The Warwick River

The Warwick River. 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Overlooking one of the James River’s tributaries, Lee’s Mill is a watershed property with a long history of settlement. The Native Americans of the Powhatan Confederation hunted and fished along the banks of the Warwick River. During the 1600s, English settlers established tobacco plantations along the Warwick River and other major waterways. The tobacco harvests were floated down on barges to Hampton Roads for transatlantic shipment. The Warwick River and its marshes teemed with waterfowl, game birds, mammals, fish and shellfish which provided sustenance for the English settlers. Beyond transporting tobacco and providing habitat for game, the Warwick also supplied power for local industry., The Peninsula switched to grain production after the American Revolution. By 1810, Warwick County farmers no longer cultivated tobacco and focused on truck crops and livestock farming. Truck crops were shipped to Richmond and Norfolk by the James River and its tributaries. Grist mills were established on most of the Peninsula’s waterways to process corn and wheat. By 1860, there were two grist mills and one saw mill on the Warwick. Earlier in 1856, Mr. Richard D. Lee purchased a 30-acre tract along the Warwick River and established a grist mill. In 1860, Lee’s Mill ground 12,000 bushels of corn, reaping a profit of $9,900. The grist mill was destroyed during the Civil War, and the Warwick River was altered with the creation of the Lee Hall Reservoir in the early twentieth century., Today, the Lee’s Mill site contains oak, hickory and pine timber. The forest and marshes support white-tailed deer, gray squirrel, opossum, rabbit, raccoon and other small mammals. Canada geese and other waterfowl find habitat along the river and the Lee Hall Reservoir. Moreover, the woods contain several species of owl, hawk and a variety of songbirds. This natural area also contains preserved Civil War fortifications and provides green-space in a rapidly developing area.