Isle of Wight is the county seat for Isle of Wight County
Smithfield is in Isle of Wight County
Isle of Wight County(51) ► ADJACENT TO ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY Franklin(16) ► James City County(207) ► Newport News(270) ► Southampton County(24) ► Suffolk(60) ► Surry County(36) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
Built in 1826 constructed with handmade soft Virginia bricks. Originally used to store peanuts, crops, and dry goods. It was converted into a residence and doctors office around 1900. — — Map (db m166422) HM
In Nov. 1621, Capt. Nathaniel Basse received a grant of 300 acres of land, now known as Basse’s Choice, located nearby. It was one of the first English settlements in Isle of Wight County, though humans had lived there more than 5000 years. On Mar. . . . — — Map (db m2678) HM
This section of the Pagan River in front of you is where the Union gunboat, USS Smith-Briggs, was run aground and destroyed by local Confederate troops during the January 31-February 1, 1864, Battle of Smithfield.
Smithfield . . . — — Map (db m156842) HM
By Nov. 1621, Edward Bennett had obtained a patent from the Virginia Company to establish Bennett’s Plantation, also known as Warrascoyack and Bennett’s Welcome. By Feb. 1622, the Sea Flower arrived with the first residents and they began . . . — — Map (db m2677) HM
Main Street was once paved in brick during the early twentieth century. During the street's reconstruction from 1991 to 1993, the old paving bricks found under the asphalt were removed to make way for the installation of underground utilities. The . . . — — Map (db m166421) HM
Like the other structures on this site, this square building reflects a combination of eras. There are sections dating to the 18th century as well as evidence of a wood-burning stove, a more modern convenience. The building's earliest use is . . . — — Map (db m166413) HM
True Southerners Do and Dare. The 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Directly in front of you is the entrance to Fort Boykin. Originally built in 1623 to protect the colonists against “Spaniards by sea and Indians by land” and called . . . — — Map (db m2699) HM
The Warraskoyack Indians had a town south of
Fort Boykin in the vicinity of Tormentor Creek and
another on Jones Creek near the mouth of the
Pagan River. John Smith stayed with them on his 1608
mission to Powhatan’s residence on the York River . . . — — Map (db m2757) HM
(prelude)
In April 1862, Union forces under Gen. George B. McClellan began a major campaign to capture Richmond, marching west from Fort Monroe up the Peninsula between the York and James Rivers toward the Confederate capital. A Confederate . . . — — Map (db m35929) HM
Shells have been found in amazing quantities along this area of the river. The Indians who lived beside the saltwater stretches of river did not have tuckahoe and other freshwater plants to sustain them in poor crop years, when shellfish likely . . . — — Map (db m18641) HM
One mile northeast, at Hardy’s Bluff on Lawne’s Neck, existed Fort Huger, a Civil War earthen fortification. Virginia State Engineer Col. Andrew Talcott authorized this and other forts to block any Union naval advance up the James River to Richmond. . . . — — Map (db m18619) HM
At this site on September 16, 1936, Joseph W. Luter and Joseph W. Luter Jr. founded Smithfield Packing Company which alter became known as Smithfield Foods. The meat processing plant built at this location cured and smoked fresh hams into what is . . . — — Map (db m166505) HM
Early in the war, Confederate authorities were concerned that Union forces might advance up the James River from Fort Monroe. As a precaution, they constructed waterfront artillery batteries along the river, including in Isle of Wight County, and . . . — — Map (db m103839) HM
In the early 1600s, Captain John Smith and the Jamestown colonists noted long-needled pines along the south bank of the James River and recognized their potential as a valuable resource. Soon after, the first "tryalls of pitch and tar" (naval . . . — — Map (db m166419) HM
Dedicated to all veterans
of Isle of Wight County
for their honorable service
to our nation.
