Driver is a neighborhood in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States. It is located at the junction of State Route 337, State Route 125, and State Route 627.
An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity.
Suffolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2017 census, the estimated population was 90,237. It is the largest city in Virginia by boundary land area as well as the 14th largest in the country.
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" due to its status as the first English colonial possession established in mainland North America and "Mother of Presidents" because eight U.S. presidents were born there, more than any other state. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's estimated population as of 2018 is over 8.5 million.
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Originally named Persimmon Orchard, Driver was once located on the now-abandoned Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's line in the former Nansemond County between the former town of Suffolk and the City of Portsmouth, which was itself was located in the former Norfolk County.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad is a former U. S. Class I railroad from 1900 until 1967, when it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Much of the original ACL network has been part of CSX Transportation since 1986.
Nansemond is an extinct locality that was located in Virginia Colony and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, from 1646 until 1974. It was Nansemond County until 1972, and the independent city of Nansemond from 1972 to 1974. It is now part of the independent city of Suffolk.
Portsmouth is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 95,535. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
Through traffic in Driver formerly used the now closed Kings Highway Bridge to cross the Nansemond River on State Route 125, known as the "Kings Highway." The drawbridge, opened in 1928, was deemed unsafe and closed to traffic in March 2005 by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Kings Highway Bridge was located on the Nansemond River in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia, United States. Built in 1928, it carried traffic on the Kings Highway, also known as State Route 125, for over 75 years.
The Nansemond River is a 19.8-mile-long (31.9 km) tributary of the James River in Virginia in the United States. English settlers named the river for the Nansemond tribe of Native Americans, who then inhabited the area. The river begins at the outlet of Lake Meade north of downtown Suffolk, historically marking the northern boundary of the city. The Nansemond River Light once marked the river's confluence with the James.
A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of movable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word drawbridge commonly refers to all types of movable bridges, such as bascule bridges, vertical-lift bridges and swing bridges, but this article concerns the narrower, more historical definition of the term.
In modern times, as the Hampton Roads area has become largely urbanized all around it, it has been said that Driver is a town "suspended in time." Driver is known in Suffolk for its Driver Variety Store, which is styled as an old time general store, and its annual Driver Days festival.
