Four miles
west stood the home of John Y. Mason,
statesman. Mason was a member of the
House of Representatives; United States
district judge; twice Secretary of the
Navy; United States Attorney General,
and Minister to France. He took . . . — — Map (db m48525) HM
Near this point
Tarleton, the British cavalryman, entered
the road from the south and moved westward
to clear the fords for Cornwallis's army,
May 14, 1781. Cornwallis was moving north
on Petersburg. — — Map (db m48523) HM
A leader in Ruritan in its early days, Dr. J.M. Bland was elected first president of Ruritan National in 1930 at a Suffolk convention. A practicing physician for 50 years, he served on the Southampton Board of Supervisors for 27 years. — — Map (db m258269) HM
On 21 Aug. 1831, enslaved preacher Nat Turner began an insurrection five miles west of here with a force that grew to about 60 men. They killed nearly 60 white people before the revolt was suppressed within two days. In retaliation, white residents . . . — — Map (db m290875) HM
On the night of 21-22 August 1831, Nat Turner, a slave preacher, began an insurrection some seven miles west with a band that grew to about 70. They moved northeast toward the Southampton County seat, Jerusalem (now Courtland), killing about 60 . . . — — Map (db m305420) HM
The Stealthlike Nottoway of 1650
Edward Blands 1650 account of his journey along the lower reaches of the Nottoway and Meherrin river valleys contains the earliest known written record of direct contact between the Nottoway and . . . — — Map (db m226144) HM
The House of Burgesses set aside two tracts of land known as the "Circle and Square" containing over 40,000 acres of land.
To Be
From 1735 to the late 1800s, sections of Nottoway Reservation land were gradually sold off, or otherwise . . . — — Map (db m226141) HM
One mile north was
the estate of Major Thomas Ridley. In the
servile insurrection of August, 1831, the
houses were fortified by faithful slaves
and made a place of refuge for fugitive whites.
In this vicinity Nat Turner, the leader of
. . . — — Map (db m48527) HM
Nottoway History
From Barter to Buffer to Be
Ancient Native American trade routes were in existence long before first contact with Europeans. Nottoway trade expeditions provided a chance to . . . — — Map (db m238385) HM
Born six miles north of here near Courtland in the Berlin-Ivor District of Southampton County, African American Benjamin Hicks made his living by farming. Highly respected for his industrious and creative talents, he used the anvil, forge, and . . . — — Map (db m48945) HM
The mighty oak trees known for their strength and durability are used in constructing buildings, furniture, boats, homes, and bridges. Black Oak trees (Quercus velutina) are a symbol of protection, courage, truth and life itself. Its acorns were . . . — — Map (db m276622) HM
In Aug. 1831, following the revolt led by enslaved preacher Nat Turner, white residents and militias retaliated by murdering an indeterminable number of African Americanssome involved in the revolt, some notin Southampton County and elsewhere. . . . — — Map (db m295807) HM
By 1800, slavery was primarily practiced in the South, providing most of the labor force and enabling the expansion of cash crop agriculture. Enslaved people were everywhere on small farms and large plantations, in cities and towns, in industry . . . — — Map (db m276514) HM
General James Longstreet, commander of the First Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia, was ordered by General Robert E. Lee in late 1862 to the Blackwater River near Franklin to form a protective shield which permitted the army to gather materials . . . — — Map (db m301084) HM WM
Courtland School, which served African American
students during the segregation era, was erected
here in 1928-29 at a cost of $4,000. The local
African American community raised $1,000, while
the county contributed $2,500. The Julius
Rosenwald . . . — — Map (db m107407) HM
After the clash with members of the Southampton Militia a few miles away at Parker's Field. Nat Turner was determined to continue to Jerusalem (today's Courtland), directing 20 or so of his men to follow lesser used roads. Turner believed that he . . . — — Map (db m276530) HM
Dred Scott, a slave lived as a child northeast of here on Peter Blow plantation early in the 1800s. The
Blows moved to Missouri and in 1830 sold Scott to an army officer who was stationed in various free
territories. Scott sued for his and . . . — — Map (db m69290) HM
