boulevard in colonial heights virginia seal colonial heights location in the state of virginia coordinates 37 14 38 n 77 24 38 w 37.24389 n 77.41056 w 37.24389 ; 77.41056 coordinates 37 14 38 n 77 24 38 w 37.24389 n 77.41056 w 37.24389 ; 77.41056 country united states state virginia county none independent city incorporated town 1926 incorporated city 1948 government mayor c. scott davis area independent city 7.8 sq mi 20 km2 land 7.5 sq mi 19 km2 water 0.3 sq mi 0.8 km2 3.7 % elevation 95 ft 29 m population 2010 independent city 17 411 density 2 321 sq mi 896 km2 metro 1 126 262 time zone est utc 5 summer dst edt utc 4 area code s 804 fips code 51 18448 1 gnis feature id 1496852 2 website colonialheightsva.gov colonial heights is an independent city in virginia united states . as of the 2010 census the population was 17 411 . 3 the bureau of economic analysis combines the city of colonial heights along with the city of petersburg with dinwiddie county for statistical purposes . colonial heights is located in the tri cities area of the richmond metropolitan statistical area msa . contents 1 history 2 historical attractions 2.1 swift creek mill 3 geography 3.1 adjacent county independent city 4 demographics 5 major highways 6 education 6.1 elementary and secondary 6.2 higher education 7 economy 7.1 top employers 8 media 9 notable natives 10 see also 11 references 12 external links history edit like much of eastern virginia the site of colonial heights was located within the algonquian speaking confederation known as tenakomakah ruled by chief powhatan when the english colonists arrived at jamestown on may 14 1607 . captain john smith s early map of virginia testifies that the present area of colonial heights included the principal town of the appamattuck subtribe led by their weroance coquonasum and his sister oppussoquionuske . in the aftermath of the indian attacks of 1622 and 1644 the appamattuck became tributary to england and relocated to nearby ettrick and its opposite bank near fort henry within modern day petersburg virginia . the area including present day colonial heights was made a part of henrico cittie one of 4 huge incorporations formed in the virginia colony in 1619 by the london company . english colonists first settled in the colonial heights area in 1620 . a small group sailed up the appomattox river looking for clear land and finally settled in an area where swift creek runs into the appomattox river which they named conjurer s neck . this confluence was formerly the residence of a native american healer known as a conjurer who was thought to have cast spells over the waters . shortly thereafter charles magnor registered the first land patent in the area for 650 acres 2.6 km2 which he later developed into a plantation before selling it in 1634 . that same year by order of king charles i of england the virginia colony was divided into the 8 original shires of virginia by the house of burgesses one of which was henrico county which included the future land of colonial heights . in 1635 the english had a small town called appamattucks near the old towne creek 4 thought to be located near the intersection of temple avenue and dimmock parkway . 5 also in that year captain henry fleet and francis poythress built a small fort nearby on fleet s hill just west of the current city now occupied by the campus of virginia state university . during the period from 1677 to 1685 one of the area s historic landmarks was constructed with the building of the old brick house . richard kennon came to virginia prior to 1670 and became a merchant of bermuda hundred . he represented henrico county in the house of burgesses . his son richard kennon jr. was also a member of the house of burgesses and married the daughter of col. robert bolling the emigrant and his second wife the former anne stith . richard s sister mary kennon was married to major john fairfax bolling half brother of richard s wife . major bolling was the son of col. robert bolling and his first wife jane rolfe who was granddaughter of the early colonist john rolfe and his native american wife pocahontas . the bollings lived at cobb s a plantation in eastern chesterfield near point of rocks . the plantation house built by richard kennon later known as the brick house is now thought to be the oldest permanent structure in colonial heights . one wall of the house survived a disastrous fire in 1879 and the rest was rebuilt . 1 in 1749 an area south of the james river was divided from henrico county by the house of burgesses and named chesterfield county . the area which became colonial heights was to remain in chesterfield county for almost 200 more years until 1948 . the name colonial heights results from an incident during the american revolutionary war . in may 1781 the french troops of general marquis de lafayette known as the coloniels advanced south from richmond and deployed artillery on the heights overlooking petersburg from across the appomattox river . the area thereafter came to be known as colonial heights and the name was given to a subdivision of the oak hill tract in 1906 . a historic site oak hill on carroll avenue also called archer s hector s or dunn s hill consisted of two one story weatherboarded structures connected by a deep inside porch that extends from an uncovered section toward the street . from the lawn of this house in may 1781 general lafayette with cannon behind a boxwood hedge that still fringes the hill shelled petersburg then occupied by british troops under major general william phillips who died of typhoid during this bombardment . the area also became involved in operations during the american civil war . general robert e. lee made his headquarters at violet bank from june through september during the siege of petersburg in 1864 . in 1926 colonial heights became an incorporated town in chesterfield county . originally seeking to be annexed by the city of petersburg in the face of overwhelming public support a judges ruling instead saw colonial heights designated an incorporated town . 