Rich Neck Plantation
Encyclopedia
Rich Neck Plantation was located in James City County, Virginia
in the Colony of Virginia.
, was established around 1632 as part of the community of Middle Plantation
. The latter was located on a ridge which ran along the center of the Virginia Peninsula
separating the watersheds of the York River
to the north and the James River
to the south. A palisade to secure the area east down the Peninsula to Old Point Comfort
ran across the land portion between Queen's Creek
and College Creek
, with the new community as its centerpiece.
Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in 1699 after the College of William and Mary
was established nearby and the capital of the colony was relocated there from Jamestown
.
Rich Neck Plantation was home to a number of noted Virginians, including three of seventeenth-century Virginia's big-name secretaries of the colony: Richard Kemp, Sir Thomas Lundford, and Thomas Ludwell, as well as dozens of slaves and servants. Later, Rich Neck became the home of Reverend Doctor James Blair, who in 1693 became the founder and first president of the College of William and Mary.
During the first half of the 20th century, although the house and dependencies had long since disappeared, local attorney Vernon Geddy and his wife Carrie (née Cole) Geddy built a home on a portion of the land west of College Creek. They named their home "Holly Hill" for numerous holly trees in near the house. Williamsburg's Holly Hills subdivision now occupies a portion of the former Rich Neck Plantation property west of College Creek. As of May 2010, Vernon and Carrie's grandson, Vernon Geddy III, and his wife, owned and occupied his grandparent's home, Holly Hill.He was also continuing a family tradition of the practice of law in the area.
Extensive archaeological work has been done on portions of the Rich Neck Plantation site by groups from the College of William and Mary, Colonial Williamsburg
, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
James City County, Virginia
James City County is a county located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. Its population was 67,009 , and it is often associated with Williamsburg, an independent city, and Jamestown which is within the...
in the Colony of Virginia.
History
Rich Neck Plantation (not to be confused with Richneck Plantation in nearby Warwick CountyWarwick County, Virginia
Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Warwick on July 16, 1952...
, was established around 1632 as part of the community of Middle Plantation
Middle Plantation
Middle Plantation in the Virginia Colony, was the unincorporated town established in 1632 that became Williamsburg in 1699. It was located on high ground about half-way across the Virginia Peninsula between the James River and York River. Middle Plantation represented the first major inland...
. The latter was located on a ridge which ran along the center of the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
separating the watersheds of the York River
York River (Virginia)
The York River is a navigable estuary, approximately long, in eastern Virginia in the United States. It ranges in width from at its head to near its mouth on the west side of Chesapeake Bay. Its watershed drains an area including portions of 17 counties of the coastal plain of Virginia north...
to the north and the James River
James River
The James River may refer to:Rivers in the United States and their namesakes* James River * James River , North Dakota, South Dakota* James River * James River * James River...
to the south. A palisade to secure the area east down the Peninsula to Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton. It lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States....
ran across the land portion between Queen's Creek
Queen's Creek
Queen's Creek is located in York County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States...
and College Creek
College Creek
College Creek is located in James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States...
, with the new community as its centerpiece.
Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in 1699 after 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...
was established nearby and the capital of the colony was relocated there from Jamestown
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...
.
Rich Neck Plantation was home to a number of noted Virginians, including three of seventeenth-century Virginia's big-name secretaries of the colony: Richard Kemp, Sir Thomas Lundford, and Thomas Ludwell, as well as dozens of slaves and servants. Later, Rich Neck became the home of Reverend Doctor James Blair, who in 1693 became the founder and first president of the College of William and Mary.
During the first half of the 20th century, although the house and dependencies had long since disappeared, local attorney Vernon Geddy and his wife Carrie (née Cole) Geddy built a home on a portion of the land west of College Creek. They named their home "Holly Hill" for numerous holly trees in near the house. Williamsburg's Holly Hills subdivision now occupies a portion of the former Rich Neck Plantation property west of College Creek. As of May 2010, Vernon and Carrie's grandson, Vernon Geddy III, and his wife, owned and occupied his grandparent's home, Holly Hill.He was also continuing a family tradition of the practice of law in the area.
Extensive archaeological work has been done on portions of the Rich Neck Plantation site by groups from the College of William and Mary, Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is the private foundation representing the historic district of the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. The district includes buildings dating from 1699 to 1780 which made colonial Virginia's capital. The capital straddled the boundary of the original shires of Virginia —...
, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.