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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
At this point, known formerly as "The Hook" on the 3rd Oct., 1781, a fierce engagement took place between the British forces under the command of Tarleton and the Continentals under command of Lauzun. This was the last engagement of the opposing . . . — — Map (db m167802) HM
At this point, known formally known as "The Hook", on the 3rd October 1781 a fierce engagement took place between the British Forces under the command of Tarleton, and the Continentals under command of Lauzun. This was the last engagement of the . . . — — Map (db m167804) HM
In the early 20th century typical farm equipment like these were used as many farmers could not afford modernized equipment such as tractors. Either pulled by mules or horses, they provided the power that pulled most of the heavy farm machinery . . . — — Map (db m168183) HM
Manufactured by Benthall Machine Company in Suffolk, Va. Peanut picking was and still is a very dusty job. Peanuts were fed into the front of this machine by hand and expelled from the other end into baskets, then transferred to burlap bags, and . . . — — Map (db m168182) HM
“They have one or two little works to preserve a communication with the Country.” American General Anthony Wayne describes the British defenses at Gloucester Point, 1781
In 1781, large armies and important events came to Gloucester Point . . . — — Map (db m185273) HM
This is the Third Church of Abingdon Parish and was erected in 1755 on the site of an earlier one. The parish, established between 1650 and 1655, had its first church near the river. — — Map (db m2961) HM
Near this place on October 19, 1781, a surrender occurred one hour after the Surrender at Yorktown. The British troops under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton surrendered to the French Brigadier General M. de Choisy, Commander of the French . . . — — Map (db m18697) HM
Here at the Hook on October 3rd, 1781, in the largest cavalry action of the American War of Independence, the Duc du Lauzun's Legion and Lieutenant Colonel John Mercer's Select Battalion of Militia defeated Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton's . . . — — Map (db m167803) HM
“The name of our Fort is Fort Keyes, and it is strongly fortified. There is about 2000 men on this side of the [York] river and 2 batterys…” Private Stephen T. Buckson, 4th Delaware infantry Regiment, March 16, 1863, at . . . — — Map (db m18745) HM
Argoll Yeardley patented 4000 acres of land, known as Tyndall's Neck, here on the north side of Charles (now York) River, October 12, 1640. This was one of the first land patents north of the York River. — — Map (db m18649) HM
"I have the mortification to inform your Excellency that I have been forced to give up the posts of York and Gloucester, and to surrender the troops under my command, by capitulation on the 19th instant, as prisoners of war to the combined forces . . . — — Map (db m30142) HM
The earthworks before you are the remains of the star-shaped “covering work” that helped to defend the York River against Union attack from 1861 to 1862. Tyndall’s (Gloucester) Point was first fortified in 1667 and was officially named . . . — — Map (db m18642) HM
“The works on the Gloucester side are in some forwardness, and I hope a situation to resist a sudden attack.” General Charles Lord Cornwallis to General Sir Henry Clinton, August 12, 1781.
Known first as Tyndall's Point. The colonists built a fort here in 1667. In 1676 Bacon led his rebels across the river here. Tarleton and Dundas occupied the place in October, 1781, in the siege of Yorktown. Cornwallis planned to break through the . . . — — Map (db m18643) HM
Long a home to Virginia Indians, this strategically important promontory was initially called Tyndall's Point by the English, after Robert Tyndall, who mapped the area in 1608. A tobacco warehouse was erected here here in the 1630s, and a fort was . . . — — Map (db m167797) HM
Gloucester Point Chapel was a one room Sunday School started in 1887 on a site across the road. In 1894 the present Church was organized. In 1897 work began on the first sanctuary on this site and was ordained Bethany Methodist Church in . . . — — Map (db m167805) HM
Since before the arrival of European settlers, residents of Gloucester have been harvesting the bounty of the Bay. The waters are home to more than 2,700 species of plants and animals. Commercially important species are blue crabs, clams, oysters . . . — — Map (db m30356) HM
Fierce storms often pummel Gloucester Point. Offshore low-pressure systems rotating counterclockwise, generate strong northeasterly winds that hit the east-facing beach head-on. These "nor-easters" are not the only severe storms to visit Gloucester. . . . — — Map (db m30145) HM
“I made a draughte of our river…by us discovered.” Robert Tyndall to Henry, Prince of Wales
In 1600, this tidewater land was part of a vast American Indian empire ruled by the Powhatan nation. English mariner and mapmaker Robert Tyndall . . . — — Map (db m18703) HM
“It is indispensable to you that you strike a blow...you must act.”
President Abraham Lincoln to General George B. McClellan, April 6, 1862
The York River Confederate defenses were tested early in the Civil War. A large Union force, . . . — — Map (db m186814) HM
Recognized by its wrought iron jacket and its rifled barrel, the parrott rifle was used during the Civil War (1861-1865).
