Bacon's Castle
N 37° 06.262 W 076° 43.801
18S E 346274 N 4107850
Bacon's Castle was a home built in 1655. During Bacon's Rebellion in 1676 it was seized by the rebels.
Waymark Code: WMKBH
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 08/07/2006
Views: 54
The house, just to the north, was built by Arthur Allen in 1655. In Bacon's Rebellion, 1676, the house was seized by a party of rebels and fortified. On December 29, 1676, it was captured by sailors from a ship in the James River who were engaged in putting down the rebellion.
This brief introduction is from the National Park Service-Jamestown Historic Briefs:
"Bacon's Rebellion was probably one of the most confusing yet intriguing chapters in Jamestown's history. For many years, historians considered the Virginia Rebellion of 1676 to be the first stirring of revolutionary sentiment in America, which culminated in the American Revolution almost exactly one hundred years later. However, in the past few decades, based on findings from a more distant viewpoint, historians have come to understand Bacon's Rebellion as a power struggle between two stubborn, selfish leaders rather than a glorious fight against tyranny.
The central figures in Bacon's Rebellion were opposites. Governor Sir William Berkeley, seventy when the crisis began, was a veteran of the English Civil Wars, a frontier Indian fighter, a King's favorite in his first term as Governor in the 1640's, and a playwright and scholar. His name and reputation as Governor of Virginia were well respected. Berkeley's antagonist, young Nathaniel Bacon, Jr., was actually Berkeley's cousin by marriage..."
To learn more about the causes and outcome of Bacon's Rebellion visit www.nps.gov/colo/Jthanout/BacRebel.html
An interesting bit of trivia is that Nathaniel Bacon never actually lived in the brick home and may not have ever been there. It took his name because it was a fortified "castle" during the rebellion.
Marker Number: K 235
Marker Title: Bacon's Castle
Marker Location: Rt. 10 at the Village of Bacon's Castle
County or Independent City: Surry County
Web Site: [Web Link]
Marker Program Sponsor: Virginia State Library, 1961
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