Originally part of the Jamestown colony, the land across the James River was included in Surry County when it was established in 1652.  The name provided a link with Surrey, England, which most settlers would never see again.  Today Smith’s Fort Plantation offers a chance to see where Virginia's leading crop was developed, where rebels ruled a century before the Revolution, where farm land has been tiled since 1612 and evidence of what may be the oldest formal garden in the United States.

Captain John Smith built a fort in 1609 on the banks of Gray's Creek across from Jamestown.  Five years after Smith’s fort was built, John Rolfe, who settled in Virginia in 1610 and lost his wife shortly after arriving, remarried.  He took as his wife Pocahontas, daughter of the Powhatan chief (see Henricus Historical Park selection). The Powhatan Indian chief gave the couple tribal land that the English settlers had already commandeered.  Rolfe used the land for experimenting with tobacco strains.  Among the varieties he planted was the West Indian blend that became Virginia's number one cash crop.

The house you see today at Smith's Fort Plantation was not built until the 18th century.  It is noted for its fine woodwork and period furniture.  There is a small English garden and a trail leads to the ruins of the old fort.  Smith's Fort Plantation is open for tours Tuesday through Saturday 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. and Sundays, NOON to 4:00 P.M. from April through October and weekends in March and November.  Admission is charged.

    Just as John Smith never lived at Smith's Fort Plantation, Nathaniel Bacon never lived at Bacon's Castle.  This stately Jacobean house, once known as "Allen's Brick House," was built in 1665 by Arthur Allen, Speaker of the House of Burgesses and a good friend of Royal Governor Berkeley.  The house is one of, if not the, oldest brick house in English North America.  Although not the fortress its name suggests, it looks formidable with its Flemish gables and their matched triple chimney stacks.  The house was extensively renovated both inside and out.

    The house became a pivotal stronghold during the full-scale rebellion against Royal Governor William Berkeley, a century before the American Revolution.  The rebels, led by Nathaniel Bacon, burned Jamestown to the ground in September 1676.  Bacon then retreated to Gloucester and sent one of his lieutenants, William Rookings, to establish a base of operations in Surry County.  On September 18, Rookings and his band of 70 men seized Arthur Allen's house.  From there they ruled the county for the next three months until the rebellion was crushed.

    Extensive archeological work was done on the grounds of Bacon's Castle.  Archaeologists uncovered evidence of a 72,000-square-foot garden that may date from 1680, possible the oldest formal garden ever found in the United States.  Although arranged in six sections with bisecting and surrounding paths, this was not an ornamental garden with mazes and decorative beds.  It was a vegetable and herb garden (some of which flowered).  Bacon's Castle is open concurrently with Smith's Fort Plantation from April through October 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday hours are NOON to 4:00 P.M.

Another nearby plantation, in Chippokes Plantation State Park (named for a minor Native American chief friendly to the early settlers), has a model farm that demonstrates agricultural methods and crops from the 17th to the 20th century.

Chippokes has historical and horticultural significance.  This land has been in continuous use for more than 300 years since it was first patented by Captain William Powell in 1612.  Powell's heirs sold the land to Sir William Berkeley, the Royal Governor.

    The antebellum plantation house was built in 1854 on the foundations of an earlier homestead.  The mansion and out-kitchen can be toured, providing a look at life on a rural plantation in the days immediately before the Civil War.  Behind the house is a six-acre garden, in bloom from spring through fall, with the peak season being late summer when the abundant crape myrtle blossom.  There are 17th-, 18th- and 19th-century buildings on the grounds.  Guided walks on weekends focus on historical reminders as well as the natural environment.  An earlier home, River House, built in the 1700s, is not open for tours.  Chippokes may be visited daily from sunrise to sunset. The visitor center is open only from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend.

Directions:  Take I-95 south of Richmond to the Route 10 Exit.  Take Route 10 past Hopewell.  All three attractions are just a short distance off Route 10.  For Smith's Fort Plantation turn left on Route 31.  For Chippokes turn left on Route 634 and for Bacon's Castle turn left on Route 617.

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