in the turnpike, raising clouds of dust in summer and churning the road into mud in the rainy season. As there were few options for shunpiking, citizens whose faster buggies dawdled along behind the lumbering wagons urged the state legislature to do something about it—a canal, a better road, but something. The result was the Chesterfield Railroad, a mule- and gravity-powered line that connected the Midlothian coal mines with wharves located at Manchester, directly across from Richmond. Partially funded by the Virginia Board of Public Works, the railroad began operating in 1831, the first in the state. By 1852, the newer, steam-driven Richmond and Danville Railroad (R&D) began operation to Coalfield Station, later renamed Midlothian; it quickly supplanted the slower Chesterfield Railroad. In a financial reorganization in 1894, the R&D line through Midlothian became part of the Southern Railway system. It is now part of Norfolk Southern Railway. According to the 1895 Virginia atlas, the population of Midlothian was 375. 20th century: village becomes surrounded by suburban development In the 20th century, coal mining declined. The area became less populated, remaining largely wooded with farms scattered along mostly rural and dirt roads. Gradually, post-war construction of the highway network and the growth of metropolitan Richmond brought subdivision residential development. When the Swift Creek Reservoir was created in 1965, the availability of water and sewer service accelerated residential growth, with Brandermill built in 1975. In 1988, an extension of the Powhite Parkway and widening of Midlothian Turnpike and Hull Street Road (U.S. Route 360) provided much-needed highway infrastructure. The area continued to attract new residents as farm and forest lands were redeveloped into residential subdivisions. The expansion of the area assigned to the Midlothian post office caused a much larger area to be assigned to have a "Midlothian" ZIP code on their address. As a result, many address locations within Chesterfield County that are far away from the original Midlothian village on U.S. Route 60 have "Midlothian" as their preferred place name. Chesterfield County's Midlothian Community Special Area Plan defines the Midlothian community as roughly the area between the Village of Midlothian and Lucks Lane to the south. Historic landmarks Chesterfield County Historic Landmarks near the Midlothian Village include: Bellona Arsenal Bethel Baptist Church Bellgrade Plantation, 11500 West Huguenot Road Dinwiddie County Pullman Car Trabue's Tavern, 11940 Old Buckingham Road Hallsboro Store Hallsborough Tavern, 16300 Midlothian Turnpike Ivymont Manor, 14111 Midlothian