On Water Lane just south of Queen Street (U.S. 360), on the left when traveling south.
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
Near Tidewater Trail (U.S. 17) 1 mile north of Airport Road (Virginia Route 627), on the left when traveling north.
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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
On Queen Street (U.S. 360) at Newbill Drive (County Route T-1013), on the right when traveling west on Queen Street.
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
On Newbill Drive (County Route T-1013) north of Prince Street, on the left when traveling north.
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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
On Prince Street, 0.1 miles west of Cross Street, in the median. Reported permanently removed.
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
On Queen Street (U.S. 360) at Newbill Drive (Virginia Route T-1013), on the left when traveling east on Queen Street.
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
On Prince Street east of Water Lane, on the left when traveling east.
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
On Cross Street, 0.1 miles north of Prince Street, on the right when traveling north.
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
On Prince Street just east of North Church Lane (U.S. 17/360), on the right when traveling west.
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
On Prince Street east of Water Lane, on the left when traveling east.
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 Prince Street east of Water Lane, on the left when traveling east.
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
On U.S. 17, 0.2 miles south of Daingerfield Road, on the right when traveling north.
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
On US 17 just south of Parker Place, on the right when traveling south.
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
