Farmville may be America’s oldest two-college town, but Lancer alumni are discovering that their old stomping ground has much more to offer than it did in their days on campus—no matter how long ago that was.
Now home to a diverse dining scene, attractions for outdoor enthusiasts and art aficionados, and a bustling shopping scene—as well as many recognizable favorites from the past—Longwood’s historic hometown is in the midst of a carefully curated evolution. The changes have taken long-overdue visitors by surprise, inspired others to make annual homecoming trips and even enticed some to make a full-time move back to their old college town.
And while the attractions may be more plentiful, the dining options more tempting and the nightlife more diverse than in years past, Farmville’s small-town charm remains—making Longwood’s hometown a destination worth revisiting.
Farmville's attractions consistently draw a crowd
From the Coast to the Heart of Virginia: Julie Wiley Ramsey ’93
After graduation, Julie Wiley Ramsey ’93 settled in Virginia Beach, where she began her career as a middle-school teacher and administrator. On Virginia’s coast, she and her husband had everything they needed—well, almost everything.
“I always wanted to end up in Farmville,” she said. “I loved what I was doing [in Virginia Beach], but I knew [Farmville] was a place we wanted to move to eventually. I love that people are taking the old places and bringing them up-to-date so that [Farmville] still has that old-town flair and charm, but it’s updated.”
Despite living hours away, Farmville’s pull turned Ramsey and her husband into frequent visitors. When their daughter, Madison Levine ’22, enrolled at Longwood, they bought property in town, and when Longwood hired Ramsey as the university’s director of fraternity and sorority life in 2022, they made the jump to full-time residents.
“I’m a proud ‘townie’ now,” Ramsey said. “My husband and I were looking at The Farmville Herald, and I joked with him that this is where his obituary will be.”
Julie Wiley Ramsey ’93
Rediscovering Farmville in Retirement: The Critzers—Scott ’81 and Debbie ’82
Ramsey is among a group of longtime Lancers who recently made a later-in-life return to Farmville. Joining them in that homecoming are Scott Critzer and his wife, Debbie, who retired to town following nearly 40 years as successful business owners.
“There’s as much to do as you want, but it's not the large city with all the traffic,” said Scott Critzer, who ran his commercial insurance business, Gaines & Critzer LTD, in Midlothian for nearly 40 years.
After handing over most of the business operations to their son, the Critzers bought a home just minutes from Longwood’s campus—close enough for a bike ride to Brock Commons and then an afternoon stroll down Main Street. Since the move, the two make frequent walks and bike rides downtown and on the High Bridge Trail—which opened as a state park in 2008—while also pursuing a newfound interest in Farmville’s booming arts and entertainment scene.
“It’s more diverse now; there’s much more culture going on, and that’s something that I didn’t really partake in when I was running the business full time,” Scott Critzer said. “And so now that I have the time, I’m starting to enjoy the arts more. We go to music programs, we go to the theater, we go to Longwood athletic events, and we go to Farmville First Fridays.
“There’s just always something to do. It still has the small-town vibe, but there’s a lot of activity.”
Scott Critzer ’81
A Surprising Homecoming: Keisha Stephens ’08
Farmville’s evolution, notes Keisha Stephens ’08, is likely to take Lancers who haven’t visited recently by surprise. Stephens experienced that shock herself during a recent getaway with her husband, which brought her back to Farmville for the first time in 15 years.
“I was showing my husband around, and I kept saying, ‘There are all these restaurants and hotels. They have a rooftop bar. There’s a brewery,’” she said. “I sounded like one of those old heads who would always come back and say, ‘We didn’t have this when I was here.’ I guess I’m one of them now.”
Similar “back in my day” comparisons are commonplace for Lancers who have not visited their one-time home in recent years. But even as Farmville has evolved, Stephens still felt the underlying intimacy that has long defined Longwood’s hometown.
“I knew some things on campus had changed, but even though there are a lot of things on campus and in town that have been upgraded, it definitely feels like the old Longwood,” Stephens said. “Of course I’m a little jealous about a couple things.”
She won’t be alone in her jealousy long, though. So struck by her visit, Stephens is already planning a return “girls trip” with her fellow Lancer alumnae.
Keisha Stephens ’08
A Front-Row Seat to Progress: Kathy Hansen Fox ’85
While Stephens’ long-overdue homecoming trip provided an eye-opening look at how Farmville has grown, others including Kathy Hansen Fox ’85 have had front-row seats to the town’s transformation for decades.
A resident of nearby Chesterfield with her husband, Fox has made frequent return trips since graduation: first as a young alum; then as a Lancer parent of her two youngest children, Christian Fox ’17 and Reilly Fox Paz ’20; and now as president of the Longwood Alumni Board of Directors and a dedicated basketball season ticket holder.
“I’m probably back in Farmville five times a month, on average,” Fox said. “Sometimes it’s basketball or for the alumni board. Sometimes I just go because there’s something I want to do or somebody I want to meet for lunch.”
Fox still frequents old favorites like Pino’s and Walker’s Diner, but just as Farmville has evolved, so, too, have her itineraries. For alumni returning to town after a long hiatus, she says they likely won’t be able to see everything new the town has to offer in a single trip.
“I came back for the CHI 125th anniversary [in September 2025], and there were so many people who had not been back on campus at all,” she said. “There was a group of older alums, and it was funny to watch their expressions walking around campus and even downtown. They were stunned. You try to tell people about all the places, but you really have to see it.”