New Kent County History: historical markers

Showing posts with label historical markers. Show all posts

Monday, May 8, 2017

"Regarded As One of the Most Interesting Seventeenth Century Structures . . ."

Historical Markers Placed in New Kent

Historical markers are now being placed in New Kent County, particularly along Highway No. 451, which follows the old county road, according to Dr. H.J. Eckenrode, head of the history division of the State Conservation and Development Commission.

Among the places being marked are the "White House," once the home of Mrs. Martha Custis, who became the wife of George Washington, and later the property of General W.H.F. Lee, son of General Robert E. Lee; old St. Peter's Church, regarded as one of the most interesting seventeenth century structures in the state; "Eltham," once a famous estate; and Eltham's Landing, the scene of a skirmish in the War Between the States. A new marker is to be placed at New Kent Courthouse.

-Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 27, 1931

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Historical Markers in the News

From the New Kent Historical Society . . .

The Department of Historical Resources (DHR) will be replacing and updating two older markers in New Kent County;

(1) New Kent Courthouse WO-16

(2) Peninsular Campaign WO-31.

VDOT notified the DHR that the markers are in need of replacement, and VDOT has some funds on hand to support this work.

In other "marker news", a new marker for the Highway Marker Program has been approved for King William County . . .

Pamunkey Indians in the Civil War

Residents of the Pamunkey Reservation, ten miles southeast of here, aided Union troops during the Civil War. About a dozen Pamunkey men enlisted as guides, scouts, gunboat pilots, and spies for Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. Women and the elderly provided intelligence, shelter, safe passage, food, and supplies for Union troops. Confederate authorities pressed Pamunkey men into service as laborers and punished others for their Unionism with imprisonment at Richmond’s Castle Thunder. After the war many Pamunkey Indians won compensation from the federal Southern Claims Commission for property damaged or taken by Union soldiers.
Sponsor: DHR
Locality: King William County
Proposed Location: intersection of King William Rd (Rt. 30) and Powhatan Trail (Rt. 633)

And for some more background on the Historical Marker program here is a 2011 thesis from Joseph D. Bayless III.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Three Historical Markers for Cumberland Landing

At the historic Cumberland Platation at Cumberland Landing, New Kent County, Thursday, October 6, three new markers were dedicated by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.
Speakers were:

Camilla Tramuel, President New Kent Historical Society; Kent Radwani, local historian; Mark Daniels, local historian; Julie Langan, Department of Historic Resources; John Poindexter, owner of Cumberland Plantation.

McClellan's Camp at Cumberland Landing- WO-23

French Cannon at Cumberland Landing- WO-22
(See also April 1847 issue of Southern Literary Messenger)

Cumberland Town- WO-21

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Coming to a Road Near You . . .

This newly (OK, OK, 2010) approved State Highway Historical Marker is to go up in the vicinity of the fire tower on Williamsburg Road, perhaps at the intersection of Old Williamsburg Road or the crossover of I-295. Commemorating events of the War of 1812(whose Bicentennial we are in the middle of ), the text reads . . .

"During the War of 1812, Virginia established three militia posts on the outskirts of Richmond to guard against possible British Invasion. Within a mile of this point was built Camp Carter (Sept. 1814-Feb.1815) under the command of Gen. John H. Cocke. Camp Holly Springs (April 1813-Feb.1814) was located five miles southwest at Route 5 near Newmarket Road, under Gen. Robert Porterfield. Camp Bottoms' Bridge (Sept-Nov.1814) under the command of Gen. William Chamberlayne, was two miles east at Bottoms Bridge. These posts were never threatened by British forces during the war."

The threat to the approaches to Richmond seemed very real after the British military moves in Hampton Roads over the summer of 1813, culminating in the Sack of Hampton in the middle of June. Militia from all over Virginia as well as North Carolina encamped on and behind the line of the Chickahominy to defend the capital of Virginia. I assume Camp Bottoms' Bridge would be on the high ground in Quinton to protect the approaches to the bridge. The information sheet on the marker principally relates to Camp Carter, but I believe there is more information to be found in the records, specifically in the Virginia Legislative Petitions. Some of the petitions from New Kent asking for state reimbursement, relate tales of losses from militia encamping on private land.

"The Virginia highway marker program, which began in 1927 with the erection of the first historical markers along U.S. Rte. 1, is considered the oldest such program in the nation. Currently there are more than 2,400official state markers, most of which are maintained by Virginia Department of Transportation, a key partner with the Department of Historic Resources in the historical marker program."