James River Landing Things to Do

During the Revolution, Shirley was a supply center for the Continental Army. Twice, it was a listening post for both sides in the no-man's land between the British at City Point, now Hopewell, and Lafayette's army at Malvern Hill.

A century later, during the War Between the States, Shirley survived the Peninsula Campaign and the struggle for nearby Richmond, the Confederate capital. Anne Hill Carter, wife of Henry Light-Horse Harry Lee, of Stratford and mother of Gen. Robert E. Lee, was born at Shirley. The famous Confederate general, widely regared as one of the greatest Americans of all time, received part of his schooling in the converted laundry house.

The present mansion was begun in 1723 by Edward Hill III, a member of the house of Burgesses in the Virginia Colony, for his daughter Elizabeth, who married John Carter, eldest son of King Carter. It was finished in 1738 and is largely in its original state.

A visit to Shirley Plantation affords a panorama of rare historical continuity. Shirley was founded six years after the settlers arrived at Jamestown in 1607 to establish the first permanent English Colony in the New World.

Shirley Plantation, granted to Edward Hill in 1660, features the pineapple (the Colonial symbol of hospitality) in the hand-carved woodwork in the house, and as a three-foot finial on the peak of the roof. And for good reason -- Shirley was a well-known center of hospitality in Colonial times.

The Hills and Carters entertained the Byrds and Harrisons, not to mention Washington, Jefferson and other prominent Virginians at Shirley. Visitors today see an 800-acre working plantation operated by the tenth and eleventh generations of the Hills and Carters, who continue this tradition of hospitality

HOURS
Open to the public seven days a week, 9 AM to 5 PM, last tour at 4:30 PM.
Closed Christmas Day. Grounds close at 6 PM.

ADMISSION

Discounts for Senior Citizens (60+), AAA Members & Military, Youth & Children. Special rates for groups of 10 or more. Reservations are necessary for all groups. We require that reservations be made one week prior to arrival to receive the group rate

These are the gates that lead to the Berkeley Plantation. You have to take a side road off Rt 5 (which is clearly marked) and follow it to the Berkeley Plantation which is the neighbor plantation to Westover.

Once there, you leave the hardtop road and get on a dirt driveway and pass through these gates.

It is lovely.
At Berkeley the date of the building, 1726, and the initials of the owners, Benjamin Harrison IV and his wife, Anne, appear in a datestone over a side door. The early Georgian mansion is said to be the oldest 3-story brick house in Virginia that can prove its date and the first with a pediment roof.

The original mansion, built in 1726 of brick fired on the plantation, occupies a beautifully landscaped hilltop site overlooking the historic James River.

William Henry Harrison, Benjamin's third son, born at Berkeley, was the famous Indian fighter known as "Tippecanoe," who later became the ninth President of the United States, in 1841. His grandson, Benjamin Harrison, was the 23rd President.

On December 4, 1619, early settlers from England came ashore at Berkeley and observed the first official Thanksgiving in America.

At Berkeley the date of the building, 1726, and the initials of the owners, Benjamin Harrison IV and his wife, Anne, appear in a datestone over a side door. The early Georgian mansion is said to be the oldest 3-story brick house in Virginia that can prove its date and the first with a pediment roof.

The original mansion, built in 1726 of brick fired on the plantation, occupies a beautifully landscaped hilltop site overlooking the historic James River.

The handsome Adam woodwork and the double arches of the "Great Rooms" in the mansion were installed by Benjamin Harrison VI in 1790 at the direction of Thomas Jefferson. The rooms in Berkeley are furnished with a magnificent collection of eighteenth century antiques.

Berkeley, on the James River between Williamsburg and Richmond, is the birthplace of a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a U.S. President.

Benjamin Harrison, son of the builder of Berkeley and the plantation's second owner, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and three-time Governor of Virginia

The house is considered one of the most outstanding example of Georgian architecture in America. Of special notice is the unusually steepness of the roof, the tall chimneys in pairs at both ends. Another special touch is the elaborate doorway, which continues to be recognized as "the Westover doorway" despite its adaptation to many other buildings.

The special charm of the house lies in its elegant yet extremely simple form and proportions, combined with its perfect setting in the landscape, the essence of the artistic ideals of its period adapted to the style of living in Colonial Virginia.

The two wings were originally identical and not connected to the three-story central structure. The east wing, which once contained the famous Byrd library of more than 4,000 volumes, burned during the War Between the States

This is the tombstone of the originial owner William Byrd in the gardens of Westover plantation.

Turning from the river to the north side of the house, the visitor will find the famous Westover gates, with William Evelyn Byrd's initials incorporated in the delicate ironwork. The lead eagles on the gateposts are a play on the name "Byrd." The wrought-iron fence has supporting columns topped by unusual stone finials cut to resemble an acorn for perseverance (from little acorns great oaks grow); a pineapple for hospitality, a Greek Key to the World for knowledge; a cornucopia, or horn of plenty: a beehive for industry; and an urn of flowers for beauty.

Continuing to circle the house, the visitor will come to the formal gardens, which were re-established about 1900. At the center, where the paths cross, is the handsome tomb with its interesting epitaph honoring the colorful William Byrd I, "Black Swan of Westover," who was buried there in 1744.

His daughter, the beautiful and tragic Evelyn Byrd, is buried near the original site of Westover Church, up the river a quarter-mile west of the house. There also are buried Theodorick Bland, from whom William Byrd I bought the Westover property in 1688; William Byrd I and his wife, the former Mary Horsemanden; and other distinguished early Virginians. Here also, according to some historians, is the third oldest known tombstone in America--that of Captain William Perry, who died August 6, 1637. The arms and epitaph engraved on this stone have been effaced by the elements in recent years.

This is the highway marker on Rt 5 before you get to the Westover plantation.

There are many highway markers on along this route.