Dred Scott was born with slave status in Southampton County around 1798. The peter Blow family acquired him shortly after that. The Blows moved to Alabama and later to St. Louis, Missouri, where they sold Dred to John Emerson, a physician serving . . . — — Map (db m276528) HM
Mentor for young adults
Created a social etiquette club for young women
Minister Music for 30 years at David Temple AMEZ
Community organizer — — Map (db m276563) HM
General George H. Thomas, "The Rock of Chickamauga," was born on July 31, 1816, about five miles to the south. A graduate of West Point, Thomas sided with the Union during the Civil War and won distinction in the campaigns in Tennessee. — — Map (db m295806) HM
Six African American trustees purchased this land in 1897 and established The Courtland Colored Cemetery, renamed Helping Hand Cemetery in 1912. The Helping Hand Club, a benevolent organization founded by educator Ersulia Wynn Evans, offered health . . . — — Map (db m243626) HM
In 1854, john Brown, a freedom seeker born in Southampton County, first known as "Fed," dictated his story to Louis Alexis Chamerovzow, secretary of The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The resulting book, Slave Life in Georgia: A . . . — — Map (db m276532) HM
Philanthropist and Entrepreneur
President of the Courtland Colored School League
1925 - 1926
Trustee of the Helping Hand Club
Established the first Courtland Dry Cleaner — — Map (db m276628) HM
The Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) is sometimes called North Carolina pine or Indian pine. The name itself means depression. Loblolly pines are fast growing and are used for furniture, plywood, posts, crates, boxes, and other wooden structures. The . . . — — Map (db m276639) HM
One of the oldest buildings in Southampton County, Mahones Tavern was a social, transportation, and political hub of Jerusalem (now Courtland) because of its proximity to the county courthouse. Beginning in 1796, the structure served as a . . . — — Map (db m18118) HM
Mahone's Tavern, built ca. 1796 across from the Southampton Co. courthouse, was a center of political and social activity for more than a century. Known as Kello's Tavern early in the 1800s, it served as a refuge for citizens and as an encampment . . . — — Map (db m288402) HM
The "Southampton Cavalry" was formed just north of this site in May, 1861 at what was the Gillette Farm, Cedar Lawn. Joseph E. Gillette was elected captain. The Company eventually became Company A of the 13th Virginia Cavalry. Gillette was promoted . . . — — Map (db m18161) HM
Two newspapers reported that Deputy Sheriff Edward Butts executed Turner at either high noon or one o'clock p.m. on November 11, 1831. Most sources agree that a large crowd gathered on the day of the execution. Yet only a few were permitted to . . . — — Map (db m290878) HM
The two hundred and nineteen names that are engraved on the bricks before you are the men from Southampton County who gave their lives defending their family, friends and their homes from the Northern Invaders. They were killed in action or died . . . — — Map (db m276534) WM
The Nottoways' first recorded contact with the English colonist occurred in 1650 in present-day Sussex County. By 1694, due to hostile Indian attacks and encroaching settlers, the Nottoways had moved their main settlement to the mouth of Assamoosick . . . — — Map (db m48293) HM
Just to the north was the Nottoway Indian Reservation. William Byrd, while running
the boundry line between Virginia and North Carolina, visited these Indians April
7, 1729. Indians were living here as late as 1825. — — Map (db m186498) HM
(Front side)
Original site of Southampton County Training School
Erected in 1939 as Southampton County's Negro High School
(Rear side)
Dedicated 6-11-94 to all faculty - staff -students of SCTS — — Map (db m288401) HM
Near where you are standing today once stood the so-called "Hanging Tree," Southampton County's "usual place of execution" for criminals, both White and Black. Nat Turner was hanged here on November 11, 1831. The executioner was Edward Butts, . . . — — Map (db m290880) HM
Escaped slave from Southampton County
Enlisted in Civil War Union Army
2nd US Colored Voluntary Infantry
1863 - 1865
Returned to Courtland to buy land
Helping Hand Cemetery Club trustee
Stevens sold a parcel of land to the
Helping . . . — — Map (db m276621) HM
You are here in Courtland, the county seat of Southampton County, Virginia, at the Rebecca Vaughan House's new site. This building was moved from its original location, five miles away from the end of a long lane off Barrow Road. the last . . . — — Map (db m276515) HM
