Yorktown in York County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Tobacco Road
Historic Yorktown
— Colonial National Historical Park —
"An act for Ports, &c. That from and after the first day of October (1692), all shipps, barques, and other vessells whatsoever, arriveing into, or sayling out of this country for trayd, shall unload and put on shoare, and take from shoar to load on board, all tabaccoes, goods and merchantdises, at one or other of the poarts … mentioned in this act…" Virginia General Assembly, April 1691, Legislation establishing Yorktown
Tobacco, in the 17th and 18th centuries, was a valuable form of currency. It could be used to pay taxes, fines and salaries of government and church officials as well as purchase merchant goods. Upon the founding of the commercial port of Yorktown in 1691, the price for a half acre town lot was 180 pounds of tobacco.
This road trace in the 18th century was a busy thoroughfare called Tobacco Road. The road provided an easy route for exported goods, including thousands of pounds of tobacco, to reach the port facilities on the York River, while circumventing most of the town.
By 1750, the amount of tobacco sent from Yorktown began to decline as crop yields on local plantations started to decrease. The town never recovered from the devastation of the 1781 siege and the port became a shadow of its former self.
Today, Tobacco Road is a quiet walkway providing
this page online
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Colonial Era • Roads & Vehicles. A significant historical year for this entry is 1691.
Location. 37° 13.996′ N, 76° 30.226′ W. Marker is in Yorktown, Virginia, in York County. Marker is on Water Street, 0.1 miles east of Compte de Grasse Street, on the right when traveling east. Marker is near the southeast end of Water Street on a section generally restricted to pedestrian traffic. It marks the start of the Tobacco Road Trail which leads to the NPS Visitor Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Yorktown VA 23690, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Yorktown Campaign Memorial (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); In Memory of the Men of the French Fleet (about 300 feet away); Ratification of the Treaty of Paris (about 400 feet away); Monument to the Alliance and Victory (about 400 feet away); Victory Monument (about 400 feet away); French American Revolutionary War Memorial
Photographed By David Graff, September 20, 2014
2. Tobacco Road Marker
Regarding Tobacco Road. The marker includes a drawing of the road when it was used for loading ships. The caption reads: In the 18th century, tobacco was prepared for shipment by packing it into large wooden casks, called hogsheads. The hogsheads were then rolled to the waterfront for loading onto ships bound for England.
Photographed By David Graff, September 20, 2014
4. Tobacco Road Marker
This is the marker in its previous location.
Photographed By David Graff, September 20, 2014
5. York River
Taken from the Tobacco Road marker location.
Photographed By David Graff, September 20, 2014
6. Along the Tobacco Road Trail
Credits. This page was last revised on March 1, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 19, 2014, by David Graff of Halifax, Nova Scotia. This page has been viewed 960 times since then and 73 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on March 1, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 2. submitted on October 19, 2014, by David Graff of Halifax, Nova Scotia. 3. submitted on March 1, 2021, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 4, 5, 6. submitted on October 19, 2014, by David Graff of Halifax, Nova Scotia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
