College Creek
37°13′23″N 76°41′38″W / 37.22306°N 76.69389°W
College Creek (formerly named Archer's Hope Creek) is located in
Description
The College Creek watershed of James City County includes the residential subdivisions of Kingsmill, Kingspoint, James Terrace, and the Vineyards. The watershed also contains Kingsmill Pond, Busch Corporate Center and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.[1]
History
Seventeenth Century
As
The idea of a
Dr.
In February, 1633, it was enacted that a fortieth part of the men in "the compasse of the forest" east of Archer's Hope and Queen's Creek to Chesapeake Bay (essentially all of the lower peninsula) should be present "before the first day of March next" at Dr. John Potts' plantation, "newlie built," to erect houses and secure the land in that quarter. Work on the palisade commenced by March 1, 1633.[3]
With this labor, palisades, six miles (10 km) in length, were run from creek to creek, as the palisade continued to reach Queen's Creek, which drained the northern half of the nearby section of the Peninsula, with a watershed leading to the York River. The two creeks and the palisade in between created a barrier from river to river. At the high ridge at the midpoint, a settlement to be called Middle Plantation was made.
By 1634, the palisade (or stockade) was completed, providing some security from attacks by the
"a strong palisade ... upon a streight between both rivers and ... a sufficient force of men to defence of the same, whereby all the lower part of Virginia have a range for their cattle, near fortie miles in length and in most places twelve miles (19 km) broade. The pallisades is very neare six miles (10 km) long, bounded in by two large Creekes. ... in this manner to take also in all the grounde between those two Rivers, and so utterly excluded the Indians from thence; which work is conceived to be of extraordinary benefit to the country ..."
After 1644, the Native Americans of the Powhatan Confederacy had been overcome and were no longer a threat, and the palisade fell into disrepair, with almost all traces eventually disappearing. However, Middle Plantation began to grow as a settlement, largely due to early efforts of the Ludwell brothers and
The new school opened in temporary buildings in 1694. Properly called the "College Building," the first version of the Wren Building was built at Middle Plantation beginning on August 8, 1695 and occupied by 1700 on a picturesque site. (The present-day College still stands upon those grounds, adjacent to and just west of the restored historic area known in modern times as Colonial Williamsburg).
After the statehouse at Jamestown burned in 1698, the legislature moved temporarily to Middle Plantation, as it had in the past. Upon suggestion of students of the College, the capital was permanently relocated there, and Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in 1699. Nearby, Archer's Hope Creek was also renamed. It became College Creek.
Nineteenth Century
In the mid-19th century, during the
The Williamsburg area saw combat in the spring of 1862 during the
In early May, 1862, after holding the Union troops off for over a month, the defenders withdrew quietly from the
At the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862, and the next day, May 6, the city fell to the Union. However, the retreating defenders behind the williamsburg Line had been successful in delaying the Union forces long enough for the retreating Confederates to reach the outer defenses of Richmond safely. A siege of Richmond resulted, culminating in the Seven Days Battles, and McClellan's campaign failed. As a result, the War dragged on almost 3 more years at great cost to lives and finances for both sides before its conclusion in April 1865. Much damage was done to the community during the Union occupation, which lasted until September 1865.[5]
Twentieth Century to present
In the early 1957, College Creek was bridged near its mouth by the new Colonial Parkway which was rushed to completion for the celebration of the 350th anniversary of the establishment of Jamestown. The Williamsburg Airport was established in James City County near the western shore and the border with Williamsburg. In more recent times, four-laned limited access
See also
References
- ^ "WATERSHED 101 - James City County Watershed Descriptors". Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-11-16. James City County Watersheds
- ^ "Archers Hope". National Park Service. Retrieved 19 February 2022 – via The Historical Marker Database.
- ^ "Colonial National Historical Park: A Study of Virginia Indians and Jamestown-The First Century (Chapter 4)". Archived from the original on 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
- ^ williamsburg hotel virginia busch garden at williamsburgpostcards.com Archived January 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ 1850 – 1899 | Historical Facts Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine