Just east of here was the seat of the Waring family, members of which served the colony and our fledgling nation in elected and appointed offices and as officers in the county militia and the Continental Line. Thomas Waring II (ca. 1690–1754), . . . — — Map (db m86179) HM
About half a mile northeast stood the old courthouse and clerk’s office of Rappahannock County, 1665–1693. To this courthouse Thomas Goodrich and Benjamin Goodrich, ordered to appear with halters around their necks, came to express their . . . — — Map (db m3084) HM
Along the Rappahannock River near here lived the Portobacco Indians, who may have been part of the Portobaccos of Maryland. After moving to Virginia in the 1650's, they lived here in peace with their Indian neighbors, who spoke a similar dialect and . . . — — Map (db m7406) HM
West of here, on the ridge between the Mattaponi and Rappahannock Rivers, the Rappahannock Indians built a fort to defend themselves from hostile settlers and other Indians during Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676. An order of the colonial Virginia Council . . . — — Map (db m3082) HM
Thomas Washington, an African American man, was lynched on 23 March 1896 for allegedly attempting to assault the young daughter of a prominent white citizen. A boy found Washington’s body hanging from a tree about 1/8 mile southwest of here. A . . . — — Map (db m191126) HM
A mile and a half west stands Fonthill, built in 1832 by Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter. He served variously as United States senator, Confederate secretary of state, Confederate States senator, and as a member of the peace commission that met with . . . — — Map (db m7409) HM
Two miles northeast on the Rappahannock River, at
Coleman's Town, George Southern was operating a ferry by 1679. In the early 1700s, the Ley and Layton families ran the ferry, an ordinary, and a wharf. By midcentury, the community had become
a hub . . . — — Map (db m214590) HM
Two miles east near the river, Richard Coleman planted a frontier settlement and trading post in 1652. By 1660 a church was built, to which every man was required to come armed for protection against the Indians. — — Map (db m3085) HM
Angel Visit Baptist Church, one of the oldest African American churches in Essex County, was formed in 1866 when African American members withdrew from white-led Ephesus Baptist Church after Emancipation. The congregation purchased land here in 1867 . . . — — Map (db m194986) HM
Here in 1861 Confederates constructed an eight gun "water battery" principally for the defense of Fredericksburg. The guns were manned by the 55th Infantry Regiment located 500 yards N.W. The cannons were moved and the fort abandoned March 1862 . . . — — Map (db m25231) HM
Located two miles N.E. on Rappahannock River at Lowry’s Point was a Confederate eight gun “water battery” constructed in 1861. Here at Dunnsville was located Camp Byron, home of Company F (Essex Light Dragoons), Ninth Cavalry, C.S.A.; the company . . . — — Map (db m3081) HM
Founded by
Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association
Education - The Hope of a Glorious Future
Original Trustees
Willis Brook • Ned Fitzgerald • C. H. Newman • D.R. Page • Thomas Pollard • J. R. Ruffin • N.A. Wiggins • W. E. Robinson - . . . — — Map (db m191128) HM
The Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association opened the Rappahannock Industrial Academy here in 1902 to provide secondary education for African Americans at a time when no public high schools were available to them in the area. Supported by . . . — — Map (db m198433) HM
Middlesex County. Area 146 square miles. Formed in 1673 from Lancaster, and named for an English County. Rosegill frequented by Colonial Governors, is here.
Essex County. Area 258 square miles. Formed in . . . — — Map (db m7494) HM
One mile north, on the Rappahannock River, is Saunders's Wharf, a center of transportation and commerce from the mid-1800s until 1937. Steamboats on the busy route that linked Fredericksburg and Baltimore picked up crops, livestock, raw . . . — — Map (db m214593) HM
This was the principal church of St. Anne's Parish, which was formed in 1704 from Sittenburne Parish and encompassed Essex County. According to tradition, part of the present church was built about 1719 with an addition constructed in 1731, but . . . — — Map (db m7407) HM
At Piscataway, near here, the northern followers of Bacon the Rebel assembled in 1676. On July 10, 1676, an action was fought with Governor Berkeley's supporters, some of whom were killed and wounded. Several houses were burned. Passing here, the . . . — — Map (db m7489) HM
King and Queen County. Area 320 Square Miles. Formed in 1691 from New Kent, and named for King William III and Queen Mary. The family of George Rogers Clark long lived in this county.
