New Bohemia, VA

Beginning in the late 1880's, this region of Prince George County along the Norfolk & Western Railway became the center of the first largest settlement of Czech and Slovak immigrants in Virginia. Originally known as Wells Station, then Estes, it was renamed New Bohemia in 1911 at the request of those settlers. Forming a community of homes, general stores, a church, hotel, school and neighborhood meeting hall, this small group of agrarian immigrants reclaimed and restored 12,000 acres of farmland left barren following the Civil War. In the 21st Century, many of the original family farms nearby continue to contribute to local growth and economy.

On the adjacent 12 acre site, deeded to the Diocese of Richmond by Marie O. Hanzlik, 29 Czech families (which included Josef Machat, Sr., leading Czech settler in Virginia) established the first Czech Catholic Parish in the Commonwealth. The initial church building was dedicated in 1906, followed by the erection of the Parish Hall and dedication of the Parish Cemetery in 1908. The parish remains active and vibrant, and together with the surrounding areas, bears witness to the acculturation of the Czech-Slovak immigrants into American society. This site is listed on the Virginia and National Register of Historical Places, February 8, 2012.