Fall RIVAH 2011 - 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 13th annual Rappahannock River Run and Crafts Festival is set for October
14-15 on the campus of St. Margaret’s School in Tappahannock.
Essex County
The British Stamp Act of 1765 led
directly to the American Revolution,
and it 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,
Southerners, Americans: The History
of Essex County, Virginia 1608–1984,”
recounts in detail the county’s 350-yearold
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. www.
essex-virginia.org.
Don’t Miss
s River Run and Crafts Festival, Oct.
14-15
s Holiday House Tour of Essex, Dec.
3
s Essex Christmas Parade, Dec. 10
Gloucester County
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
The Gloucester Main Street Association sponsors the annual Trick-or-Treat on
Main Street in Gloucester Court House.
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.
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.
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 or visit gloucesterva.info.
Don’t Miss
s Blues & Brews on Main Street, Oct. 8
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