Jordan Point, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
on the south bank of the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
in the northern portion of Prince George County
Prince George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early history
Jamestown, Virginia
Jamestown was a settlement in the Colony of Virginia. Established by the Virginia Company of London as "James Fort" on May 14, 1607 , it was the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States, following several earlier failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke...
in 1607, the property at Jordan's Point was first known as "Jordan’s Journey" in 1619. It was then located in Charles Cittie (sic), a "burrough" (sic) or "incorporation" (sic) of the Virginia Company of London, the early proprietor of the Virginia Colony. The first recorded owner was Samuel Jordan
Samuel Jordan
Samuel Jordan was an early settler and Ancient Planter of colonial Jamestown, and one of the first colonial legislatorsJordan traveled to Virginia in 1610, according to his 1620 patent:...
, who with his wife, Cecily
Cicely Jordan Farrar
Cicely Jordan FarrarCicely Jordan Ferrar was an early settler and Ancient Planter of colonial Jamestown. She came to the colony as a child, in 1611. Nothing is known of her origins, or who she traveled with. She married three times, and died sometime after 1631.-First Marriage:Cicely Jordan...
, her two daughters, and their adult male servants, took up residence around 1620, Samuel Jordan died in 1623, and his widow married William Farrar, who moved to Jordan’s Journey, which appears to have been abandoned by 1635.
Virginia became a royal colony in 1624. Ten years later, in 1634, the area of Jordan's Point became part of Charles City Shire
Charles City Shire
Charles City Shire was formed in 1634 in the Virginia colony. It was named for Charles I, the then King of England, and was renamed Charles City County in 1637.-History:...
, later Charles City County
Charles City County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
. The area of Charles City County south of the James River became Prince George County
Prince George County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 33,047 people, 10,159 households, and 8,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 124 people per square mile . There were 10,726 housing units at an average density of 40 per square mile...
in 1703.
In 1656, the land at Jordan's Point was acquired by Theodorick Bland. In 1671, Richard Bland (I) of Berkeley Plantation
Berkeley Plantation
Berkeley Plantation, one of the first great estates in America, comprises about on the banks of the James River on State Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia. Berkeley Plantation was originally called Berkeley Hundred and named after one of its founders of the 1618 land grant, Richard Berkeley...
inherited it. In 1720, his son, Richard Bland (II), established a home known as Jordan's Point Plantation there.
Richard Bland: Founding Father
Richard Bland (burgess)
Richard Bland , sometimes known as Richard Bland of Jordan's Point, was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the father of Richard Bland, the son of Theodorick Bland of Westover, and the grandson of Richard Bennett, an English Governor of the Colony of Virginia...
was the father of Richard Bland
Richard Bland
Richard Bland , sometimes referred to as Richard Bland II or Richard Bland of Jordan's Point, was an American planter and statesman from Virginia...
(III) (1710-1776). This Richard Bland became the most famous man of that name in Virginia's history. He was a Justice of the Peace for Prince George County, a member of the House of Burgesses
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first assembly of elected representatives of English colonists in North America. The House was established by the Virginia Company, who created the body as part of an effort to encourage English craftsmen to settle in North America...
, an early critic of the unfairness of the concept of "Taxation Without Representation", a phrase he may be responsible for, and was a delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
in 1774 and 1775. He is considered one of the Founding Fathers although he was elderly by the time of the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and died in 1776, only a few months after the Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
was adopted. Richard Bland (III) is the namesake of Richard Bland College
Richard Bland College
Richard Bland College of The College of William and Mary is a public junior college with about 1,400 students located near Petersburg, Virginia...
. Bland County, Virginia
Bland County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,871 people, 2,568 households, and 1,908 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile . There were 3,161 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...
was also named in his honor. The Bland family cemetery is still located at Jordan Point.
Ferry service and drawbridge
Jordan Point was long the southern terminus of a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
system across the James River connecting Prince George County with Charles City County
Charles City County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 6,926 people, 2,670 households, and 1,975 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile . There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
on the north shore. In 1966, the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge
Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge
The Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the James River between Jordan's Point in Prince George County and Charles City County near Hopewell, Virginia. The bridge carries vehicle traffic of State Route 156, and is owned by the Virginia Department of Transportation...
lift span bridge replaced the ferry system. In 1977 the tanker ship S.S. Marine Floridian steaming downstream in the early morning hours from the Port of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
collided with the Benjamin Harrison Bridge, when its steering gear malfunctioned. The collision destroyed two spans and seriously damaged the drawbrige. As a result, the bridge was out of service for 20 months and ferry service was temporarily reinstated.
Other details
A small airport (now closed) was located near Jordan Point Marina for many years. A riverfront residential development, "Jordan On The James" now occupies the former airport site.Jordan Point Marina was devastated by the storm surge from Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed near the Cape Verde Islands from a tropical wave on September 6 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...
in 2003 and over 100 boats and yachts were seriously damaged or destroyed. The marina has since been rebuilt.
In modern times, Jordan Point Road carries State Routes 106
Virginia State Route 106
Virginia State Route 106 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 460 and US 460 Business in Petersburg north to SR 249 in Tallysville...
and 156 between State Route 10
Virginia State Route 10
Virginia State Route 10 is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 360 in Richmond east to SR 337 in Suffolk. SR 10 is a major suburban highway through Chesterfield County between the Southside of Richmond and Hopewell...
and the Benjamin Harrison Memorial Bridge.