6 it was incorporated as a city in 1948 ; under virginia law it separated from chesterfield county and became an independent city . its current charter was granted in 1960 . from 1960 to 1970 colonial heights experienced a period of rapid growth as the population jumped from 9 587 to 15 097 . in the mid 1980s completion of the state route 144 temple avenue connector and a new bridge across the appomattox river provided access to state route 36 near fort lee . the new road and bridge effectively opened a large previously isolated tract of land along the southeastern edge of the city for commercial development . there the regional southpark mall and many other retail businesses and offices were built . on august 6 1993 an f4 tornado max . wind speeds 207 260 mph passed through colonial heights . it caused extensive damage to the southpark mall and collapsed the roof of an old wal mart now sam s club store . it also did extensive damage in petersburg and hopewell . in the tri cities area the tornado killed 4 people 3 in wal mart & 1 in prince george injured 246 and caused an estimated 50 million in property damage . on april 28 2008 an ef1 tornado max . wind speeds 86 110 mph produced a near two mile 3 km long though discontinuous path through colonial heights . the tornado first touched down near the colonial heights middle school football field damaging the field clubhouse roof then causing roof damage and spill onto i 95 from medallion pool business . the tornado then jumped i 95 and touched down again in the dimmock square shopping center . several cars were flipped and piled in the parking lot of a strip mall which had extensive roof damage that is less than a tenth of a mile from the site of the old wal mart which was destroyed by an f4 tornado on august 6 1993 . the tornado then continued across temple avenue causing tree and roof damage in the neighborhood near fine drive and puddledock road in prince george county before lifting for good . the tornado injured 21 and caused an estimated 10 million in property damage . historical attractions edit main article national register of historic places listings in colonial heights virginia two area attractions with historic roots are violet bank and swift creek mill . there are also several parks in the area including fort clifton park and white bank park . colonial heights is also home of the largest arby s restaurant in the world . swift creek mill edit swift creek mill records indicate that swift creek mill was in existence as early as 1663 . it is believed to be the oldest grist mill in the united states . henry randolph i who was born in little houghton northamptonshire england in 1623 moved to virginia about 1640 . in 1655 he acquired title to a large tract of land in bermuda hundred on swift creek where he erected the present mill . mr. randolph s mill is mentioned in 1663 in cavaliers and pioneers index to virginia 1620 to 1666 . an heir of henry randolph i william bland randolph deeded the mill site to william rowlett on february 20 1805 and it became known as rowlett s mill . in 1852 the rowlett heirs conveyed the mill to the swift creek manufacturing company . on may 9 and 10 1864 the battle of swift creek was fought around the mill when union general benjamin f. butler s army of the james attempted to cross swift creek . following the american civil war the property was known as schmidt s distillery which made corn whiskey . following this the property changed hands several times and was operated as a grist mill . in 1929 the mill became known as swift creek mill . the grist mill continued in operation until about 1956 . the swift creek mill was purchased in august 1965 by wamer j. callahan jr. and dr. louis rubin both native virginians with the idea of converting the 305 year old building into a dinner theater . the plan was to convert the three existing floors into two dining rooms connected by a new stairwell and to be known as swift creek mill playhouse . the playhouse opened on december 2 1965 with the broadway musical carnival . the swift creek mill playhouse is located on u.s. 1 301 just north of the chesterfield county line at swift creek . in modern times continuous buffet dining by candlelight begins at 6 30 p.m. in both the glamorous mill room and granite room . the shows are presented in the comfortable air conditioned theatre each wednesday through saturday night year round by advance reservations . geography edit colonial heights is located at 37 15 44 n 77 24 9 w 37.26222 n 77.40250 w 37.26222 ; 77.40250 37.262257 77.402728 . 7 according to the united states census bureau the city has a total area of 7.8 square miles 20.2 km2 of which 7.5 square miles 19.4 km2 is land and 0.3 square miles 0.8 km2 of it 3.7 % is water . 7 colonial heights is located on just north of the appomattox river across from the modern day city of petersburg at the river s fall line it is located south of chesterfield county practically surrounded by it except for a south border with petersburg and in some areas swift creek divides the city from