Berkeley Plantation
Berkeley Plantation is a historic estate on the James River in Charles City County, Virginia, established in 1619 as Berkeley Hundred by the Virginia Company of London.[1] It is the site of the first recorded official Thanksgiving in America, observed on December 4, 1619, by Captain John Woodlief and his party of 38 English settlers in accordance with instructions in their land patent to hold an annual day of prayerful thanksgiving upon arrival.[2] Acquired by Benjamin Harrison III in 1691, the plantation became the longtime seat of the Harrison family, serving as the birthplace of signer of the Declaration of Independence Benjamin Harrison V in 1726 and President William Henry Harrison in 1773, as well as the ancestral home of President Benjamin Harrison, grandson of the latter.[3][1] The three-story Georgian mansion, built circa 1726 by Benjamin Harrison IV, exemplifies early 18th-century colonial architecture and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.[1] During the American Civil War, the estate—known then as Harrison's Landing—functioned as a major Union Army supply base and headquarters for General George B. McClellan following the Peninsula Campaign, hosting President Abraham Lincoln during his visit in July 1862; it was also the place where bugler Oliver Willcox Norton first heard the bugle call "Taps," composed by General Daniel Butterfield.[1] Berkeley Plantation's enduring significance lies in its early colonial foundations, presidential associations, and roles in pivotal American events, underscoring Virginia's contributions to the nation's formative history.[3]
History
Early Settlement and the 1619 Thanksgiving (1619–1622)
In 1618, the Virginia Company of London issued a land grant of over 8,000 acres along the James River to Sir William Throckmorton, Richard Berkeley, George Thorpe, John Smyth, and associates for the establishment of Berkeley Hundred, a plantation and prospective town site intended to promote English settlement and economic development through tobacco cultivation and trade.[1] The grant's accompanying instructions mandated that upon the settlers' safe arrival, they observe a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God with divine worship, and perpetuate the practice annually.[4] These directives reflected the company's emphasis on religious observance as a foundational element of colonial governance and morale.[5] On December 4, 1619, the ship Margaret arrived from Bristol, England, carrying 38 passengers under the command of Captain John Woodleefe, who proceeded to land and initiate settlement at Berkeley Hundred.[1] In compliance with the patent's terms, the group held a religious service of prayer and thanksgiving that day, consisting of an Anglican rite without the harvest-feast elements later associated with Plymouth Colony's 1621 event.[5] This observance, documented in records such as the Nibley Papers compiled by John Smyth, is cited as the first instance of a chartered Thanksgiving in English America, though its scope was limited to commemorating safe passage rather than agricultural bounty or intertribal diplomacy.[6] Contemporary accounts, including agreements dated September 4, 1619, between the proprietors and Woodleefe, underscore the venture's commercial aims, with settlers obligated to cultivate the land and remit portions of produce to the company.[7] George Thorpe, a Virginia Company investor and former Member of Parliament, arrived at Berkeley Hundred in April 1620 and took charge alongside William Tracy, focusing on infrastructure like housing and crop experimentation, including an early attempt at brewing beer from corn in 1621.[8] Thorpe pursued conciliatory policies toward the Powhatan Confederacy, constructing a residence for a local chief to build goodwill, despite prior tensions in the Jamestown region.[6] These efforts ended abruptly on March 22, 1622, when coordinated attacks by Opechancanough's warriors struck multiple James River settlements, killing Thorpe and numerous residents at Berkeley Hundred in a surprise assault that exploited perceived amity.[8] The massacre, which claimed about a third of Virginia's English population overall, prompted the site's abandonment and a shift to fortified defenses colony-wide, curtailing Berkeley Hundred's initial phase by 1622.[8]Harrison Family Acquisition and Plantation Development (1690s–1726)
