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Flowerdew Hundred
During the seventeenth century many of the small outpost settlements were first known as "hundreds", although today only Flowerdew Hundred remains.
Flowerdew Hundred Plantation’s Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Situated on the southside of Virginia's James River between present-day Richmond and Williamsburg, Flowerdew Hundred was the site of Native American villages, a fortified frontier settlement, a thriving plantation, and a major Civil War encampment.
Flowerdew Hundred, the 1,000 acre plantation of Sir George Yeardley, Virginia’s first Royal Governor.
Flowerdew Hundred is located approximately 45 miles southeast of Richmond and 12 miles east of Hopewell. From I-95, take Exit 61A, Route 10 east to Hopewell; continue on Route 10 about 12 miles; turn left on Flowerdew Hundred Road, follow signs.
Flowerdew Hundred is one of the earliest original land grants in Virginia. The abundant natural resources at this strategic bend in the James River have attracted people from prehistoric times through the 20th Century.
(1619 - 1622, 1624 - 1650's), Prince George County
The Flowerdew Hundred Fort is a rectangular palisaded settlement located opposite the future site of Fort Powhatan across Flowerdew Hundred Creek. It was attacked by Indians in 1622, but was rebuilt. Located along the western boundary of the settlement was Abraham Peirsey's Rail, a large log palisade the enclosed the entire neck of land after 1624. The original settlement was abandoned by 1660. Ongoing excavations since 1971.
Flowerdew Hundred Museum - The newly built, large mansion on the grounds (with the exception of original 19th century outbuildings) has little to do with the historic nature of this site. As with the current house, early plantations were built on this rise overlooking the James. It is from this high ground that you can see the original site of the Flowerdew Hundred settlement, which lies on the southern bank of the James, below the museum and the 17th-century windmill reconstruction. The museum has a miniature replica of one of the original plantation houses as they would have been constructed during the early days of the colony. The Flowerdew settlement failed after an Indian massacre in 1644 and the area became the site for later 18th and 19th century James River plantations.
VARINA MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT
In 1610, John Rolfe came to America and settled on what is now known as Varina Farm. In route to Virginia, Rolfe had landed on the Bermuda Island and took great interest in the type of tobacco grown there. When he arrived in Virginia, he began cultivating a type of tobacco that was a cross between Indian tobacco and Bermuda tobacco. The end result was a tobacco crop that was very similar to tobacco being grown in the Spanish Varinas. Rolfe named his tobacco plantation Varina, because of this similarity. It was there that he lived with his wife Pocahontas, the Indian Princess. The Indian Massacre of 1622 ended the settlement of Henricus and a tiny village grew up on Rolfe's Plantation called Varina or Henrico Parish. Varina was the first County seat of Henrico and the first courthouse was built there. Originally the name Varina denoted an area of some 18 by 25 miles in measurement. Later, when this area became known simply as Henrico, Varina usually referred to the farm. General "Dutch" Butler, a Union commander during the Civil War, set up his headquarters in Varina while he tried to cut a canal through Dutch Gap. Varina was also a place for prisoner exchange between the North and the South during the war, but then it was called Aiken's Landing.
CURLES NECK FARM
The name derivation comes from the "curles" in the James River. Curles Neck Farm is one of the oldest estates in Virginia, having been patented in 1617. Different portions of the tract of land have been known by various names which have been recorded in the records such as Curles, Woodsons, Barley, Tillmans, Bremo, and many others. Curles Neck Farm was the home of the rebel Nathaniel Bacon in 1670. Some references to the name Curles say it derives its name from the Curl family, however, there is no evidence that any member of the family of Curl lived in Henrico County before the land and the name "curles" had been established from the river's meandering curves. Today it is one of the largest working dairy farms east of the Mississippi.
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