Kippax Plantation
Encyclopedia
Kippax Plantation was located on the south bank of the Appomattox River
in what is today the City of Hopewell
in southeast Virginia
. Kippax Plantation was the home of Colonel Robert Bolling
(1646-1709). Bolling married Jane Rolfe
, who was the granddaughter of Pocahontas
and John Rolfe
. Their only child, John Bolling
was born at Kippax in 1676, and settled nearby at Cobbs Plantation, just west of Point of Rocks across the Appomattox River in what is now Chesterfield County
. While Jane's father Thomas Rolfe
(1615-1675) never lived at Kippax Plantation, it is believed that he was buried there.
Kippax Plantation is considered to be a well-preserved archaeological site that is also well documented. Archaeologist Donald W. Linebaugh
, of the University of Kentucky
, located the remains of Col. Bolling's house in Hopewell, Virginia in 2002.
Most of the current digging is performed at the site of the unearthed residence. Research by graduate students from the College of William and Mary
, headed by Donald W. Linebaugh, have found the remains of at least four separate structures spanning the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries at the Kippax site. These structures have the potential to answer important research questions regarding the history of early trade between Europeans and Native American
s, the lives of the African American
slaves who lived there, and the cultural interaction between these groups.
The Archaeological Conservancy
recently purchased the site of Kippax Plantation to protect it from development. Members of the Archaeological Conservancy are in the process of raising the $205,000 needed for the purchase.
Appomattox River
The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long, in central and eastern Virginia in the United States, named for the Appomattocs Indian tribe who lived along its lower banks in the 17th century...
in what is today the City of Hopewell
Hopewell, Virginia
Hopewell is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 22,591 at the 2010 Census . It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
in southeast 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...
. Kippax Plantation was the home of Colonel Robert Bolling
Robert Bolling
Colonel Robert Bolling was a wealthy early American settler planter and merchant.- Ancestry and Early Life :...
(1646-1709). Bolling married Jane Rolfe
Jane Rolfe
Jane Rolfe was the granddaughter of Pocahontas and the English colonist John Rolfe, ....
, who was the granddaughter of Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
and John Rolfe
John Rolfe
John Rolfe was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia and is known as the husband of Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan Confederacy.In 1961, the Jamestown...
. Their only child, John Bolling
John Bolling
Major John Fairfax Bolling was a colonist, farmer, and politician in the Virginia Colony. He was the son of Colonel Robert Bolling and Jane Bolling...
was born at Kippax in 1676, and settled nearby at Cobbs Plantation, just west of Point of Rocks across the Appomattox River in what is now Chesterfield County
Chesterfield County, Virginia
Chesterfield County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. In 2010, its population was estimated to be 316,236. Chesterfield County is now the fourth-largest municipality in Virginia . Its county seat is Chesterfield...
. While Jane's father Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe
Thomas Rolfe was the only child of Pocahontas by her English husband, John Rolfe. His maternal grandfather was Wahunsunacock, the chief of Powhatan tribe in Virginia.-Early Life:Thomas Rolfe was born in Virginia...
(1615-1675) never lived at Kippax Plantation, it is believed that he was buried there.
Kippax Plantation is considered to be a well-preserved archaeological site that is also well documented. Archaeologist Donald W. Linebaugh
Donald W. Linebaugh
Donald W. Linebaugh is an American archaeologist and author.Linebaugh, was director of the University of Kentucky Program for Archaeological Research in the College of Arts and Sciences and was assistant professor of anthropology...
, of the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, located the remains of Col. Bolling's house in Hopewell, Virginia in 2002.
Most of the current digging is performed at the site of the unearthed residence. Research by graduate students from the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...
, headed by Donald W. Linebaugh, have found the remains of at least four separate structures spanning the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries at the Kippax site. These structures have the potential to answer important research questions regarding the history of early trade between Europeans and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s, the lives of the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
slaves who lived there, and the cultural interaction between these groups.
The Archaeological Conservancy
The Archaeological Conservancy
The Archaeological Conservancy is a 5013 non-profit organization that acquires and preserves archaeological sites in the United States. Whereas nearly every other nation protects all archaeological sites within its borders as part of its national patrimony, in the United States archaeological...
recently purchased the site of Kippax Plantation to protect it from development. Members of the Archaeological Conservancy are in the process of raising the $205,000 needed for the purchase.