June 14, 2001
By these engravings we remember all
those who made the supreme sacrifice
in the wars of our nation,
and less we not . . . — — Map (db m36051) HM
One half-mile north, Ivy Hill Cemetery, established in 1887, is the resting place of many prominent local residents including Joseph W. Luter, Sr., Smithfield Packing Company co-founder, and P.D. Gwaltney Jr., founder of Gwaltney Hams. Others buried . . . — — Map (db m166424) HM
In recognition of Joseph W. Luter, III for his generosity and loyalty to the town of Smithfield and its citizens. Joseph W. Luter, III, a Smithfield native, has been a generous benefactor to the Town of Smithville. Highly regarded throughout the . . . — — Map (db m98266) HM
Separate buildings for kitchens and laundries were commonplace for elite households in colonial America. All meal preparation was from scratch and cooked in front of an open hearth while laundering required kettles of hot water, tables for . . . — — Map (db m166417) HM
Constructed in 1750 and 1751, this building was the center of law and politics in Isle of Wight County until 1800, when the seat of county government was moved to its current location, seven miles south of Smithfield. — — Map (db m36049) HM
More than 100,000 rivers, streams, and creeks flow through the Chesapeake region. This massive web of waterways includes some 11,000 miles of shoreline---more than that of the entire U.S. West Coast.
For centuries, these watercourses comprised . . . — — Map (db m98262) HM
Smithfield served as the county seat from 1752 to 1801. The Old Isle of Wight Courthouse was built in 1752. Constructed by William Rand, it is one of Virginia's few surviving colonial structures and is notable for having a semicircular apse with a . . . — — Map (db m35961) HM
Half a mile north, stood the Warrascoyack Indian village. Captain John Smith obtained corn there for the starving colonists in 1608. The Warrascoyacks took part in the massacre of 1622 and their village was destroyed in 1623. In 1680, Old Town was . . . — — Map (db m18655) HM
Saint Luke's Church
Mother Church of
Warrasquyoake
now Isle of Wight County
The earliest original Gothic architecture structure in the United States of America
1632
An unique bridge between our civilization and the rich culture . . . — — Map (db m86205) HM
The town was established in 1752. The Masonic Hall was built in 1753. Benedict Arnold occupied the town, January 15, 1781. At Cherry Grove Landing near by, skirmishing took place on April 13-15, 1864, and the Confederates made a daring capture of a . . . — — Map (db m156924) HM
Smithfield, incorporated in 1752, became a busy colonial port and was county seat of Isle of Wight through 1800. British troops under Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold occupied the town on 15 Jan 1781. During the Civil War, a two-day naval engagement . . . — — Map (db m157052) HM
Pigs arrived in Virginia with the first English colonists and thrived in the warm, humid climate. Traditionally, the English used salt to preserve their pork, but the resulting meat was no match for the hot summers in Virginia. The colonists . . . — — Map (db m166416) HM
St. Luke’s Church, also known as “The Brick Church,” and the Newport Parish Church, is likely America’s purest expression of Gothic architecture. Its buttressed walls, lancet side windows, and traceried east windows link the building to the . . . — — Map (db m2675) HM
Surry County. Surry County, named for the county of Surrey in England, was formed from James City County about 1652. The Quiyoughcohannocks, whose villages were primarily situated in present-day Surry County, were among the first Virginia . . . — — Map (db m2680) HM
In this house, in about 1780, Captain Mallory Todd cured the first commercially produced Smithfield hams, which were shipped to customers in England.
Hams were cured on this site from 1779 to 1936. The original Todd warehouse stood on the . . . — — Map (db m166503) HM
Fort Boykin was named after Francis Marshall Boykin who was a Virginia state senator, general in the state militia and owner of the property on which the fort was built. The topography at Fort Boykin provided the best possible location for . . . — — Map (db m18638) HM
The Park Story - Located in the heart of downtown Smithfield, Windsor Castle Park is a 208-acre riverside park. Dedicated in May of 2010, the park features a woodland trail system, picnic and open area space, dog park, kayak/canoe launch, . . . — — Map (db m166415) HM
Wrenn’s Mill stood south of here on Pagan Creek. A mill powered by water for grinding grain existed there before 1685, when Thomas Green bequeathed it to his wife. The mill was referred to as Little Mill and Green’s Mill before Charles Wrenn . . . — — Map (db m2679) HM
