The Petersburg and Weldon Railroad reached Emporia in 1833, crossing the Meherrin River on a bridge with 200 stone piers while Belfield and Hicksford were still separate towns that would not merge to form Emporia for half a century. After the railway arrived, people in the 1830s and 1840s were excited about making the upper Meherrin navigable by batteaux so farmers in isolated parts of Virginia could send their products downriver to the railway depot, but no navigation improvements are known to have been made above Emporia. During the Civil War, the railroad bridge became a prime target, and Confederates built three forts on the south side with rifle pits and obstructions on the north side. From December 7-12, 1864, Yankees conducted the Hicksford Raid, moving south across the Nottaway at Freeman’s Bridge; they burned the railway bridge at Fort Nottaway but were repulsed by Confederates guarding the bridge at Hicksford.