Historical Markers and War Memorials in Gloucester, Virginia
Gloucester is the county seat for Gloucester County
Gloucester is in Gloucester County
Gloucester County(97) ► ADJACENT TO GLOUCESTER COUNTY James City County(259) ► King and Queen County(28) ► Mathews County(26) ► Middlesex County(69) ► York County(168) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) at John Clayton Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 3/14), on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
The Texas Corporation was founded in Beaumont, Texas, in 1901; by 1948, it became the first gas company to have locations in all 48 United States. The Texaco brand thrived throughout the twentieth century and in 2001 merged with Chevron to create . . . — — Map (db m175998) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of John Lemon Lane, on the right when traveling west.
Along York River's Purtan Pay in Gloucester County lies perhaps the most significant American Indian landscape in the eastern United States. Captain John Smith describes visiting Werowocomoco below where the York divides into the Mattaponi and . . . — — Map (db m175984) HM
On Hickory Fork Road (Virginia Route 614) 0.2 miles west of Ark Road (Route 606), on the left when traveling west.
Bethel Baptist Church is one of the oldest African American congregations in Gloucester County. Founded nearby in 1867, it was originally known as the Old Sassafras Stage Church. Members of the congregation built a wooden structure here in 1889, . . . — — Map (db m30098) HM
On Business US 17 at Belroi Road, in the median on Business US 17.
Seven and one-half miles southwest is Cappahosic, where a ferry was established early in the eighteenth century. On the old charts, this indian district lay between Werowocomoco and Timberneck Creek. Powhatan is said to have offered it to Capt. John . . . — — Map (db m7518) HM
On Cappahosic Road (Virginia Route 618) at Almondsville Road (Route 662), on the left when traveling south on Cappahosic Road.
Here is Cappahosic, where a ferry was established early in the eighteenth century. On the old charts, this Indian district lay between Werowocomoco and Timberneck Creek. Powhatan is said to have offered it to Capt. John Smith for "two great guns and . . . — — Map (db m30106) HM
County of Gloucester, VA. Re-erected 1766 on site of building destroyed by fire. Restored, remodeled and clerks office building added 1956.
Carl M. Lindner & Son A.I.A. Architects, Richmond, Virginia Wray & Richardson, General Contractors, . . . — — Map (db m7524) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of John Lemon Lane, on the right when traveling west.
Native to parts of Europe and Northern Africa, daffodils were introduced to Britain by the Romans after they invaded and captured the country in AD 43. Daffodils (also known as "Lent Lilies") spread naturally and eventually became the favorite . . . — — Map (db m175990) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) south of Hickory Fork Road.
Dr. Walter Reed, U.S. Army medical officer and bacteriologist, was born on 13 Sept. 1851 in a nearby cottage at Belroi. He received medical degrees from the University of Virginia medical school and Bellevue Hospital College in New York City. In . . . — — Map (db m2967) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) south of Hickory Fork Road.
Two miles west stood Fairfield, also called Carter’s Creek plantation, one of the most distinguished of Virginia's early brick homes. Built about 1694 for Lewis Burwell(ca.1651–1710), the house was a grand T-shaped structure, with distinctive double . . . — — Map (db m2972) HM
On Cappahosic Road (Virginia Route 618) 0.1 miles north of Foxhaven Drive, on the right when traveling south.
On this site stood the Gloucester Agricultural and Industrial School, commonly known as Capahosic Academy, a private high school built for African Americans before public high schools were available to them. Founded in 1888 by local alumni of . . . — — Map (db m30104) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of John Lemon Lane, on the right when traveling west.
In 1938 the Garden Club of Gloucester held the first annual Daffodil Show, sponsored by the American Daffodil Society. Growers competed for awards. The show continues to this day.
The same year, the first local daffodil tour was proposed by . . . — — Map (db m175988) HM
On Business US 17 at Belroi Road, in the median on Business US 17. Reported permanently removed.
The courthouse was built in 1766. The debtors prison is also old. A skirmish occurred near here between Confederate and Union cavalry, January 29, 1864. — — Map (db m7520) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just east of Justice Drive, on the right when traveling west.
Gloucester County was formed from York County in 1651. Its first brick courthouse, one of Virginia's earliest, was erected by 1685. The county built a new courthouse in 1766, and the Virginia General Assembly established Botetourt Town around it in . . . — — Map (db m175983) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) at John Clayton Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 3/14), on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
You are standing at the east end of the Gloucester Downtown Historic District, which extends down Main Street to the historic court circle. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 and includes 57 contributing . . . — — Map (db m175996) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) at Bacons Lane, on the right when traveling west on George Washington Memorial Highway.
Near here stood Gloucester Hall (built ca. 1660s), where Bacon’s Rebellion effectively ended with the fatal illness of its leader, Nathaniel Bacon, in 1676. In 1684, this house served as the first Virginia residence of Royal Governor Francis Howard, . . . — — Map (db m74702) HM
Near Main Street (Business U.S. 17), on the right when traveling north.