This home is one of Courtland's most significant properties on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rochelle-Prince House, built in 1814, is an excellent example of a Southeastern Virginia residence with Federal influences. The house was . . . — — Map (db m276520) HM
The Sand Post Oak Tree (Quercus margaretta) sometimes called White Oak is a tree known to be the preferred home of wildlife. Its acorns provide food for turkeys and other birds. This tree was named Sand Post Oak since its wood takes a long time to . . . — — Map (db m276626) HM
In the 1500's Sassafras Trees were believed by some to cure every human ailment. The roots and bark were used as a spring tonic and its fruit was and still is eaten by most animals and birds. Although in the last few years, scientists feared that . . . — — Map (db m276629) HM
The elegant residence you see here is known as Seven Gables. Josiah Vick constructed it around 1800. By the time of the 1831 Southampton Insurrection, attorney Thomas Ruffin Gray owned this home.
Gray's Time with Nat Turner
From a . . . — — Map (db m276519) HM
The 1831 Southampton Insurrection is considered the most consequential slave revolt in North American history. It was, however, preceded by many others. Slaveholders lived in fear of such uprisings as enslaved people of African descent often . . . — — Map (db m276512) HM
The first documented Africans to arrive in Virginia landed at Old Point Comfort in August 1619. From Angola, they were captured from a Portuguese slave ship near Veracruz, Mexico, by the Dutch privateers Treasurer and White Lion. . . . — — Map (db m276513) HM
Southampton County was established in 1749. Before the Europeans' arrival, the area south of the Blackwater River was inhabited by Native Americans primarily the Nottoway Indians. According to the 1830 census, Southampton County mostly contained . . . — — Map (db m276523) HM
In loving memory of the many citizens of Southampton who answered the call of their country in all wars. Their names are inscribed for eternity on historys roll of honor. — — Map (db m113899) WM
The Southern Red Oak Tree (Quercus falcata) like other oaks, is a strong hard wood tree used for building railroad ties, ships, furniture, hardwood floors and much more. Its acorns are a food source for most wildlife including deer and birds. This . . . — — Map (db m276627) HM
The local militia mustered here on August 22, 1831, after the news of Nat Turner's uprising spread throughout Southampton County.
Governor John Floyd
Governor John Floyd, a War of 1812 veteran, held a militia commission as brigadier . . . — — Map (db m276518) HM
Sweetgum trees produce yellowish-green flowers in the spring that turn to seedpods that look like gumballs. These seedpods have spikes but are not dangerous unless stepped on. Sweetgum wood is a dark color often used for furniture, lumber, speaker . . . — — Map (db m276635) HM
Nat Turner, an enslaved, self-taught preacher, believed that signs from Heaven guided him to initiate the slave revolt in which more White people were killed than in any other in American history. Born in Southampton County in October 1800, . . . — — Map (db m276516) HM
The legacy of Nat Turner's Rebellion is profound. The uprising of August 21-23, 1831 resulted in the deaths of 57 White men, women and children, spreading terror amongst enslavers. Vicious militia reprisals caused the deaths of approximately 40 . . . — — Map (db m290877) HM
You are at the site of the 1795 Federal-style Southampton County Courthouse. The trials of Nat Turner and many of his followers were held here after the defeat of their insurrection in 1831. The 1795 courthouse was replaced in 1834. The new . . . — — Map (db m276524) HM
In 1831, a simple wood structure stood here, next to the Southampton County Courthouse. Built as a jail, the small building held Nat Turner and many of his followers before trial and during the time between their sentencing and executions. . . . — — Map (db m276527) HM
These trustees were members of the African-American community of Courtland, Virginia in the 1800's. They had a vision to turn what had been an un-named burial ground for slaves and free-men into an African-American community cemetery to be . . . — — Map (db m276546) HM
A work in progress - The Nat Turner Era
Donated to the Southampton County Historical Society by Jack and Ina Gee Pittman.
