Northern Neck
Northern Neck | |
---|---|
Region | |
Coordinates: 37°58′N 76°38′W / 37.967°N 76.633°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Virginia |
The Northern Neck is the northernmost of three peninsulas (traditionally called "necks" in Virginia) on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in the Commonwealth of Virginia (along with the Middle Peninsula and the Virginia Peninsula). The Potomac River forms the northern boundary of the peninsula; the Rappahannock River demarcates it on the south. The land between these rivers was formed into Northumberland County in 1648, prior to the creation of Westmoreland County and Lancaster County.[1] The Northern Neck encompasses the following Virginia counties: Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, King George and Westmoreland;[2] it had a total population of 50,158 as of the 2020 census.[3]
Commentators vary as to whether to include King George County in the Northern Neck.[4] Historically, Charles II's grant for the Northern Neck included all land between the Rappahannock and Potomac rivers, including far upstream of King George County—some 5 million acres. The boundaries of King George and Westmoreland counties have changed radically since their establishment, with significant exchanges of territory. Significant portions of the early King George County lay in present-day Westmoreland County.[5]
History
In the winter of 1607–08,
Meanwhile, in 1634, the Crown reserved the land between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers for native Americans, calling it the "Chicacoan Indian District." Nonetheless, many of the original English settlers were Marylanders, who had settled on
The original
Most early development occurred on the peninsula's eastern end, because both the Potomac and Rappahannock river were navigable waters, and roads were limited and/or in poor condition. The autonomy and the excellent natural resources allowed rich planters to arise who established
In 1687 a widespread slave conspiracy was crushed in the Northern Neck.[15] During a mass funeral, slaves in the area planned to kill all whites and escape. The plot was discovered, and its leaders executed.[16] When authorities learned that they had plotted the uprising at gatherings for slave funerals, they prohibited such events.
The next year, the Northern Neck was the site of another attempted uprising, this one led by "Sam, a Negro Servt to Richard Metcalfe."[16] A repeat offender, he had "several times endeavored to promote a Negro Insurreccon in this Colony." "To deter him & others from the like evil practice for time to come," the court ordered the sheriff of James City County to whip him severely and return him to the Westmoreland County sheriff to be whipped again. Sam was sentenced to forever wear "a strong Iron collar affixed about his neck with four sprigs." Should he leave his master's plantation or remove the collar, he would be hanged.[16]
In February 1766, 115 Northern Neck prominent citizens signed the Leedstown Resolutions, named after Leedstown, an active port in (then) King George County.[17] This was the first recorded act of resistance against the Stamp Act.[citation needed] Leedstown is now in Westmoreland County.
Mixed vegetable and grain farming were adopted by the later colonial period.
Later, the area developed a strong seafood industry.
Famous early residents
Many important historical figures were born on the Northern Neck, including U.S. presidents
American Civil War
During the American Civil War, Northern Neck and particularly, King George County were on the frontier between the Union and Confederate armies.[25] As such, King George was an operating base for spies on both sides.[citation needed] The Union forces controlled the Potomac River and the north shore of the Rappahannock River farther upstream for much of the war.
While trying to elude Union cavalry, on April 21, 1865, the co-conspirators John Wilkes Booth and David Herold crossed by rowboat into the Northern Neck in King George County from Maryland after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln.[26] Booth and Herold landed at the mouth of Gambo Creek before meeting with Confederate agents who guided their passage to Port Conway. There, they crossed the Rappahannock River to Port Royal in Caroline County. Booth was killed and Herold captured a short distance away at Garrett's Farm.[27]
Postwar development
Colonial Beach, a small incorporated town in Westmoreland County located on the Potomac River waterfront, developed as a popular tourist spot for the people of the Washington, D.C. area in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.[28] It offered a beach, swimming, and gambling.[29] The gambling facilities were built on piers extending into the Potomac River to ensure they were inside Maryland, as the state border runs along the southern low tide line of the Potomac River.[29] With the end of gambling, and improved access to competing Maryland and Delaware ocean beaches, Colonial Beach declined in popularity as a tourist destination. It and the rest of the Northern Neck still continue to attract dedicated outdoor enthusiasts for fishing and boating.
Geography
The region has 1100 miles of shoreline, containing beaches, marinas, old steamship wharfs, and small towns that date to colonial times. Today small
Significant portions of the Rappahannock River Valley National Wildlife Refuge lie in the Northern Neck. It also is home to five state parks and natural areas, including Caledon Natural Area, Bush Mill Stream Natural Area Preserve,[30] Dameron Marsh Natural area, and Westmoreland and Belle Isle state parks. The George Washington Birthplace National Monument is a National Park Service unit.[19]
Museums
- A. T. Johnson High School Museum – one of the first black American high schools in the Neck, located in Montross
- Essex County Museum and Historical Society in Tappahannock– relates Neck history from pre-colonial through today
- George Washington Birthplace National Monument documents the life of local George Washington and agricultural practices of the colonial period
- Historic Christ Church in Weems – built in 1735, is one of the best-preserved of colonial Virginia's Anglican parish churches
- Kilmarnock Town Museum – local history
- Kinsale Museum – local history
- Museum at Colonial Beach – local history
- Westmoreland County Museum and Library – local history
- Richmond County Museum – local history
- King George County Historical Society Museum – local history
- Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library – features Lancaster County history with exhibits and speakers. The History and Genealogical Library has approximately 10,000 books and manuscripts, with emphasis on the Northern Neck, Virginia and Maryland colonial records, local family genealogies, plantations and churches, and all major state and local periodicals and magazines
- Menokin – home of Francis Lightfoot Lee, who signed the Declaration of Independence, located in Warsaw
- Morattico Waterfront Museum – features the Morattico Country Store, wharf, and crab and fishing industry along the Rappahannock River in Lancaster County
- Northern Neck Farm Museum – farming in the area
- Reedville Fisherman's Museum– local fishing industry
- Steamboat Era Museum – history of steamboatswhen the rivers were the most important transport routes in the state
- Stratford Hall Plantation– built in 1730, birthplace of Robert E. Lee, exhibits of his life
Festivals
In 2004, the Menokin Bluegrass Festival was launched in Richmond County at the ruins of Francis Lightfoot Lee's ancestral home, Menokin. The festival attracts thousands of bluegrass fans every year to celebrate the Northern Neck's musical and historical heritage.