Confederate authorities frequently stored arms and supplies in civilian warehouses, commercial buildings, and depots. County seats, with their commodious courthouses, jails, and offices, also were used, and Federal authorities routinely raided . . . — — Map (db m44389) HM
On T C Walker Road (Virginia Route 629) 0.1 miles south of Seawell Avenue (Virginia Route 1411), on the left when traveling south.
Built on this site in 1921 the Gloucester Training School became the first public high school for African Americans in Gloucester County. Thomas Calhoun Walker, Jr. and others constructed a wooden building with gifts from the Rosenwald Fund and . . . — — Map (db m30114) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) at T C Walker Road (Route 629), on the right when traveling south on George Washington Memorial Highway.
John Page, planter, scholar, and Revolutionary patriot, was born in 1743 at Rosewell, three miles west of here. He attended the College of William and Mary with Thomas Jefferson. The two men developed a lifelong friendship and shared an interest in . . . — — Map (db m30115) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) at John Clayton Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 3/14), on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
You are standing at the intersection of John Clayton Memorial Highway, leading to Mathews County, and George Washington Memorial Highway, which connects Gloucester to the Lower Peninsula and has been a main thoroughfare since the colonial . . . — — Map (db m176006) HM
The Garden Club, Gloucester, VA, planted a live oak tree, April 2, 1957 near old clerk's office on Court Green in honor of the internationally revered botanist and for 51 years, 1722-1773, Clerk of Gloucester County, VA.
Scientiae Artis . . . — — Map (db m7525) HM
Near Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of John Lemon Lane, in the median.
The Garden Club, Gloucester, VA. planted a live oak tree, April 2, 1957 near old clerk's office on court green in honor of this internationally revered botanist and for 51 years, 1722-1773, clerk of Gloucester County, VA.
Scientiae artis . . . — — Map (db m175981) HM
On U.S. 17, 0.1 miles north of Enos Road (Route 613), on the right when traveling south.
A mile and a half west is the site of Marlfield, an eighteenth-century dwelling built by the Buckner family. It was purchased in 1782 by William Jones, who gave the house its name. Jones was among the first Virginia planters to use marl in his . . . — — Map (db m7515) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) at John Clayton Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 3/14), on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
The land on which the Edge Hill Service Station now stands was onced in the early 1900s by Thomas Calhoun Walker, a prominent African American in the community. He was the first African-American lawyer in Gloucester County and in 1888 founded the . . . — — Map (db m176009) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) south of Chesapeake Road, on the right when traveling south.
Petsworth Parish, one of the four parishes of colonial Gloucester County, was established in the middle of the 17th century. The first parish church was located some four miles southwest near Purtan Bay on the York River. Across Route 17 were built . . . — — Map (db m52645) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) south of Chesapeake Road, on the right when traveling south.
This is the site of Poplar Spring Church of Petsworth Parish. In 1694, Old Petsworth Church was abandoned in favor of this church. It was considered the finest church of colonial Virginia. In 1676, the followers of Bacon, the Rebel, interred here a . . . — — Map (db m116063) HM
Near Gloucester Courthouse Grounds, in the median.
36th U.S. Colored Troops Sept. 16, 1839 - Sept. 29, 1905 Served during the Civil War as a private in Company 1, 36th United States Colored Troops. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Chapins Farm, Virginia on September . . . — — Map (db m7522) WM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of John Clayton Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 14), on the right when traveling west.
The Fairfield Foundation, a non-profit organization, acquired the station in 2010. The building now serves as the Center for Archaeology, Preservation, and Education, or the CAPE, and is used as a museum, library, and center for . . . — — Map (db m175994) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) south of Hickory Fork Road.
Three miles west, on Carter’s Creek, stand the ruins of Rosewell, a grand mansion with the finest brickwork in the English colonies. Begun in 1725 by Mann Page I, and home to the Page family for more than one hundred years, Rosewell stood three . . . — — Map (db m2973) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) south of Hickory Fork Road, on the right when traveling north.
Several miles west is Rosewell, built about 1750, home of the Page family, and the largest of Colonial Virginia houses. On York River, probably at Puritan Bay some miles west of Rosewell, was Werowocomoco, Chief town of the Indian ruler Powhatan in . . . — — Map (db m86199) HM
On Main Street at the Courthouse Circle (Virginia Route 14), on the right when traveling west.
This building is dedicated to Dr. David E. Birdsall and his brother Gilbert, Dr. Alton G. Birdsall, Jr.
This building housed their veterinary clinic from 1965 to 1979. Together with their partners and staff, they have offered . . . — — Map (db m99488) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of John Lemon Lane, on the right when traveling west.
In 1890 Eleanor Linthicum Smith, of Toddsbury, decided there might be an opportunity to turn the abundant local naturalized daffodils into a money-making proposition. She started buying up cut daffodils from local property owners and sending them . . . — — Map (db m175985) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) 0.1 miles west of Ware House Road (Virginia Route 621), on the right when traveling west.
