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

Shirley

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, April 27, 2025

1. Shirley Marker

Inscription. West and Shirley Hundred, one of Virginia's earliest English settlements, was established along the James River just to the south ca. 1613. Edward Hill purchased land here by 1656 and acquired about 2,500 acres by 1660. The labor of enslaved African Americans was essential to the plantation. Hill's great-granddaughter Elizabeth Hill married John Carter, and the mansion, dependencies, and barns were built for them ca. 1738. Their son Charles remodeled the house in the 1770s. Ann Hill Carter, mother of Robert E. Lee, grew up at Shirley and married Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee here in 1793. Shirley, operated by the Hill-Carter family for more than 10 generations, is a National Historic Landmark.

Erected 2016 by Virginia Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number V-6.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1613.

Location. 37° 20.957′ N, 77° 13.851′ W. Marker is in Charles City, Virginia, in Charles City County. It is at the intersection of John Tyler Memorial

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Highway (Virginia Route 5) and Shirley Plantation Road, on the right when traveling south on John Tyler Memorial Highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Charles City VA 23030, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Coastal Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Stephen Bates (here, next to this marker); Benjamin Harrison (approx. 0.8 miles away); A Great Escape (approx. 1.2 miles away); Battles on the James (approx. 1.4 miles away); Wayside & Granville (approx. 1.9 miles away); Bermuda Hundred Landing (approx. 2.3 miles away); Bermuda Hundred (approx.

Shirley Main House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, April 27, 2025

2. Shirley Main House

2.3 miles away); a different marker also named Bermuda Hundred (approx. 2.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Charles City.

Other markers no longer nearby. Shirley (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Scene of Jefferson’s Wedding (was approx. 1.9 miles away but has been confirmed missing); a different marker also named Bermuda Hundred Landing (was approx. 2.3 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. The linked marker preceded this one in the same location.

Also see . . . Virginia Landmarks Register - Shirley. Department of Historic Resources website with National Register nomination form for Shirley. (Submitted on November 4, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.)

Registered National Historic Landmark image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, June 23, 2012

3. Registered National Historic Landmark

Tomb of Edward Hill<br>The Founder of Shirley<br>—In theShirley Plantation Cemetery— image. Click for full size.

Internet Archive

4. Tomb of Edward Hill
The Founder of Shirley
—In theShirley Plantation Cemetery—

Here lyeth intered the Body of
Edward Hill Esq. one of his Majestyes
Hon-ble Councell of State Collonel and
Comander in Chiefe of the County’s
Of Charles Citty and Surrey Judge of
His Majestyes high court of Admiralty
And Sometimes Treasurer of Virginia who
dyed the 30th of Nov-r in the 63rd
year of his age Anno Dom 1700
Image from The Century Magazine, Vol. XLI, No. 3, January 1891.

Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2026. It was originally submitted on November 4, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 8 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 4, 2026, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. 3. submitted on December 3, 2012, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 4. submitted on October 14, 2020, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.