Popes Creek Plantation

Popes Creek Plantation. . Look at the landscape around you. Augustine Washington's reasons for settling here in 1718 are apparent. The ground to your left is slightly elevated and well drained - perfect for farming. Before you, Popes Creek teems with life: fish, crabs, and waterfowl. Deer and other game abound in the surrounding forests. Fresh water is abundant from numerous springs. And a mile to the northeast is the Potomac River, Augustine Washington's commercial lifeline to the world. , In an economy where crop prices fluctuated and soil was easily depleted, the acquisition of land meant security and, often, wealth. While Augustine Washington's holdings were moderate, he aspired to join Virginia's propertied elite. His success depended almost entirely upon slaves and indentured servants laboring in tobacco fields, workshops, and in the kitchen and manor house. The whole operation resembled a small village.