The Westover Plantation,
Shirley Plantation (Which I've visited previously),
And Berkeley.
I've already told you that Westover is my favorite. Hands down. Happily situated and all that jazz.
Well, Berkeley is also beautiful. (Clarification: The grounds are, the house, when compared with Westover is... meh...)
If you shortcut from Westover to Berkeley, the distance between the two places would be a two-mile (or so) walk. Officially though, there are four miles of good dirt road between them. (Yes, dirt roads, the roads have never been paved, and it's wonderful! Paving the roads would really detract from the historical feel of the places.)
Both of the grand houses were built within four years of each other. But Berkeley's history extends much further back than Westover's.
Everyone knows the story of the Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria and the gentlemen (ahem) from Spain who sailed them... Good ol' Christopher Columbus. Everyone also knows about John Smith and Pochahontas. And everyone knows about Thanksgiving. But somehow I kind of muddled Thanksgiving with Columbus, lumping them all into one note in the pilgrim file in my brain.
But they're different! Columbus and the Thanksgiving celebrators. Did you know? They are.
The gents who celebrated Thanksgiving were British, and they landed in America, on the banks of the James River on December 4, 1619, at the very spot where Berkeley Plantation exists today.
Get that! The first Thanksgiving was in December. Celebrated by Brits.
So, after that first Thanksgiving, The Berkeley Hundred (Named after one of the founders on the Land Grant from England) was established as Plantation, but not in the sense we think of today - it was more like a farming village/outpost. It grew and thrived until an Indian Massacre in 1622, when 9 of the 22 colonists living there were killed, along with nearly 1/3 of the population of the Virginia Colony (Jamestown, 20 Miles downriver). The plantation was abandoned at that point, and it's colonists moved to Jamestown for more security.
A few years later, the Harrison Family (one of Virginia's First Families) moved to the Berkeley Plantation (around 1633). From the Harrison family, and Berkeley issued two of our nation's Presidents: Benjamin Harrison V (a signer of the Declaration of Independance) and his son William Henry Harrison.
During the Civil War, Union troops occupied the home and it was taken from the Harrison Family, who never regained it. It fell into disrepair until 1907, when a Scottish fellow named John Jamieson bought it. Over time and a couple of generations, they restored the house. The family still own the plantation and live in it still. The lower floors of the house can be toured, but the upper floors are private. (Facts taken from my tour, tour pamphlet and Wikipedia)
A couple of other interesting facts about the place:
-It is the site of the first Bourbon Whiskey distillery (ever), created by an episcopalian priest (hahaha!).
-"Taps" was written at Berkeley.
-It was once the home of a Ship Building company and ship masts are "planted" in the ground on the beach at the end of the park to commemorate that fact.
The house sits on ten acres of gardens and terraces. The grounds are exquisite. There are five terraces, a hedge maze and a large park between the house and the River, which Rene and I enjoyed touring very much. We meandered down the green grass, taking in the perfectly manicured lawn and the care given to the planning and grounds keeping. The trees along the park are all planted in beautiful symmetry.
The most vivid, delicious, fragrant memory of my entire life happened at Berkeley. It was on our stroll back to our car - from the beach we saw a beautiful brick arch and decided to walk by way of it, because who wouldn't want to stop and see a beautiful brick archway? Really.
So after perusing the architectural feature, we continued straight up the pathway. Lo and behold! An overpowering, nay, intoxicating scent wafted our way that beautiful May day.
It seems the gardeners really knew exactly what they were doing.
You see, the path we walked was a wide open flat (lightly graded) area of about twenty feet across. On both sides were planted lines of tall native trees - Pines, Willow, Magnolia, Dogwood, Tulip Poplar, creating a sort of intimate little valley. On the inside of those trees were rows of hedges. Boxwood, and more importantly to my scent memory: Honeysuckle. Heavenly angels! Because we were in a sort of valley, the scent was "trapped" into the little gulley we walked up and it just hung there, so vibrant you could nearly taste it. Auntie Mama and I felt like little bees, flitting around on the path, following the scent from one honeysuckle patch to the next.
It was positively dangerous, I tell you!
If you go to Berkeley, go in the spring, on a beautifully sunny, warm day and by all means walk down to the Beach, hang a left, walk a few feet, turn left again walk up through the brick arch and keep going. But only if you're prepared to lose a good thirty minutes of your life to utter sensory delight!
Mmmm. That's right. I'm an addict. A honeysuckle scent addict.
Inspiring facts about the Founding Fathers. It says:
"By signing the Declaration of Independance the fifty-six Americans pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.
It was no idle pledge... Nine signers died of wounds during the Revolutionary War.
Five were captured or imprisoned.
Wives and children were killed, jailed, mistreated or left penniless.
Twelve signer's houses were burned to the ground.
Seventeen lost everything they owned.
No signers defected. Their honor, like their nation, remained intact."
Our hilariously spunky and adorable tour guide. When I'm old I want to be like her. Pray that you get her for your tourguide!
Every old home should have a cannonball stuck in the wall. Just Sayin'.
Hello gorgeous!
"The Park" - 1/4 acres of perfect lawn. This is the view from the river, looking toward the house.
Ship Masts on the Beach.
TAKE THIS PATH!
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