Fonthill

Photographed by Beverly Pfingsten, April 18, 2008

1. Fonthill Marker

Inscription. A mile and a half west stands Fonthill, built in 1832 by Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter. He served variously as United States senator, Confederate secretary of state, Confederate States senator, and as a member of the peace commission that met with Union representatives near Fort Monroe in February 1865. Imprisoned briefly at the end of the war, Hunter soon resumed his public career, serving as treasurer of Virginia from 1874 to 1880.

Erected 1980 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number N-20.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1865.

Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near 38° 0.775′ N, 76° 59.537′ W. Marker was in Champlain, Virginia, in Essex County. It was at the intersection of US 17 and VA 631 Lloyd's Road, on the right when traveling south on US 17. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Champlain VA 22438, United States of America.

We have been informed that this marker is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.

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

It was also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Tidewater,

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found 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 7 miles of this location, measured as the crow flies: Early Settlement (approx. 3.9 miles away); Layton’s Landing Wharf and Ferry (approx. 3.9 miles away); Gouldborough Plantation (approx. 4.7 miles away); Saunders’s Wharf (approx. 5.1 miles away); Rappahannock Indian Migration (approx. 6.1 miles away); Vauter's Church (approx. 6.6 miles away); Pissaseck Indians (approx. 6.8 miles away); Leedstown (approx. 6.8 miles away).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Old Rappahannock Courthouse (was approx. 2.8 miles away but has been permanently removed).

Also see . . . Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. (Submitted on April 27, 2008, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.)

Photographed by Beverly Pfingsten, April 18, 2008

2. Fonthill

Fonthill at an Earlier Time image. Click for full size.

3. Fonthill at an Earlier Time

Secretary of State, Robert M. T. Hunter, Officer of the Confederate States Government image. Click for full size.

Library of Congress

4. Secretary of State, Robert M. T. Hunter, Officer of the Confederate States Government

Civil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 10, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 27, 2008, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,271 times since then and 87 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 27, 2008, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. 3. submitted on August 24, 2009. 4. submitted on December 9, 2020, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.