Berkeley Plantation or Harrison's Landing - Virginia Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

This area was the site of an expedition from settlers from the Berkeley area in England. The large tract of land was reached in 1619 and was originally called Berkeley Hundred of Virginia. According to the marker, the first Thanksgiving was held here in that year before the Pilgrims departed for the New World. One interesting bit of information is that the property was purchased in 1907 by a man who had been a drummer boy in the Union army when it occupied the property. His descendents still own the plantation. There is a good place to pull off the road to see the marker.

The following from the National Park Service gives the story of the plantation itself during the early years and the ownership of the Harrison family:

"Berkeley, one of Virginia's earliest Georgian-style plantation homes, is the ancestral home of Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his son U.S. President William Henry Harrison. On December 14, 1619 Captain John Woodlief arrived from England with 38 colonists to settle the grant that became known as Berkeley Hundred. The settlement was eliminated in an Indian attack in 1622. The property was purchased by Benjamin Harrison III in 1691 and the brick house was constructed by 1726 for Benjamin Harrison IV and his wife Anne Carter, daughter of Robert "King" Carter. The plantation became the focus of colonial Virginia's economic, cultural and social life. The plantation passed to Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and three-time governor of Virginia, and then to Benjamin Harrison VI. Benjamin Harrison V's son, William Henry Harrison was born at Berkeley and became the ninth president of the United States. The plantation was sold out of the Harrison family in the 1840s." source: (visit link)


The marker text reads:

Berkeley Plantation or Harrison's Landing

A short distance south, it was first settled in 1619, when the first Thanksgiving was held here. The present mansion, built in 1726, was the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and President William Henry Harrison. During July and August, 1862, it was the headquarters of General McClellan. The bugle call "Taps" was composed here then by General Butterfield.

Virginia State Library
1954

Marker Number: This area was the site of an expedition from settlers from the Berkeley area in England. The large tract of land was reached in 1619 and was originally called Berkeley Hundred of Virginia. According to the marker, the first Thanksgiving was held here in t Marker Title: Berkeley Plantation or Harrison's Landing Marker Location: John Tyler Memorial Highway near the intersection with Kimages Road County or Independent City: Charles City Web Site: [Web Link] Marker Program Sponsor: Virginia State Library

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   04/25/2022 Don.Morfe visited it 05/16/2019 ORDIMIC visited it 04/21/2016 BruceS visited it 03/13/2015 Sneakin Deacon visited it 09/21/2014 SNAP!!! visited it

View all visits/logs