History

IN THE BEGINNING…

The history of Virginia Homes of Boydton begins about 100 years ago. That’s right, the Arnold family has been in a form of the movable housing business for about 100 years.

Virginia Homes of Boydton is owned by R T “Tommy” Arnold. The General Manager of the business is Scott Arnold Sparkman, the fourth generation in this business. The family member who started it all was A. W. Arnold, father of Tommy. After Tommy, Mike Sparkman, Tommy’s son-in-law and Scott’s father, was at Virginia Homes for a number of years. The Arnold family is a personal history of the mobile-modular industry.

NICHOLS BUS COMPANY

The Arnold family began in the housing business in the 1920’s in Purvis, Mississippi. Tommy Arnold’s father, A. W. Arnold, was a partner in Nichols Bus Company where his brother, Carl, also worked.

VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI

Nichols Bus Company moved operations from Purvis to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where there was a large building available, and adequate road system, and one of the few bridges that spanned the Mississippi River. During World War II, the company built barracks for the Army. After the War, the factory was used to build house trailers.

A new, modern facility was built in Vicksburg in 1953, which was the first for assembly line production.