Loretto in Essex County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Saunders’s Wharf

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, January 23, 2023

1. Saunders’s Wharf Marker

Inscription. One mile north, on the Rappahannock River, is Saunders's Wharf, a center of transportation and commerce from the mid-1800s until 1937. Steamboats on the busy route that linked Fredericksburg and Baltimore picked up crops, livestock, raw materials,and passengers here and deposited manufactured goods. John Saunders (d. 1867), a farmer and merchant who owned a store in nearby Loretto, built the wharf on his estate, later known as Wheatland. Saunders's Wharf was one of several steamboat landings in Essex County. Others included Port Micou, Layton's, Blandfield, Tappahannock, Ware's, and Bowler's. The construction of highways led to the river's decline as a major avenue of trade.

Erected 2021 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number O-84.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1937.

Location. 38° 4.54′ N, 77° 2.387′ W. Marker is in Loretto, Virginia, in Essex County. It is at the intersection of Tidewater Trail (U.S. 17) and Wheatland Road (Virginia Route 638), on the right when traveling west on Tidewater Trail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5546 Tidewater Trail, Loretto VA 22509, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Layton’s Landing Wharf and Ferry (approx. 1.7 miles away); Early Settlement (approx. 1.7 miles away); Vauter's Church (approx. 1.8 miles away); Portobacco Indians (approx. 2.8 miles away); Pissaseck Indians (approx. 3.1 miles away); Leedstown (approx. 3.1 miles away); John Pratt Hungerford (approx. 3.1 miles away); Essex County / Caroline County (approx. 5.3 miles away).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Fonthill (was approx. 5.1 miles away but has been permanently removed).

Also see . . . Essex Historical Markers Erected. (Submitted on January 23, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)

Photographed by Brandon D Cross, January 23, 2023

2. Saunders’s Wharf Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on November 2, 2024. It was originally submitted on January 23, 2023, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 2,494 times since then and 158 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.