fincastle Motor Inn
858 East Fincastle Drive Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-2531
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Tazewell Motel
27635 Governor GC Peery Highway North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-988-5531
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Attractions
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Burke's Garden
Route 623 Tazewell, VA 24651
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Cavitts Creek Park/Lake Camping
750 Recreation Drive North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-988-7250
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Climbing Tree Movie House
615 East Riverside Drive North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-979-1600
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Crab Orchard Museum
3663 Crab Orchard Museum Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-6755
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Four Seasons YMCA
106 Gratton Road Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-979-0280
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Lincolnshire Park
611 East Riverside Drive North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-988-5404
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Sandy Head Ostrich Farm
Contact: Sue Carr
Route 61 Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-9090
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The Cove
Route 608 Tazewell, VA 24651
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Thompson Valley Community Center
Contact: Kathleen Allison
8925 Thompson Valley Road Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-7266
Phone: 276-970-1780
Email: info@thompsonvalleycc.com
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Schools
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North Tazewell Elementary School
300 Riverside Drive North Tazewell, VA 24630
Phone: 276-988-4510
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Tazewell Elementary School
101 Parkview Drive Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-4441
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Tazewell Middle School
100 Bulldog Avenue Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-6513
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Tazewell High School
627 East Fincastle Road Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-6502
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Inclement Weather Schedule
Phone: 276-988-8046
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Tazewell County Career and Techinical Center
100 Advantage Drive Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-2529
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Tazewell County School Board
209 West Fincastle Turnpike Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-5511
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Bluefield College
3000 College Drive Bluefield, VA 24605
Phone: 276-326-3682
Phone: 800-872-0176
Email: bluefield@bluefield.edu
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Bluefield State College
219 Rock Street Bluefield, WV 24701
Phone: 304-327-4000
Phone: 800-654-7798
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Southwest Virginia Community College
724 Community College Road Cedar Bluff, VA 24609
Phone: 276-964-2555
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Resources
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Appalachian Agency for Senior Citizens
216 College Ridge Road Cedar Bluff, VA 24609
Phone: 276-964-4915
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Board of Realtors
1460 Main Street Princeton, WV 24740
Phone: 304-487-3443
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Chamber of Commerce
185 Tazewell Mall Circle Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-5091
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Department of Motor Vehicles
953 Tazewell Avenue Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 804-497-7100
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Will Morefield
Delegate
Phone: 276-345-4300
Phone: 804-698-1003
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Phillip P. Puckett
Senator
Phone: 276-979-8181
Phone: 804-698-7538
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State Legislature
Phone: 888-892-6948
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State of Virginia
Phone: 877-4VA-EGOV
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Tazewell Community Hospital
141 Ben Bolt Avenue Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-8700
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Tazewell County
108 East Main Street Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-1200
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Tazewell County Court House
101 East Main Street Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-1222
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Tazewell County Health Department
253 Chamber Drive Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-5585
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Tazewell County Historical Society
100 East Main Street Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-4069
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Tazewell County Library
310 East Main Street Tazewell, VA 24651
Phone: 276-988-2541
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