BAREFOOT BEACHCOMBING

After yesterday being rainy but warm, a cold front dropped through the area producing cool (cold) and windy weather. But it was sunny, so I headed up to the plantation area, located in Charles City, on the northern shore of the James River. There are numerous historic plantations on both sides of the James about 20 minutes outside Richmond.

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Shirley Plantation is Virginia’s oldest plantation dating back to 1613 and America’s oldest family-owned business started in 1638. The Hill Carter family still lives in the house and manages the property. Shirley Plantation is Virginia’s first plantation, founded in 1613, after a royal land grant carved the plantation out of the Virginia frontier. Shirley Plantation is the oldest family-owned business in North America dating to 1638 when a farm was established on the banks of the James River. Construction of the present mansion began around 1723.

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As is common with houses built in this period, the buildings were constructed from materials found or made on the property. The hardwood pine for the floors came from trees on the plantation and the bricks were handcrafted on site. It took 15 years to build all the buildings. The main house overlooks four dependencies symmetrically aligned in a Queen Anne forecourt, typical of English estates. It is the only remaining example of Queen Anne forecourt architecture in the United States.

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The staircase in the main house is a notable example of a "flying staircase". There are no visible supports for the staircase which goes all the way up to the third floor. Architects from all over the world come to examine the staircase.

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In the rear of the main house, is an oak tree that has been on the property for 350 years. It's HUGE and in fairly good condition for such an old tree.

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In addition to the typical dependency buildings (kitchen, smokehouse, laundry), the property also has an ice house. They would harvest ice from shallow ponds dug on the property for that specific purpose. They couldn't use water from the James because it was too brackish. Having the ice house allowed the property to entertain their guests with the delicacy of ICE CREAM.

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Berkeley Plantation is located about 15 minutes down the road from Shirley Plantation. The area was originally intended to be a settlement similar to Jamestown. The Berkeley name comes from from one of the original founders from England. Unfortunately, that colony only lasted two years before the settlers were massacred by native American Indians and the site was abandoned for almost 100 years. However, before that occurred, the site held the country's very first "day of thanksgiving" observance.

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In 1726, Berkeley’s Georgian mansion  was built by Benjamin Harrison IV. The house is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The estate is also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison, 9th president of the United States, and ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd president.

 

As with Shirley Plantation, the Berkeley mansion was built from wood and bricks made on site.

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The home played host to at least 10 US presidents over the years including Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. Jefferson, the story goes, came into the house and demanded that Harrison make a number of architectural changes from doors, to windows, to plastering. Jefferson, of course, was correct that the the changes would make the house look better and more in line with the times.

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During the Civil War, Berkeley was occupied by General George McClellan’s Union troops. While at Berkeley, General Daniel Butterfield composed the familiar tune “Taps,” first played by his bugler, O.W. Norton.

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Along the James and also near some farm fields, there were several large white tents erected. The guide explained that they were for the movie company filming the movie "Harriet" (about Harriet Tubman) on the property. The production company is actually taking a break this week, but they will be back next week. Very cool though.

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National Fish Hatchery. Right near Berkeley Plantation is the Harrison Lake National Fish Hatchery operated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The hatchery is a 444-acre facility. It was established in the 1930s to provide warm-water fish for stocking in lakes and ponds, Harrison Lake now plays a key role in the Service's efforts to protect and restore declining and imperiled populations of migratory fish and other aquatic species of Atlantic coast watersheds. American shad, historically the most important fish of the Chesapeake Bay, has dominated the production in recent years. More recently, the hatchery added the production of native freshwater mussels to their mission.

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There also is a beautiful public fishing lake on the property. Despite the cold and windy conditions, there were several hardy individuals fishing on the lake.

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​It was a cold and windy day, but I saw a bunch of really cool (no pun intended) stuff.