Its historical significance in our county history: The last house on the insurrection scene in which anyone was . . . — — Map (db m60734) HM
Crowds gathered at Jerusalem's taverns, attracted by the trials of Nat Turner and his followers. Ideally located across the street from the Southampton County Courthouse, these taverns served as the hub of social and business activity during . . . — — Map (db m276541) HM
Veterans Interred in Helping Hand Cemetery
Last Name, First, DOB - DOD, Age, Service
Artist, Herman, 1913-1985, 71, PVT US Army
Brown, Lee, 1918-1981, 63, PVT US Army
Brown, Samuel, 1916-1982, 66, US Army
Brown, Willie . . . — — Map (db m276561) HM WM
In 1600, there were approximately 40 tribes in Virginia. Today, the Commonwealth officially recognizes only eleven tribes.
When the Jamestown Settlers arrived in Virginia in 1607, they encountered several Virginia Tribes. The Chesapeake . . . — — Map (db m120348) HM
The Water Oak Tree (Quercus nigra) grows well in swamp areas, on river banks, sandy soils, and clay soils. It grows and reproduces quickly providing an abundance of acorns for wildlife, lumber for building and firewood, and regrowth of forests. Its . . . — — Map (db m276623) HM
Confederate forces guarded this Blackwater River crossing from 1862 to the end of the Civil War. On 12 Dec. 1862, Capt. J. H. Sikes and soldiers of Company D, 7th Confederate Cavalry, were captured during a dismounted skirmish with elements of the . . . — — Map (db m18159) HM
Birthplace of Colgate
Whitehead Darden, Jr. 1897-1981
Soldier-Educator-Statesman Veteran
World War I Member of the General
Assembly of Virginia Member of the
United States Congress Governor of
Virginia President of the . . . — — Map (db m48529) HM
Nearby along the eastern bank of the Blackwater River once existed the community of South Quay, also sometimes called South Key, Old Quay, or Old South Quay. Founded by 1657, South Quay by 1701 had become the site of a landing and trading post. A . . . — — Map (db m18181) HM
East of here near the Nottoway River stood a Late Woodland Indian settlement occupied intermittently circa A.D. 700 to 1650, and long claimed by the Cheroenhaka (Nottoway). Excavated in the 1960s, occupation phases included features such as a . . . — — Map (db m60635) HM
Three and a half miles southwest, at Monroe, Major-General William Mahone was born, December 1, 1826. He served brilliantly in the Confederate army throughout the war, and won the title, "Hero of the Crater," at Petersburg, July 30, 1864. He was . . . — — Map (db m18153) HM
William Mahone was born about four miles southwest of here on 1 Dec. 1826. As chief engineer of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, he oversaw construction of the line between the two cities. He became the railroad's president in 1860. Mahone . . . — — Map (db m276475) HM
Born here: July 31, 1816
Son of John C. Thomas
and
Elizabeth Rochelle Thomas
West Point, Class of 1840
General - United States Army
Loyal to conscience, country
and family
Died: San Francisco March 28, 1870
Buried: Troy, New York . . . — — Map (db m18131) HM
Gen. George H. Thomas was born in this house on July 31, 1816. He lived here until his appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1836, where he roomed his first year with William T. Sherman. After graduation in 1840, Thomas entered . . . — — Map (db m18125) HM
During the Civil War, Confederate forces guarded this Blackwater River crossing as a part of the Blackwater defensive line. On 14 Nov. 1862, Col. Charles C. Dodge, 1st Battalion New York Mounted Rifles, led his troops in a skirmish against elements . . . — — Map (db m18157) HM
Southampton County. Area 604 Square Miles. Formed in 1748 from Isle of Wight and Nansemond. Named for a locality that was originally named for the Earl of Southampton, active in the first settlement. General William Mahone was . . . — — Map (db m18109) HM
