Fort Eustis in Newport News, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Crafford House

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 14, 2024

1. Crafford House Marker

Inscription. Build mid-1700s
Demolished 1920s
Home to Crafford family in 19th & 20th centuries
Home to Willis family in 18th century
John George Willis ran the ferry across the James River.
Colonial law granted a tavern license with a ferry license

Erected by Fort Eustis Historical and Archaeological Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Colonial Era • War, US Civil • Waterways & Vessels.

Location. 37° 7.737′ N, 76° 37.099′ W. Marker is in Newport News, Virginia. It is in Fort Eustis. It can be reached from Harrison Road one mile east of Harrison Road, on the left when traveling south. This marker is on post at Fort Eustis. Post access is restricted to authorized personnel and sponsored or escorted visitors. This marker is within the earthen remains of Fort Crafford, on the north end of the walking trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fort Eustis VA 23604, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Virginia’s Peninsula,

in Hampton Roads,

in Coastal Virginia,

and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Tidewater.

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. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Fort Crafford (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Maj Morris Sketch (about 300 feet away); Mulberry Point & Sir Thomas West (approx. 0.9

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miles away); Felker Army Airfield (approx. 1.1 miles away); The Lee Hall Balloon School (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Civil War on Fort Eustis (approx. 1½ miles away); John Rolfe (approx. 1.6 miles away); Native Americans on this Land (approx. 1.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Newport News.

Regarding Crafford House. The Crafford House was built between 1730 and 1750 for the Willis family. Miles Willis gained permission to operate a ferry between Mulberry Island and Isle of Wight County across the James River in 1742, and the operated a tavern within the house thereafter. Operation of the tavern and ferry, as well as the land & house, later passed to his son John George Willis. The house entered the Crafford family when John George Willis' stepson Carter Crafford took over tavern & ferry operations in the 1780s or 1790s. Ferry use was discontinued in 1792 after the state capital was moved to Richmond, which decreased travel to Mulberry Island (Mulberry Island and Jamestown were two routes to Williamsburg, the state capital before Richmond). When the Confederates determined to build a fortification at the point

Crafford House Foundation image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 14, 2024

2. Crafford House Foundation

Viewed from just to the right of the marker. Once chimney was in the foreground where the overgrown small pile of bricks is. The other was in the brick lump directly across the foundation. The steps to the basement are covered by a tarp at lower right.

of Mulberry Island in February 1862, the Crafford family still owned the farm on which the fort was constructed. The fort was built around the house, and the house became the headquarters for the Confederate garrison until their evacuation in May 1862. The house was standing at the time Major Morris surveyed the fort on 7 May and drew the map used in a nearby marker. Its history after Confederate evacuation is unclear. During WWI, it came into US Army possession and was used for plotting gunfire from Camp Wallace, just up the river (Kingsmill Resort covers the site of Camp Wallace today). An observation tower was constructed just northwest of the house at that time, the foundations of which can be seen from the walking path within Fort Crafford. The house was unused after WWI, and in 1924-5 was dismantled to provide period bricks for the restoration of the Wren Building at William & Mary College in Williamsburg. The Wren Building had been seriously damaged during the Civil War and underwent major repairs in the 1920s - the bricks from the Crafford House are still part of the Wren Building on William & Mary's campus as of 2025.

The Fort Eustis Historical and Archaeological Association excavated the Crafford House foundation beginning in 1971 and ending in 1974. Fort Eustis initially displayed artifacts from the excavation at the US Army Transportation Museum, but those

Crafford House Foundation Steps image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 14, 2024

3. Crafford House Foundation Steps

Steps descending into the foundation are [somewhat] covered over by a tarp.

items have since been moved to storage in Richmond at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources. The excavated foundation includes a small staircase into the house's basement, as well as two depleted brick piles at either end of the foundation illustrating where the house's two chimneys once stood. Portions of the brick foundation are visible within the indention as well. The farm had at least one outbuilding prior to its dismantling, and the prominent indention to the southwest of the Crafford House protective fence appears to be its remains based on Fort Eustis historical photographs. The farm's family cemetery was 150' east, and their slave cemetery was another 300' south of that - though fort construction disrupted the latter.

Crafford House Foundation, Chimney image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 14, 2024

4. Crafford House Foundation, Chimney

Remains of a fireplace can be discerned next to the tarp covering the stairs.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, December 14, 2024

5. Crafford House Foundation

View of the foundation from the northeast. The marker is visible beyond the fence at center left.

Crafford House, Date Unknown image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer

6. Crafford House, Date Unknown

This post-bellum photograph of the Crafford House is included, though in poor quality, on the marker. The outbuilding at left corresponds with a substantial depression in the ground to the southwest of the foundation. This view looks roughly the same direction as the previous photo, but from further distant and slightly south.

Credits. This page was last revised on March 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 5, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 137 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on March 5, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.