| Virginia (Essex County), Caret — N-27 — Gouldborough Plantation — (Later Goldberrry) |
| | Just east of here was the seat of the Waring family, members of which served the colony and our fledgling nation in elected and appointed offices and as officers in the county militia and the Continental Line. Thomas Waring II (ca. 1690–1754), Burgess 1736–1754, built a mansion here in 1733. His son Francis (1717–1771) Burgess 1758–1769, was an organizer of the Sons of Liberty and a signer of the Leedstown Resolves. The house, having survived three wars, burned in the late 19th century. — Map (db m3083) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Caret — N-18 — Old Rappahannock Courthouse |
| | About half a mile northeast stood the old courthouse and clerk’s office of Rappahannock County, 1665–1693. To this courthouse Thomas Goodrich and Benjamin Goodrich, ordered to appear with halters around their necks, came to express their penitence for taking part in Bacon’s Rebellion in l676. — Map (db m3084) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Caret — N 19 — Portobacco Indians |
| | Along the Rappahannock River near here lived the Portobacco Indians, who may have been part of the Portobaccos of Maryland. After moving to Virginia in the 1650's, they lived here in peace with their Indian neighbors, who spoke a similar dialect and who also were farmers, fishermen, and hunters. In 1683 - 1684 they were joined by the Rappahannocks, creating an Indian "refuge area" on a frontier that was being attacked by the Senecas. The Portobaccos and the Rappahannocks occupied the . . . — Map (db m7406) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Caret — N-28 — Rappahannock Indian Migration |
| | West of here, on the ridge between the Mattaponi and Rappahannock Rivers, the Rappahannock Indians built a fort to defend themselves from hostile settlers and other Indians during Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676. An order of the colonial Virginia Council in 1682 granted 4,000 acres to the Rappahannocks “about the town where they dwelt.” In 1683, following increased attacks along the Virginia frontiers by Iroquoian warriors, the General Assembly ordered the Rappahannocks either to find a . . . — Map (db m3082) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Champlain — N 20 — Fonthill |
| | A mile and a half west stands Fonthill, built in 1832 by Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter. He served variously as United States senator, Confederate secretary of state, Confederate States senator, and as a member of the peace commission that met with Union representatives near Fort Monroe in February 1865. Imprisoned briefly at the end of the war, Hunter soon resumed his public career, serving as treasurer of Virginia from 1874 to 1880. — Map (db m7409) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Chance — N-9 — Early Settlement |
| | Two miles east near the river, Richard Coleman planted a frontier settlement and trading post in 1652. By 1660 a church was built, to which every man was required to come armed for protection against the Indians. — Map (db m3085) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Dunnsville — N 29 — Fort Lowry |
| | Here in 1861 Confederates constructed an eight gun "water battery" principally for the defense of Fredericksburg. The guns were manned by the 55th Infantry Regiment located 500 yards N.W. The cannons were moved and the fort abandoned March 1862 after Northern Neck troop withdrawal left unit defenseless. On April 14, 1862, six Union gun boats bombarded and burned the installation. Thereafter, the fort functioned in limited capacity until the war ended. — Map (db m25231) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Dunnsville — N-24 — Fort Lowry-Camp Byron |
| | Located two miles N.E. on Rappahannock River at Lowry’s Point was a Confederate eight gun “water battery” constructed in 1861. Here at Dunnsville was located Camp Byron, home of Company F (Essex Light Dragoons), Ninth Cavalry, C.S.A.; the company moved to Fort Lowry in October 1861 to assist in the fort’s defense and to conduct scouting missions. — Map (db m3081) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Loretto — N 23 — Vauter's Church |
| | This was the principal church of St. Anne's Parish, which was formed in 1704 from Sittenburne Parish and encompassed Essex County. According to tradition, part of the present church was built about 1719 with an addition constructed in 1731, but architectural evidence suggests that the church was built as a unit in 1731. After the American Revolution and the disestablishment of the Church of England, Vauter's Church passed out of service. In 1822 regular services resumed for the first time since . . . — Map (db m7407) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Millers Tavern — O 23 — Bacon's Northern Force |
| | At Piscataway, near here, the northern followers of Bacon the Rebel assembled in 1676. On July 10, 1676, an action was fought with Governor Berkeley's supporters, some of whom were killed and wounded. Several houses were burned. Passing here, the rebels marched south to the Pamunkey River, where they joined their leader, Bacon. — Map (db m7489) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Millers Tavern — 166-Z — King and Queen County / Essex County |
| | (Obverse)
King and Queen County
Area 320 Square Miles
Formed in 1691 from New Kent, and named for King William III and Queen Mary. The family of George Rogers Clark long lived in this county.
