Virginia is for Lovers Part 4

On Tuesday Emery and I went shopping for some new jeans.  I found two pair and it only took one hour!  The ease of shopping with only one child.  

Then we headed over to James Town. 

Then we drove down the James River and stopped at a bunch of plantation houses all the way back to Richmond.  This was a five hour excursion covering about 30 miles.  Again, Emery was a total rockstar!  There is no way I could have done this with all my kids.  What kid would LOVE looking at OLD houses all day?  Seriously, I was in heaven.  Here is some of what we saw...

 This is the Berkley Plantation where a lot of cool things happened.  Early settlers came ashore here and observed the fist official Thanksgiving in America.  We toured the inside of this house but no photographs were allowed inside.  It is amazing how well it has been preserved!  This property served indian attacks, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and time.  The main house is VA oldest three story home.  Nine of the first ten presidents of the United States have stayed at Berkley and two lived there.  Benjamin Harrison was the second owner and son of the builder of Berkley.  Benjamin was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and VA Governor three times.  His son William Henry Harrison was the indian fighter from the battle of Tippecanoe and later the ninth President of the United States.  He was only president for one month and then he died in office.  His grandson Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President.

 Taps was composed here in 1862 while the Union troops were encamped at the plantation.  140,000 Union Soldiers were here with McClellan's army and President Lincoln came here to visit the camp.

 This tree is 350 years old!

 This is the carriage front of Berkley Plantation.  The homes on the river had two main entrances.  One from the carriage road and one from the James River.  Most people travled by river because it was safer (less chance of an indian attack) and a more comportable way to travel 

 This huge house was spectacular!  It is the Westover Plantation built by William Byrd the second, founder of Richmond, VA.  It was built in 1730.  This was a grounds tour.  Here is a view of the carriage front.

 This is the main entrance from the river.  It was breathtaking.

 This is the Shirley Plantation.  I wanted to tour this house so badly, but I got there too late, and it had just closed.  I got this picture though.  This plantation is cool for a few reasons.  The son of the original owner abhorred slavery and when he inherited the property he did all he could to make changes.  This home has remained with the original family which I think is really amazing!  I came home and read all about it because I was not able to go through it while I was there.

A few days before my trip I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time.  Love that Jane Austin!  It was really fun to see a bunch of these homes and reflect on the the time period.  I know it was a bit of a stretch but can't you imagine that this is Netherfield Park?