Lynchburg

City in Campbell County (from which it is administratively separate), south-central Virginia, USA, on the James River, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 200 km/124 mi southwest of Richmond; population (2000) 65,300. It is the centre of the western Piedmont region (a tobacco- and fruit-growing area). Industries include nuclear fuel, electronic equipment, pharmaceuticals, clothing and shoes, paper, rubber products, and machine parts. An academic centre, the city is the home of Randolph-Macon Women's College (1891), Lynchburg College (1903), Central Virginia Community College (1966), and Liberty University (1971).

Lynchburg was settled by Quakers in 1757 and was incorporated as a city in 1852. The city grew rapidly after the James River and Kanawha Canal (1840) linked it with Richmond. It was a Confederate supply base during the Civil War, and was attacked unsuccessfully by Union troops in June 1864.