In 1691, Benjamin Harrison III, who served as attorney general and treasurer of the Virginia colony, acquired the Berkeley Hundred property, comprising approximately 8,000 acres along the James River in Charles City County.[9][10] The purchase was made from Giles Bland, a descendant of the original patent holders, following earlier confiscations and resales of the land originally granted in 1619.[11] Harrison III, leveraging his positions in colonial administration, transformed the site into a functional plantation operation centered on tobacco cultivation and riverine trade. Under Harrison III's ownership, significant infrastructural development occurred, including the establishment of the first successful shipyard on the James River at the plantation, which facilitated the construction and repair of vessels for exporting tobacco and importing goods.[10] This shipyard represented an early industrial endeavor in the colony, capitalizing on the plantation's strategic location for maritime access and contributing to the economic viability of the property amid fluctuating tobacco markets. The Harrisons also expanded agricultural operations, employing indentured servants and enslaved Africans acquired through the transatlantic trade to clear land and maintain crops, though records from this era detail limited specifics on labor scales.[11] Following Benjamin Harrison III's death in 1713, his son Benjamin Harrison IV inherited the estate and oversaw further enhancements, culminating in the construction of the present Georgian-style mansion in 1726.[9] The three-story brick residence, among the earliest of its kind in Virginia, was built using bricks fired on-site by enslaved laborers under Harrison IV's direction, symbolizing the family's growing wealth from tobacco exports and public service—Harrison IV himself held roles as a burgess and naval officer.[11][9] The mansion's design incorporated practical features for plantation oversight, such as elevated foundations to mitigate flooding and expansive cellars for storage, reflecting adaptations to the tidal James River environment. This period marked the transition of Berkeley from a nascent holding to a consolidated family seat, setting the foundation for subsequent generations' political influence.Antebellum Prosperity and Political Influence (1726–1861)
In 1726, Benjamin Harrison IV constructed the three-story Georgian brick mansion at Berkeley Plantation, utilizing bricks fired on-site and featuring robust three-foot-thick walls in English and Flemish bond, marking a symbol of the family's rising wealth from tobacco cultivation and trade.[10][12] The plantation, encompassing thousands of acres along the James River, operated a wharf for exporting hogsheads of tobacco to England while importing goods, supplemented by a shipyard established earlier that built vessels including 18-gun battleships, fostering self-sufficiency in producing foodstuffs, lumber, and other commodities to support up to 1,000 inhabitants.[10][12] This economic model, reliant on enslaved labor numbering around 80 during the prior generation, generated substantial revenue through Virginia's staple crop, enabling the Harrisons to amass landholdings and mercantile interests that solidified their status among the colony's elite planters.[12] Benjamin Harrison V, born at Berkeley in 1726 and inheriting the estate at age 19 following his father's death in 1745, expanded its operations, overseeing 110 enslaved individuals by the time of his 1791 death and maintaining tobacco as the primary cash crop that underpinned the plantation's prosperity into the late 18th century.[13][10] Politically, Harrison V served 25 years in the Virginia House of Burgesses starting in 1749, represented the colony at the First Continental Congress in 1774, signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and later became speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates before serving three terms as governor from 1781 to 1784, exemplifying the family's deep entanglement in colonial and early republican governance.[10][14] His son, William Henry Harrison, born at Berkeley in 1773, would later ascend to the U.S. presidency in 1841, further extending the estate's legacy of political prominence, though he departed young for military service.[10] Under Benjamin Harrison VI, who inherited in 1791 and died in 1799, renovations to the mansion included Adam-style woodwork and double arches in the great rooms, executed under the guidance of Thomas Jefferson, reflecting continued investment amid mercantile pursuits and prior Revolutionary roles such as deputy paymaster general.[10][15] By the early 19th century, however, intensive tobacco monoculture had depleted the soil, leading to financial strains under Benjamin Harrison VII's inheritance in 1799, though the plantation retained its stature as a hub of Harrison influence until Benjamin Harrison VIII, the last family owner after approximately 150 years of tenure, navigated the pre-Civil War era.[10] This period of prosperity, driven by export-oriented agriculture and bolstered by intergenerational political clout, positioned Berkeley as a cornerstone of Virginia's planter aristocracy, yielding enduring national connections despite emerging economic challenges.[12]