May 2013 Rivah - The Rappahannock Record

History
Essex County’s history in written form
dates from Captain John Smith’s visit during
the winter of 1607-08, when he wrote
of the “excellent, pleasant, fertile, and
navigable” Rappahannock Valley.
In 1645 Bartholomew Hoskins patented
the Tappahannock site, which became
known at various times as Hobbs His Hole,
Hobb’s Hole, the short-lived New Plymouth,
and the Indian name Tappahannock.
The port town was to become a center of
commerce during the 17th and 18th centuries,
establishing a crossroads.
The county came into being in 1692
when Old Rappahannock County, which
once encompassed at least 50 modern
counties in Virginia and West Virginia, was
divided along the river with the north side
becoming Richmond County and the south
becoming Essex.
During Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676,
armed men gathered near Piscataway
Creek and defeated Governor Berkeley’s
cavalrymen. Later they prevailed in the
Dragon Swamp, but eventually English
warships and troops suppressed the
uprising. Frontier patrols, however, were
maintained against hostile northern Indians
into the early 1700’s.
The British Stamp Act of 1765 led
directly to the American Revolution, and it
History
Exploration of what would become
Gloucester County began soon after 1607
when Jamestown, the first permanent
English settlement in the New World, was
started 25 miles to its south.
Gloucester County was formed in 1651
from York County. It contained Kingston
Parish, which became Mathews County in
1791.
Gloucester was home to several wellknown
persons including Pocahontas,
daughter of Indian Chief Powhatan. According
to legend, she petitioned her father to
spare the life of English explorer Captain
John Smith, who was one of the first white
men to see the area in the early 1600s.
Another infamous resident was Nathaniel
Bacon who, in 1676, led a force of planters
against the Indians. Bacon’s Rebellion
defeated the Indians and then attempted
to make the governor reform colonial policies.
His army burned Jamestown and he
briefly controlled the colony before his
death ended the revolt.
Fortified during Bacon’s Rebellion,
Gloucester Point is just across the York
River from Yorktown, site of the British surrender
to end the American Revolution.
Originally called Tyndall’s Point, named
for an early mapmaker, it was renamed
Gloucester Towne and was once the
county seat until it was moved 13 miles
north during the 1700s.
The historic Essex County’s Clerk’s Office at Tappahannock is today used by the Essex
County Woman’s Club and stands in the courthouse square on Prince Street.
was in Tappahannock that one of the first
confrontations occurred.
Leading merchant Archibald Ritchie, who
supported the Stamp Act, was labeled as
“the greatest enemy of his country.” On
February 27, 1766, gentlemen from nine
counties gathered at Leedstown to draft
the “Resolutions” that led Virginians to
disobey Parliament. They also made plans
to publicly humiliate Ritchie and the Scots
merchant Archibald McCall. These events
occurred seven years before the Boston
Tea Party.
The Essex Courthouse contains the
oldest records in Virginia. James B. Slaughter’s
history of the area, “Settlers, South-
Visitors learn the ecological importance of tidal wetlands on a tour of the Virginia Institute
of Marine Science (VIMS) teaching marsh at Gloucester Point.
When Jamestown was burned by Bacon
in 1676, the Virginia Executive Council
considered moving the state capital to Tyndall’s
Point, but the motion was rejected.
Jamestown remained the state capital
until it was shifted to Williamsburg.
In 1769, the new county seat, Botetourt
Towne (old town Gloucester), was laid out.
Essex County
erners, Americans: The History of Essex
County, Virginia 1608–1984,” recounts in
detail the county’s 350-year-old story. The
book is available at the county administrator’s
office.
Today Essex has a population of 9,989
and Tappahannock is one of the largest
commercial centers in the region.
Government
The Essex County seat is at 205 Cross
St. in the Tappahannock Courthouse
Square. 443-4331. Essex County has one
town, Tappahannock. 443-3336. The sheriff’s
office can be reached at 443-3346.
Libraries
Essex Public Library, Tappahannock,
443-4945.
For Visitors
The Tappahannock-Essex Chamber of
Commerce is at 205 Cross St.
Don’t Miss
s May 18----Tappahannock Farmers’
Market
s May 25----Big Croaker Fishing
Tournament
s May 27----Memorial Day Observance
Gloucester County
It was named for Baron de Botetourt, then
governor of Virginia.
Today, Gloucester is the largest of the
eight counties that make up the Northern
Neck and Middle Peninsula with 34,500
residents.
Government
Most Gloucester County offices are in
the courts and office building at 6467
Main St. 693-4042. The sheriff’s office
can be reached at 693-4042.
Libraries
Gloucester Library, 6920 Main St.
693-2998. Gloucester Pt. Branch Library,
1720 George Washington Memorial Highway
in Hayes. 642-9700.
For Visitors
The Gloucester Visitor Center is in the
Roane Building at 6509 Main St. Open
Mon.–Sat., 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sun., 1–4
p.m. 693-3215.
Don’t Miss
s April 27—Beaverdam Park Spring
Festival
s May 18—VIMS Marine Science Day
s May 25—Revolutionary War
Encampment
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