Lynchburg, city, in (but administratively independent of) Campbell County, central Virginia, on the James River, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains; platted 1786, incorporated as a city 1852. A trade center for a tobacco- and fruit-growing area, it has industries producing nuclear fuel, electronic equipment, clothing, footwear, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, processed food, and chemicals. Randolph-Macon Woman's College (1891), Lynchburg College (1903), and Liberty University (1971) are here. Lynchburg was developed around a river ferry service established by John Lynch in 1757. Industrialization was spurred by the arrival of several railroads in the 1850s. During the American Civil War a fort here, now restored, was the scene (June 1864) of a successful Confederate defense against Union forces. Population 66,743 (1980); 66,049 (1990); 65,473 (1998 estimate).