Essex County. Area 258 Square . . . — — Map (db m7492) HM
To the north, after the 1644-1646 conflict between colonists and groups still loyal to the Powhatan chiefdom, the Mattaponi Indians found refuge on the headwaters of Piscataway Creek. Officers of then Old Rappahannock County signed a treaty with the . . . — — Map (db m7491) HM
Founded nearby as Piscataway Baptist Church on 13 Mar. 1774, Mt. Zion Baptist Church was the first Baptist church in the region. Endeavoring to stop the spread of the Baptist movement, local authorities arrested Baptist ministers John Waller, John . . . — — Map (db m7493) HM
Just to the East stood Mann Meeting House, the first Methodist Episcopal Church in this region. It was built before 1794 and abandoned about 1880. The site is now occupied by the Macedonia Colored Baptist Church. — — Map (db m3080) HM
This was the family burying ground of Benjamin and Elizabeth Blake who lived nearby on Prince Street. Their graves on the left-hand (north) side date to the early 1830s. Their daughter, Frances Blake married eminent physician and Virginia Delegate, . . . — — Map (db m176100) HM
(panel 1)
Bountiful Marshes
Meandering stretches of area rivers, such as this section of the Rappahannock, produce large freshwater marshes. Virginia Indians valued them as rich sources of food, often locating settlements nearby. . . . — — Map (db m97182) HM
British Raid on Tappahannock. On 2 Dec. 1814, British naval forces commanded by Capt. Robert Barrie shelled and seized the town of Tappahannock during the War of 1812. Aiding the British were three companies of African American Colonial . . . — — Map (db m97117) HM
(panel 1)
Enduring Records
Smith explored the Rappahannock River in 1607 and 1608. He wrote of his encounters with local tribes in colorful stories of skirmishes and other adventures. Many of these accounts, some published 16 years . . . — — Map (db m97129) HM
Erected
To soldiers of Essex and those who fought with them.
They fought for the principles of state sovereignty
And in defense of their homes.
To maintain these rights the gallant sons of this
Gallant county marched gladly to the front . . . — — Map (db m25223) WM
The town was founded in 1680 under the name of Hobbs His Hole. In 1682, a port was established here and called New Plymouth. In 1808, the name was changed to Tappahannock. The British Admiral Cockburn shelled the town, December 1, 1814. An old . . . — — Map (db m25248) HM
The Hutchinson Tract of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge consists of 727 acres of restored grasslands and mixed hardwood forests which complement the forests that buffer Mount Landing Creek. The attentive visitor may enjoy . . . — — Map (db m97196) HM
At seventeen years of age, Mechel Silber waved goodbye to Zapytow, Ukraine. It was 1909 and with little more than a dream of America, he arrived at Ellis Island. But a tireless work ethic, a reputation for unwavering integrity, and the heartfelt . . . — — Map (db m235825) HM
The National Wildlife Refuge System is a collection of United States lands and waters managed specifically for wildlife. Units of the system stretch across the continent, from the icy north shore of Alaska to the balmy Florida Keys, and beyond to . . . — — Map (db m97197) HM
How easy it is to celebrate large spectacular forms of wildlife such as the bald eagle. Yet there are thousands and perhaps millions of vital wildlife species on this refuge, each of which could easily fit in a teaspoon. Among these important . . . — — Map (db m97190) HM
Here was born Thomas Ritchie, November 5, 1778. In 1804, he established the Richmond Enquirer, which ran until 1877, the most noted of Virginia newspapers. Ritchie was a political leader in Virginia and an editor of national fame. In 1845, he became . . . — — Map (db m25253) HM
High-Quality Housing These rare habitats, dominated by native warn-season grasses such as little bluestem, Indian grass, and eastern gamma grass, provide food and cove for wildlife year around—even standing up to snow and ice. . . . — — Map (db m97192) HM
This willow oak tree was planted on November 6, 1980, by the XYZ Fellowship Club (Senior Citizens) of Essex County in commemorating the tricentennial of the foundation of the Town of Tappahannock in 1680, and the formation of Essex County in 1692, . . . — — Map (db m176102) HM
Tobacco was currency and the cash crop at the heart of the colonial Virginia economy when Captain Richard Hobbs of the ship Elizabeth and Mary anchored here in the 1660s and received a land patent for 800 acres. Colonel Benjamin Goodrich was . . . — — Map (db m235824) HM
On this spot for many years stood the home of William Silas "Bill" Manning and his family. Born into slavery in King George County about 1856, the son of Sampson and Winnie Hampton Manning, William was the pilot of a tugboat on the Rappahannock, a . . . — — Map (db m235823) HM
In this region near the Rappahannock River once stood the Rappahannock Indian village of Toppahanock. When John Smith explored this region in 1607 and 1608, he found fourteen Rappahannock villages along both banks of the river. The river was the . . . — — Map (db m7410) HM
William “Bill” Moore was born in Georgia in 1893. Nearby stood his home and barbershop. Paramount recorded Moore in Chicago in 1928 and released eight songs, some of the earliest by an African American folk performer from Virginia. They . . . — — Map (db m7411) HM
