To determine forest composition and successional trends in the central Piedmont of Virginia, 32 stands within Cumberland State Forest and Powhatan Lake Wildlife Management Area in Cumberland and Powhatan Counties, respectively, were quantitatively sampled and analyzed using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and canonical correlational analysis (CCA) for large tree, small tree, and sapling size classes. Quercus alba, Q. velutina, and Q. coccinea were the three most important overstory species. An abundance of Q. velutina suggests that the central Piedmont may be more similar to the northeastern Piedmont than the southern Piedmont. Quercus prinus was abundant in the overstory only atop a monadnock in Cumberland State Forest. We found that Q. prinus was most successful in sites with a combination of level terrain, soils with low levels of Mg and Ca, and sudden elevation increases in relation to surrounding landscape. Nyssa sylvatica, Acer rubrum, and Cornus florida were the most important understory species. Acer rubrum and C. florida were never found codominating the same stand in the understory, suggesting that each has a significantly different environmental optimum. To determine the expanse of the transition zone between the Piedmont vegetation and the Coastal Plain vegetation, we compared our study in the central Piedmont with studies in the Coastal Plain and the eastern Piedmont at the Fall Line. Comparison of our study sites with those of E. Wolff and S. Ware from Pocahontas State Park in the eastern Piedmont leads us to conclude that their study area lies in the eastern portion of a transition zone between vegetation typical of the (central) Piedmont and that of the Coastal Plain. Further study needs to be done in the areas between Wolff and Ware’s study sites and ours to conclude whether the transition zone is narrow or a broad transitional expanse.