The family of the late Mr. Robert Stokes, who had the rifle in their possession for 70 years, presented it to . . . — — Map (db m185302) HM
Gloucester Point's geographic location has always been the county's tie to the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. In 1707, Gloucestertown was laid out on the bluff above the thriving tobacco port on the Point. In the days before the extensive road systems . . . — — Map (db m30143) HM
Gloucester Point's geographic location has always been the county's tie to the Chesapeake Bay and beyond. In 1707, Gloucestertown was laid out on the bluff above the thriving tobacco port on the Point. In the days before the extensive road systems . . . — — Map (db m239911) HM
According to Gloucester legend this chimney is all that remains of the house built by Captain John Smith for Indian Chief Powhatan in 1609
The collapse of this chimney in an 1888 storm gave impetus to the preservation movement in Virginia . . . — — Map (db m46888) HM
“Seeking knowledge and solutions through coastal marine science.” Mission of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
When Robert Tyndall sailed past Gloucester Point in 1608, the York River and the Chesapeake Bay were . . . — — Map (db m18746) HM
Here, at the Hook, Tarleton, commanding the cavalry of Cornwallis's army, fought an action with Choisy's French force and Virginia militia, October 3, 1781. The Duke de Lauzun's cavalry charged Tarleton, who retired to Gloucester Point. There he was . . . — — Map (db m7584) HM
“Thus expired the last hope of the British army.” Colonel Banastre Tarleton
On the night of October 16, 1781, after almost three weeks of the American-French siege, the British defenses at Yorktown were crumbling. In a last ditch effort . . . — — Map (db m185274) HM
On this site stood the Hayes Store Post Office, where Irene Morgan boarded a Greyhound bus on 16 July 1944. Morgan, an African American woman, was returning home to Baltimore, MD, after visiting her mother. About 25 miles north of here, the bus . . . — — Map (db m167801) HM
Since Colonial times, travel across the York River at Gloucester Point has been an important part of daily life during peace and war.
Until the middle of the Twentieth Century, ferries were the only method of making the transit. In 1952, the . . . — — Map (db m30144) HM
Using science to…
Increase oyster and clam production
Model Bay dynamics
Identify aquatic disease
Reduce billfish by-catch
Trace contaminants
Understand food web production
Increase blue crab populations
Explore bottom . . . — — Map (db m31623) HM
The Confederate army recognized that Gloucester Point was critical to Virginia's river defense. The Point had been continuously fortified since 1667.
In an opening action of the Civil war, the first shots in Virginia were fired on May 3, 1861 . . . — — Map (db m30117) HM
Three miles east is Warner Hall. The estate was patented about 1650 by Augustine Warner, who built the first house in 1674. Bacon, the rebel, was here for a time in 1676. The later house, built about 1740 and burned in 1849, has been beautifully . . . — — Map (db m2963) HM
You are standing at the entrance to Tyndall’s Point Park. These protected remains of a Civil War fort survive to help take us back into the history of Gloucester Point. Nearby, you will find signs and brochures explaining events that occurred here . . . — — Map (db m18698) HM
“Just throw three or four shells among those blue-bellied Yankees and they’ll scatter like sheep.” Bravado from a North Carolina Confederate in May, 1861
Eighty years after the decisive events at Yorktown, a major war again came to . . . — — Map (db m185301) HM
Woodville School is an important monument to Gloucester County and the African American community who strove to ensure quality education for their children in the early 20th century. Julius Rosenwald, president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, aided . . . — — Map (db m30122) HM
The Powhatan chiefdom was a powerful alliance of Native communities in eastern Virginia led by Wahunsenacawh (Chief Powhatan). The Powhatan region had a number of towns where chiefs lived, which the English referred to as Kings’ Houses. . . . — — Map (db m192049) HM
Near this spot was located the early burial ground of the Mann and Page families. Three marble tombs removed from the site in 1980 bore these inscriptions:
Here lyeth ye body of John Mann, gentleman of Gloucester County in Virginia aged 63 . . . — — Map (db m192179) HM
In the 1500s, Wahunsenacawh (Chief Powhatan) inherited political authority over six Native communities in eastern Virginia. By 1607 when the English colonists settled Jamestown, Wahunsenacawh had created a chiefdom that encompassed the 32 . . . — — Map (db m191942) HM
Starting around 2,000 years ago, the population of Native peoples living along the waters of the Chesapeake Bay began to rise significantly and to more extensively shape their surrounding environment through clearing forests and constructing . . . — — Map (db m191986) HM
From 1100 to 1650 Algonquian life revolved around towns located along rivers, including the Powhatan (James), Pamunkey (York), Rappahanock (same name), and Patawomeck (Potomac). Waterways served as transportation corridors, a source of food and . . . — — Map (db m192105) HM
The Powhatan world changed dramatically in the wake of European colonization. Virginia’s Native peoples have responded by innovating and enduring. Their memories of traditional customs and connections to ancestral places continue today.
The . . . — — Map (db m192182) HM
Wingapo (Welcome!) to Machicomoco! For as long as 18,000 years, Native American peoples have lived along Chesapeake’s waterways, and the land surrounding you reflects this deep history. Outside is the Pamunkey (York) River, part of a network of . . . — — Map (db m191902) HM
The Fairfield Foundation is renovating the Timberneck House (c. 1800) as a place for learning, lodging, and exploring Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. As a not-for-profit organization we are dedicated to promoting and involving the public in hands-on . . . — — Map (db m192503) 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.
Gloucester County. Area 223 . . . — — Map (db m99503) 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.
Gloucester County. Area 223 Square Miles. . . . — — Map (db m7414) HM
Robert Russa Moton was born in Amelia County, Virginia, on 26 August 1867, and was educated in a local freeman’s school and at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University). He served as an administrator at the institute from 1890 to 1915, when he . . . — — Map (db m5592) HM
Dr. Frederick D. Patterson founded the United Negro College Fund in 1944. He and the presidents of the member colleges of the Fund began meeting in 1946 at Holly Knoll, the retirement home of the late Robert Russa Moton. Patterson had established . . . — — Map (db m5504) HM
