If you were to ask almost any resident of Powhatan County about their opinions on the recent industrialization in the county, they would probably say they aren’t the biggest fan.

The convenience of closer proximity to grocery stores, gas stations, auto part stores, etc. is favorable, but it isn’t always the best thing for the future.

Powhatan has always been a very rural area. The recent increase in development has begun to take away what Powhatan has been known for, “being out in the sticks.” Powhatan is unique in what it already has. Not many counties can distinguish their Food Lions between the “new Food Lion” and the “old Food Lion”.

There are over 10 auto part stores within at least 7 miles of each other. There have been movements towards building Powhatan’s first Starbucks. A fourth car wash and a second dollar store are under construction right now. Constant economic expansions are being brought towards Powhatan county and some might even call this excessive.

Powhatan is a county that stretches only 262 miles compared to Chesterfield that is 437 miles long, almost double our size. Chesterfield has become an overpopulated county. Not enough housing and excessive commercialization and loss of green space. By building up Powhatan the way we are right now, who is to say Powhatan won’t end up the same way?

On our Powhatan County website a few years back, there were announcements from Governor Northam that Fortune Auto was expanding and other announcements of breweries opening up as well.

The question that needs to be asked for the future is what investments are our residents putting into our county to grow to an urban, overpopulated area? Is urbanization what we want our evolution to expand to? What does your Powhatan County look like?