(Reverse)
Essex County
Area 258 Square Miles
Formed in 1691 from Old Rappahannock County, and named for Essex County, England. R. M. T. Hunter, United States Senator and Confederate Secretary of State, lived in this county. — Map (db m7492) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Millers Tavern — O 22 — Mattaponi Indian Town |
| | To the north, after the 1644-1646 conflict between colonists and groups still loyal to the Powhatan chiefdom, the Mattaponi Indians found refuge on the headwaters of Piscataway Creek. Officers of then Old Rappahannock County signed a treaty with the Mattaponi in 1656. By 1660, however, the Mattaponi's English neighbors were pressuring them to leave and in 1662 some colonists burned the chief's English style house. The chief complained to the governor and an agreement was reached that three . . . — Map (db m7491) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Millers Tavern — O 41 — Mt. Zion Baptist Church — (Piscataway Baptist Church) |
| | Founded nearby as Piscataway Baptist Church on 13 Mar. 1774, Mt. Zion Baptist Church was the first Baptist church in the region. Endeavoring to stop the spread of the Baptist movement, local authorities arrested Baptist ministers John Waller, John Shackleford, Robert Ware, and Ivison Lewis after the first church service for "preaching and expounding the Scriptures contrary to the law." In 1818 the church moved across the road from this site. The current brick building was constructed in 1854. . . . — Map (db m7493) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Oakley — N-26 — Mann Meeting House |
| | Just to the East stood Mann Meeting House, the first Methodist Episcopal Church in this region. It was built before 1794 and abandoned about 1880. The site is now occupied by the Macedonia Colored Baptist Church. — Map (db m3080) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Tappahannock — Essex County Confederate Monument |
| | Erected
To soldiers of Essex and those who fought with them.
They fought for the principles of state sovereignty
And in defense of their homes.
To maintain these rights the gallant sons of this
Gallant county marched gladly to the front and
Did their duty like men, from the opening guns at
First Manassas to the final chapter at Appomattox. — Map (db m25223) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Tappahannock — N 21 — Historic Tappahannock |
| | The town was founded in 1680 under the name of Hobbs His Hole. In 1682, a port was established here and called New Plymouth. In 1808, the name was changed to Tappahannock. The British Admiral Cockburn shelled the town, December 1, 1814. An old customs house and a debtors' jail are here. — Map (db m25248) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Tappahannock — N 22 — Ritchie's Birthplace |
| | Here was born Thomas Ritchie, November 5, 1778. In 1804, he established the Richmond Enquirer, which ran until 1877, the most noted of Virginia newspapers. Ritchie was a political leader in Virginia and an editor of national fame. In 1845, he became editor of the Washington Union. He retired in 1851 and died, July 3, 1854. — Map (db m25253) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Tappahannock — N 25 — Toppahanock Indian Village |
| | In this region near the Rappahannock River once stood the Rappahannock Indian village of Toppahanock. When John Smith explored this region in 1607 and 1608, he found fourteen Rappahannock villages along both banks of the river. The river was the center of the Rappahannocks' ancestral lands and served as a food source and travel network. The Rappahannock River was formerly known as the Opiscatumek. Sometime before 1607, the Rappahannock Indians asserted themselves as the dominant group on the river. — Map (db m7410) |
| Virginia (Essex County), Tappahannock — N 37 — William Moore Tidewater Musician |
| | William "Bill" Moore was born in Georgia in 1893. Nearby stood his home and barbershop. Paramount recorded Moore in Chicago in 1928 and released eight songs, some of the earliest by an African American folk performer from Virginia. They are still valued and performed by musicians. "Old Country Rock," a dance tune refers to the Rappahannock River and the town of Tappahannock, while "Barbershop Rag" testifies to his fine ragtime guitar style and his profession. Moore also performed blues for his . . . — Map (db m7411) |
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