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is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,675 at the 2000 census. Nearby Fort Pickett was established by the U.S. Army in 1941 and was a very large training center during World War II. It was closed by the BRAC Commission in the 1990s and is now the headquarters for the Virginia National Guard. The 2-year Blackstone Female Institute / Blackstone College for Girls also operated in Blackstone for many years. The buildings and grounds are now owned by the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, which uses it as the Virginia United Methodist Assembly Center (VUMAC), drawing 19,000 visitors a year, with $9 million in renovations planned. The Blackstone shopping district (including a Wal-Mart, medical center, and livestock market) attract customers from a large 3-county rural area. The town recently received a Main Street designation from the state, and a $1 million downtown revitalization project will start in 2008. There are plans to build a regional bus terminal to serve 11 counties, and ground was broken in November 2007 for a larger $2.4 million community medical center. The oldest building in town is Schwartz Tavern, built in stages from 1790 to 1840. From November to January, a local hardware store displays a giant 52 by 16 foot (17 by 5 meter) model railroad layout with hundreds of figurines. A museum containing 20 restored, antique carriages was also opened in 2007.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.8 km²), of which, 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.44%) is water.