Champlain in Essex County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Layton’s Landing Wharf and Ferry
Photographed By Brandon D Cross, January 23, 2023
1. Layton’s Landing Wharf and Ferry Marker
Inscription.
Layton’s Landing Wharf and Ferry. . Two miles northeast on the Rappahannock River, at Coleman's Town, George Southern was operating a ferry by 1679. In the early 1700s, the Ley and Layton families ran the ferry, an ordinary, and a wharf. By midcentury, the community had become a hub of commerce featuring a public tobacco warehouse. from which tobacco was inspected and shipped to Great Britain, and a Scottish merchant's store. George Washington used the ferry several times in the 1750s and 60s. An effort to develop a town called Beaufort here ca. 1770 failed when the tobacco trade declined after the Revolutionary War. Layton's Wharf was a stop on the Baltimore to Fredericksburg steamboat route from the 1830’s until 1937.
Two miles northeast on the Rappahannock River, at
Coleman's Town, George Southern was operating a ferry by 1679. In the early 1700s, the Ley and Layton families ran the ferry, an ordinary, and a wharf. By midcentury, the community had become
a hub of commerce featuring a public tobacco warehouse. from which tobacco was inspected and shipped to Great Britain, and a Scottish merchant's store. George Washington used the ferry several
times in the 1750s and 60s. An effort to develop a town called Beaufort here ca. 1770 failed when the tobacco trade declined after the Revolutionary War. Layton's Wharf was a stop on the Baltimore to Fredericksburg steamboat route from the 1830’s until 1937.
Erected 2021 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number O-83.)
Location. 38° 4.018′ N, 77° 0.604′ W. Marker is in Champlain, Virginia, in Essex County. Marker is on Tidewater Trail (U.S. 17) 0.3 miles north of Layton’s Landing Road (Virginia Route 637), on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Champlain VA 22438, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles
Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 23, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 202 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 23, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
