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

Smith’s Fort Plantation

Photographed by Laura Troy, September 23, 2007

1. Smith's Fort Plantation Marker

Inscription. Captain John Smith began Smith’s Fort in 1609, two years after the first permanent English colony in the New World was established at Jamestown. The remains of the fort, a two-foot-high earthwork, constitute the oldest extant structure of English origin in Virginia. The fort stands on a high bluff overlooking Gray’s Creek and encloses a triangle of about two hundred feet on each side. Thomas Rolfe, the only child of John Rolfe and Pocahontas, probably owned this tract. The house is a mid-18th-century Tidewater plantation dwelling likely built for Jacob Faulcon, Surry County clerk from 1781 to 1801.

Erected 1999 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number K233.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Colonial Era • Forts and Castles • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1609.

Location. 37° 8.18′ N, 76° 50.117′ W. Marker is in Surry, Virginia, in Surry County. It is on Rolfe Road (Virginia Route 10) south of Main Street ( Route 10), on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Surry VA 23883, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is 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.

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At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Chanco (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Surry County Virginia (about 600 feet away); Capt. Jacob Faulcon, C.S.A. (about 600 feet away); Surry County War Memorial (about 600 feet away); Surry County WWII Veterans Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Organization of the Christian Church (approx. 1.2 miles away); Christian Church (approx. 1.2 miles away); Pleasant Point (approx. 1.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Surry.

Other markers no longer nearby. Surry County Confederate Monument (was about 600 feet away but has been permanently removed); Organization of the Christian Church (was approx. 1.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Credits. This page was last revised on January 9, 2020. It was originally submitted on September 23, 2007, by Laura Troy of Burke, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,641 times since then and 56 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on September 23, 2007, by Laura Troy of Burke, Virginia. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.

Editor’s want-list for this marker. A wide shot of the marker and its surroundings. Photos of the remains of the Smith's Fort Earthworks. • Can you help?