BERKELEY PLANTATION at JAMES RIVER in VA

Can you tell that Gary is fascinated with the Magnolia tree and blossoms?

After spending Friday at home, we decided to go across the James River, and in closer to Richmond to find the Berkeley Plantation. It looked to have a lot of history to it!!

This is the Front Entrance that was used by people traveling by carriage in by gone era. There were ten early Presidents of our country who visited here over many years.

Here you see the entrance to the basement and the second Front Entrance for those arriving by the James River. Yes, they were both considered front entrances, but on opposite sides of the mansion!

This Georgian mansion is said to be the oldest 3-story brick house in Virginia that can prove it's date. It was built in 1726 of brick fired on the plantation by Benjamin Harrison IV and his wife, Anne. The basement has the original hand-hewn joists and the narrator said that in three separate locations of the basement, when the floor had to be dug up, they found it to be sixteen layers of brick thick! The outer walls of the mansion are three feet thick of brick and the inner walls are a foot and a half thick! The rooms are furnished with a collection of eighteenth century antiques. You can tour the first floor and the basement. But the second and third floor are used by the present owners as a country home. They live in Richmond, but come to the country often. The Jamison's bought and restored it after it fell into severe disrepair years after the Harrison's sold it following three years of failed tobacco crops. The present owner is the daughter of those Jamisons.

(Notice the cannon ball in the brick at the second floor of this work house.) This is one of two two-story brick houses, one on each side of the main house. One was used as a guest house and the other for cooking and laundry. Now one houses the gift shop and offices, and the other one is being restored.

The first 38 settlers from England, with Captain John Woodliffe, came ashore at Berkeley on December 4, 1619 where they fell to their knees in the first Thanksgiving service ever held in the United States. It was thus proclaimed to be the official day every year to be kept Holy for a day of Thanksgiving to the Almighty God. There is a plaque to this effect on the grounds.

This first settlement was destroyed in 1622 in an Indian Massacre, later to be rebuilt as a plantation by Benjamin Harrison IV in 1726.

Benjamin Harrison V , son of the builders of Berkeley, became the second owner. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and three times Governor of Virginia. He is buried in the cemetery on the grounds here. His son, William Henry Harrison, born at Berkeley also, was the famous Indian fighter known as "Tippecanoe". He later became the ninth President of the United States in 1841 and his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd President.

Ten acres of formal gardens of boxwoods and flowers extend from the house to the James River. We walked this quarter mile to the river and enjoyed it's quiet beauty!

And a note to Janet and Toby who sent out an e-mail about TAPS on May 31st, Memorial Day: this was the sight where TAPS was played for the first time in July of 1862 during the Civil War, when the Army of the Potomac was camped here at Berkeley. It was played by Private Oliver Willcox Norton at the request of Brigadier General, Daniel Butterfield, after working over the notes and timing to General Butterfield's satisfaction. It remains the official call for TAPS. There is a plaque to this effect on the grounds also.

Like I said, a lot of history, and the reason why I chose this plantation to tour. There is another one in Richmond that I would like to see, but I'm not sure when we will have time since we do not go out running every day. We need to go in to Richmond to the Library of Virginia tomorrow for Gary to do more research on his family genealogy. So we will see how much time is left over.

Upon leaving Berkeley, we crossed the draw bridge again, to go in to Hopewell to find Walgreen. I had been wanting to copy photos for scrapbooking. Since our campground is so far out in the boon docks, I took advantage of being so close to a Walgreen and left Gary to wait while I worked away. Of course, neither he nor I realized that it was going to take me two and a half hours! But mission accomplished, we headed home and I am happy! I will do another good supply of photos when we are in Salem where I can go by myself. Thus I will be ready with a good supply to work on during our trip west.

My great nephew called again today and we were able to make plans for dinner Wednesday evening. He is stationed at Norfolk and they will be leaving for a ten day vacation and we will be gone when they get back. So I am glad that they could squeeze a little time in for us. I am looking forward to it!

Stay tuned!