After years of proposals from Lynchburg citizens, the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad was chartered in 1849. Built in the 1850s, the V&T connected Southwestern Virginia, from Lynchburg to Bristol. With V&T rail lines came expanded economic markets and new industry. During the American Civil War, the V&T served as a Confederate lifeline by moving supplies, weapons, and troops. The Confederate reliance on the V&T resulted in the partial destruction of lines by Union forces. In 1870, the V&T joined the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad and the City Point Railroad to create the Atlantic, Mississippi, and Ohio Railroad. The AM&O later became the Norfolk and Western.

William S. Archer was born in 1841 at "The Lodge" in Amelia County, Virginia. Archer studied law, passed the bar in 1810, and practiced law in Powhatan and Amelia counties. From 1812 to 1819, Archer served four terms in Virginia's House of Delegates. Archer represented the Whig Party in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1819 to 1834 and in the Senate from 1841-1846. After his political career, Archer resumed his law practice. William Segar Archer died on March 28, 1855.