Dedicated in
memory of the
men of Colonial
Heights who
gave their lives
in the service
of their country
World War II
1941 ··· 1945
Sponsored by
Colonial Heights Post No. 284
The American Legion
Percy M. Adkins . . . — — Map (db m57276) WM
This Fortification was part of a line of Confederate earthworks that guarded Swift Creek and the western approaches to Fort Clifton on the Appomattox River. It was probably constructed in response to Federal threats during Butlers Bermuda Hundred . . . — — Map (db m173115) HM
The name “Conjurer's Field” was associated with this site as early as 1635, when a land patent containing this reference was issued. Tradition has it that long ago, a Native American "conjurer, or priestly magician-healer, settled here . . . — — Map (db m103889) HM
The gravestones on the Old Brick House property are those of Richard Kennon (1684-1688), oldest son of Richard and Elizabeth Kennon; Henry Isham Kennon (1718-1747); and Angelina Vaughan (1826-1848). None of these stones mark actual graves in . . . — — Map (db m288674) HM
Located here was Stop 54 on the electric interurban railway line between Richmond and Petersburg. Opened in 1902 by the Virginia Passenger and Power Co., the line crossed Swift Creek on a steel truss bridge and followed Ashby Avenue to its . . . — — Map (db m1993) HM
In 1864, Ellerslie stood in the middle of the Confederate defense line along Swift Creek. On May 9-10, Confederate Gens. Johnson Hagood and Bushrod Johnson, with 4,200 men, contested the advance of a much larger Federal force, composed of . . . — — Map (db m48440) HM
In 1839, David Dunlop and his wife, Anna Mercer Minge, a niece of President William Henry Harrison, acquired the Ellerslie tract. Robert Young designed the castellated Gothic Revival mansion for Dunlop in 1856, and construction began the next year. . . . — — Map (db m17078) HM
Confederate Fort Clifton guarded the Appomattox River and helped protect Petersburg in 1864-1865. The three earthworks that comprised the forts batteries still stand on the bluffs along the river. Artillerists and militiamen garrisoned the position . . . — — Map (db m17074) HM
A short distance east on the Appomattox River stands Confederate Fort Clifton, an important fortification that guarded Petersburg against Union naval attack during the Civil War. On 9 May 1864, Federal gunboats commanded by Maj. Gen. Charles K. . . . — — Map (db m173116) HM
Three centuries old on Oak Hill, also called Archer's or Hector's or Dunn's Hill. Tradition says gaps show emplacements of Lafayette's guns in 1781 when British occupied Petersburg. — — Map (db m271075) HM
Lt. Col. Walter H. Taylor, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees aide, established Lees headquarters here at Violet Bank on June 17, 1864, at the beginning of the siege of Petersburg. The city, protected by Confederate defensive works to the east and . . . — — Map (db m17069) HM
This house, now so peaceful in its setting, was a bustling headquarters in 1864, surrounded by tents, with couriers, officers, and aides constantly coming and going. Lt. Col. Walter H. Taylor, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's aide, established . . . — — Map (db m175803) HM
One legend says that Thomas Shore, the owner of Violet Bank, planted this tree from a slip given to him by Thomas Jefferson.
General Robert E. Lee was camped here on the morning of July 30, 1864 and heard the explosion of the Crater. — — Map (db m17070) HM
First land patent by J. [Illegible] 1638. Home of Jerman Baker, Esq., 1777, friend of Thos. Jefferson. House rebuilt in 1825 by Thos. Dunn.
Virginia Historic Landmark
National Reg. of Historic Places — — Map (db m271077) HM
Conjurer's Neck, located on this peninsula formed by Swift Creek and the Appomattox River, was occupied by Native Americans as early as 1000-3000 BC. This general area supported a substantial Appamattuck Indian settlement by AD 1600. Richard Kennon, . . . — — Map (db m103876) HM
A prosperous Bermuda Hundred merchant, Richard Kennon was in Virginia prior to 1670 and represented Henrico County several times in the House of Burgesses.
Kennon married Elizabeth Worsham in 1675 and settled here on Conjurer's Neck after . . . — — Map (db m103890) HM
The present building was built around 1815 as it is the domestic architecture of the federal period. There are two theories concerning the origin of the name "Violet Bank".
(1) Because of the thousands of violets that covered the hillside. . . . — — Map (db m17065) HM
Fort Clifton, constructed between 1862 and 1864, helped protect the city of Petersburg from Union gunboats. Its high elevation and well-placed gun embrasures made Fort Clifton a stronghold that was never taken by Union forces until it was . . . — — Map (db m267314) HM
Dunlop Station on the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad was located here on the southern boundary of David Dunlop's Ellerslie estate. During the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865, a military rail spur was completed in March 1865 that . . . — — Map (db m267312) HM
At the nearby junction of the Richmond and Petersburg Railroad and the Confederate military spur line to Ettrick, stood Dunlop's Station, a Confederate telegraph post and supply depot. During the siege of Petersburg, southbound passengers were . . . — — Map (db m267313) HM
Nearby on 9 May 1864, Brig. Gen. Johnson Hagood's South Carolina Brigade attacked advancing elements of the Union X and XVIII Corps. As they 11th S.C. Infantry Regiment engaged the Federals across Swift Creek near Arrowfield Church, the 21st and . . . — — Map (db m267311) HM
