Fort Huger
Captain John Smith’s Adventures on the James
Shells have been found in amazing quantities along this area of the river. The Indians who lived beside the saltwater stretches of river did not have tuckahoe and other freshwater plants to sustain them in poor crop years, when shellfish likely became a substantial part of their diet. Shellfish contain protein, iron and calories, and kept early settlers alive during droughts.
Today, the earthwork remains of the Confederate Fort Huger stand guard over Burwell Bay, described by Smith as “…a Bay wherein falleth 3 or 4 prettie brookes and creekes that halfe intrench the Inhabitants of Warraskoyac.”
(sidebar)
Captain John Smith’s Trail
John Smith knew the James River by its Algonquian name: Powhatan, the same as the region’s paramount chief. Smith traveled the river many times between 1607 and 1609, trading with Virginia Indians to ensure survival at Jamestown. What he saw of Virginia’s verdant woodlands and pristine waters inspired him to explore the greater Chesapeake Bay, chronicling its natural wonders.
Captain John Smith’s Trail on the James is a 40-site water trail and auto tour for modern explorers.
(sidebar)
Isle of Wight’s First English Resident
The first English settlement in Isle of Wight County was made by Capt. Christopher Lawne near here. On April 27, 1619, he arrived at Jamestown with 100 other settlers and immediately settled near the mouth of a creek northwest of here, now known as Lawne’s Creek. Lawne represented the settlement known as Lawne’s Plantation in the first House of Burgesses, which met at Jamestown on July 30, 1619.
During the civil War, this property became home to the Confederate Fort Huger, which was used for about a year. Designed to battle wooden ships, it outlived its usefulness whrn the Union navy added the ironclads USS Monitor and USS Galena to its fleet.
Marker is at the intersection of Talcott Terrace and Lawnes Neck Drive, on the right when traveling east on Talcott Terrace.
Courtesy hmdb.org