The Richmond County Fair, started in 1989, is dubbed the "biggest Little Fair in the South."[4] It is held in August in Warsaw. The King George Fall Festival, founded in 1959, is held the second weekend of October in King George County. All proceeds from this event go to support the King George Fire and Rescue. The Fall Festival Committee is made up of representatives from all of the county's community organizations. The Fall Festival includes a parade through town, a carnival, a craft fair, a dance, and the Fall Festival Queen Pageant.
Stratford Hall hosts an annual Historical Haunts program. Activities include ghost tours of the Great House, pumpkin painting, various Halloween crafts, picture-taking with Frankenstein and a witch, and an eighteenth-century fortune teller.
Tourism
Tourism is a significant source of economic activity in the Northern Neck region. Visitors are attracted to the natural resources, and history and heritage of the peninsula. Natural attractions include national parks, state parks, and agri-tourism, while a number of historic sites related to the nation's founders are open to the public. Colonial Beach, Westmoreland State Park, Rappahannock River National Wildlife Refuge, and many other locations provide water access for fishing, boating, and yachting. The region has twenty-seven marinas.[citation needed]
There are nine wineries in the region that may be found on the Chesapeake Bay Wine Trail.[citation needed]
Other popular Northern Neck attractions include Stratford Hall, the birthplace of Robert E. Lee and an example of a Virginia plantation, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, the Westmoreland Berry Farm, and the Westmoreland State Park with Horsehead Cliffs.
The Northern Neck National Heritage Area was established in the National Heritage Area Act in 2022.[31] The National Heritage Area will help preserve historic and cultural sites in the five counties.[32][33]
See also
References
- ^ Mason, George Carrington. “The Colonial Churches of Westmoreland and King George Counties, Virginia: Part I.” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 56, no. 2, 1948, pp. 154–72. JSTOR website Retrieved 26 Aug. 2023.
- ^ Founded in 1951 by The Northern Neck of Virginia Historical Society
- ^ "QuickFacts: Virginia, United States". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ a b c The Official Guide of Virginia's Northern Neck (2007), Northern Neck Tourism Council
- ^ King George County Courthouse Wall Map.
- ^ Carolyn H. Jett, Lancaster County, Virginia: Where the River meets the Bay, (Lancaster County History Book Committee, 2003) pp. 30-31
- ^ Jett p. 31
- ^ Jett p. 33
- ^ Jett p. 32
- ^ Jett p. 32
- ^ Jett p. 34
- ^ George Washington Birthplace National Monument Introduction Film
- ^ Visitor Center Westmoreland Virginia State Park signage
- ^ Charles Henry Ambley, Sectionalism in Virginia 1776–1861, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1910
- ^ Howard Zinn, A People's History of the United States, 1492-Present (New York: HarperCollins, 2003), p. 32.
- ^ a b c Theobald, Mary Miley; "Slave Conspiracies in Colonial Virginia", Foundation, Winter 2005–2006
- ^ "The Leedstown Resolves of 1766". American History Central. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Back In The Day, This Quiet Virginia Town Was The Wealthiest Place In The U.S." OnlyInYourState. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ a b "George Washington Birthplace National Monument". National Park Foundation. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "About James Madison". James Madison University. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Birthplace Park & Museum". The James Monroe Memorial Foundation. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Biographical Sketches". National Park Service. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794)". Enclyopedia Virginia. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "ROBERT EDWARD LEE". Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Potomac River during the Civil War". Enclyopedia Virginia. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "CHASING LINCOLN'S ASSASSIN". Visit King George. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "About Dr. Mudd". Dr. Samuel A. Mudd House Museum. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Colonial Beach". Virginia.org. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ a b Migdal, Wendy (2 August 2021). "Retro Reads: Colonial Beach was place for glitz and gambling". Fredericksburg Free Lance Star. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ Town & County Magazine, 26 January 2008
- ^ "National Heritage Area Act". Congress.gov. December 22, 2022.
- ^ "ParkPlanning - Northern Neck National Heritage Area Feasibility Study". parkplanning.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-25.
- ^ "NORTHERN NECK NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA Feasibility Study" (PDF). National Park Service. June 2020.
Further reading
- Trebay, Guy (November 22, 2012). "Virginia's Lost History". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2013.