Edge Hill House, circa 1750, is a colonial building in Gloucester Court House. John Field raised the two story frame structure onto a brick first floor circa 1833. During its earlier history it was used for mercantile, carriage and wagon building, . . . — — Map (db m176010) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of Ware House Road (Virginia Route 621), on the right when traveling west.
The Edge Hill House showcases three centuries of Gloucester County, from frontier settlements of tobacco plantations to a bustling 21st-century village and county seat. This historic landmark and archaeological site was initially a private . . . — — Map (db m176013) HM
On Business US 17 at Calhoun Street, on the left when traveling south on Business US 17.
Here lived Thomas Calhoun Walker, the first black to practice law in Gloucester County and a civil rights spokesman who vigorously advocated education and land ownership for blacks. Mr. Walker was elected for two terms to Gloucester's Board of . . . — — Map (db m7582) HM
On John Clayton Memorail Highway (Virginia Route 3) at Main Street (Virginia Route 14), on the right when traveling north on John Clayton Memorail Highway.
Two miles east is Toddsbury, home of the Todd family, built in 1722. Farther east, in Mathews County, are the old homes, Green Plains, Auburn, and Midlothian. Some miles beyond them is Gwynn's Island, where General Andrew Lewis drove the last royal . . . — — Map (db m30111) HM
Erected by their surviving comrades and friends. Plant the fair column o'er the vacant grave, a soldier's honors let a soldier have. 1889 — — Map (db m7527) WM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) at John Clayton Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 3/14), on the right when traveling west on Main Street.
People have traversed the Gloucester County landscape for thousands of years. Native Americans moved between their settlements by water and on foot. Their routes later became important pathways for European colonists.
Settlers established . . . — — Map (db m176007) HM
Near Hickory Fork Road (Virginia Route 614) at Belroi Road (Virginia Route 616).
Dr. Walter Reed
Conqueror of Yellow Fever
born here 1851
given by
The Medical Society of Virginia
in 1968 to
Association for
The Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. — — Map (db m30149) HM
On John Clayton Memorail Highway (Virginia Route 3) at Main Street (Virginia Route 14), on the right when traveling north on John Clayton Memorail Highway.
A mile east is Ware Church, built about 1693. Near by is Church Hill, another relic of colonial days. Not far distant is White Hall, a colonial mansion built by the Willis family. — — Map (db m30110) HM
On Main Street (Business U.S. 17) just west of John Clayton Memorial Highway (Virginia Route 3/14), on the right when traveling west.
Since 1930, the Edge Hill Service Station has been a landmark in Gloucester, marking the entrance to Main Street. The owners of the station prided themselves on cleanliness and customer satisfaction, and the station was a popular stop for locals . . . — — Map (db m176002) HM
On Main Street at the Courthouse Circle (Virginia Route 14), on the right when traveling west.
The site of Werowocomoco is located nearby at Purtan Bay. This Algonquian Indian settlement was the center of power of the Powhatan paramount chiefdom when the English established James Fort in 1607. Captain John Smith was brought to Werowocomoco as . . . — — Map (db m99485) HM
On Ware Neck Road (Virginia Route 623) at Flat Iron Road (Virginia Route 690), on the left when traveling south on Ware Neck Road.
The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), including Gloucester resident Margaret Ann Hamilton Turner (1917-2009), transported and flight tested aircraft and towed targets for the U.S. military during World War II. More than 25,000 female pilots . . . — — Map (db m63188) HM
Near T C Walker Road (Virginia Route 629) 0.2 miles east of Enfield Road (Virginia Route 671), on the right when traveling east.
The magnificent edifice known as Zion Poplars Baptist Church developed out of a West African-influenced religious practice known as a “brush arbor,” a clandestine religious meeting held in wooded areas or in remote cabins in wooded areas. Before . . . — — Map (db m34020) HM
On George Washington Memorial Highway (U.S. 17) 0.8 miles south of Belroi Road (Virginia Route 616), on the right when traveling south.
Zion Poplars Baptist Church houses one of the oldest independent African-American congregations in Gloucester County. It is named for seven united poplar trees under which the founding members first met for worship in 1866. The church was erected . . . — — Map (db m30107) HM
On T C Walker Road (Virginia Route 629) 0.2 miles east of Enfield Road (Virginia Route 671), on the right when traveling east.
Zion Poplars Baptist Church houses one of the oldest independent African-American congregations in Gloucester County. It is named for seven united poplar trees under which the founding members first met for worship in 1866. The church was erected . . . — — Map (db m34013) HM
On Greate Road (County Route 1208) at Spencer Road (County Route 1203), on the left when traveling south on Greate Road.
Settled by the English around 1610, Gloucester derived its name from Henry, Duke of Gloucester, third son of King Charles I. The town was formed in 1651 from York County soon after the settlement of Jamestown. Chief Powhatan established his . . . — — Map (db m239903) HM
