Historical
Places in Caroline
Caroline County has numerous sites and
places of interest. This information courtesy of "Caroline Living Guide
1996" from the *Caroline Progress.*.
Dickinson's Mill........Gen. Robert E. Lee camped
here on May 21, 1864 on his way to the North Anna to oppose Gen. U.S. Grant
who was bringing Union troops south. Ewell's and Longstreet's corps also camped
here that night.
Marker location:: 2.2 miles south of Ladysmith
Edmund Pendleton's Home........Six miles southeast
is the site of Edmundsbury, home of Edmund Pendleton. Pendleton, born in 1721,
served in the House of Burgesses; was a delegate to the Continental Congress;
chairman of the Virginia Committee of Safety; president of the May 1776 convention
and the convention that ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1788; president of
the Virginia Supreme Court. He died in 1803 and was buried there. His remains
were later moved to Williamsburg.
Marker location:: 2.5 miles south of Bowling Green.
Hazelwood........The home of John Taylor of Caroline,
Jefferson's chief political lieutenant and a leading advocate of States' Rights.
He died here in 1824.
Marker location:: l.3 miles northeast of Port Royal
John Wilkes Booth........The Garrett place is where
John Wilkes Booth was allegedly cornered and killed by Union troops on April
26, 1865. Although several groups believe Booth escaped from the Garrett farm,
no proof has been uncovered to confirm nor totally rule out the beliefs. The
house stood a short distance from this spot.
Marker location:: 9.1 miles northeast of Bowling Green
Where Booth Died........On this road 2 miles south
is the Garrett place. There Booth allegedly died in 1865.
Marker location:: At Port Royal Crossroads
Old Port Royal........The town was established
in 1744 and was one of the principal shipping points on the Rappahannock River
in colonial times. In December 1862, Burnside, commanding the Army of the Potomac,
considered crossing the river here but finally moved up to Fredericksburg. Union
gunboats, attempting to pass up the river at that time, were driven back by
D.H. Hill.
Marker location:: At Port Royal Town Hall on King Street
Lederer's Expedition........From this vicinity,
John Lederer set out on his expedition to the Blue Ridge Mountains in 1671.
This was one of the earliest exploring expeditions undertaken in Virginia.
Marker location:: 3 miles southwest of New Post
Nancy Wright's........At Nancy Wright's, Warren's
Fifth and Wright's Sixth Corps turned south. Wright camped here on May 22.
Marker locationn: 5.1 miles north of Ladysmith
Windsor........This is the ancient Woodford estate.
Governor Spotswood and the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe stopped here on their
way to the mountains in1716. Here, Gen. William Woodford was born in 1734. He
defeated Lord Dunmore at the Great Bridge in 1775 and took an important part
in the Revolutionary War.
Marker location:: 6.9 miles southeast of New Port
Rappahannock Academy........On this site stood
colonial Mount Church, built around 1750. In 1808 the parish glebe was sold
and the proceeds were used to establish a school. The church building was turned
into Rappahannock Academy, one of the most noted schools in Virginia.
Marker location: 4 miles northeast of Port Royal
Maybe sometimes in our hunt for names, we run across something written long
ago that gives us some insight and understanding of what life was like back
then. This small handbook was written in 1888 to entice new settlers to come
live in Caroline County. It gives us a pretty good feeling for what this area
had to offer.
Excerpts from the book *Handbook of Caroline County,
Virginia,* published by the Board of Authority of the Board of Supervisors
of the county, 1888, Bowling Green.
"Caroline though generally classed as one of the Tide-water counties in
the State, is in fact the dividing line between that section and middle Virginia.....
It is about 30 miles long and 20 miles wide and contains 341,430 acres of land,
valued at $1,640,996.14. Value of town lots $134,015.....
Caroline is bounded on the north by the Rappahannock river, (the counties of
King George and Stafford being opposite), on the south by the Pamunkey and North
Anna rivers, (the county of Hanover being opposte), on the east by the counties
of Essex, King and Queen and King William, and on the west by the county of
Spotsylvania.
It is drained by the Rappahannock, the Mattaponi, the North Anna and Pamunkey
rivers and their tributaries, which are numerous, and is one of the best watered
counties in Virginia. The various rivers and creeks give much bottom land which
is very productive, and afford fine water power and mill sites.......
Transportation facilities are unusally good, both by rail and water. The Richmond,
Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad passes through the entire length of the
county...5 regular freight and passenger stations at Guinea, Woodford's Lane,
Milford, Penola and Ruther Glen....
The soil .... is easily cultivated. It produces winter wheat with a range of
from 5 to 30 bushels per acre. Red clover grows luxuriantly on the low land....and
orchard grass and timothy are grown to a considerable extent. The several varieties
of field pease are grown in great abundance, both as an invigorator to the soil
and as a forage crop. Oats, both spring and winter, are successfully grown.The
chief industry in the southern and middle portions is the cultivation of bright
tobacco, both sun and flue cured, for which Caroline has long been famous.
All fruits thrive and apples (especially the celebrated winesap), peaches, pears,
grapes, strawberries, raspberries, etc. are grown, though chiefly as yet for
home use. Blackberries, dewberries, and black raspberries are abundant in the
wild state.
The climate of Caroline leaves nothing to be desired. The season during which
work is suspended being only a week or more in which ice is secured. The extremes
of heat and cold are rarely felt and the seasons are generally good. There is
an exceptional absence of storms, and blizzards, hurricanes and northers are
unknown. The healthfulness of the county is largely insured by the abundance
of pure, soft drinking water, and malarial fever is rare, where any sanitary
precautions are taken by individuals, and there is almost total exemption from
typhoid and other dangerous fevers, so fatal in some sections.
Lumber abounds. Pine, oak, hickory, walnut, beech, and other timber is in abundance
and can be purchased in merchantable condition at the saw mills, of which there
are 38 in the county, at from $5 to $10 per 1000 feet.
Land in Caroline can be bought at prices varying from $3 to $40 per acre with
dwellings and all necessary farm buildings.....
The moral tone of the people is excellent as evidenced by the criminal dockets
of both the County Court and those of the Justices of the Peace.
Bowling Green, the county seat, with a population of 500 is situated near the
center of the county, two miles from Milford station on the Richmond, Fredericksburg
and Potomac railroad...It contains the county court house, 4 churches, a large
tobacco warehouse, a number of carriage and wagon factories, with blacksmith
shops, carpenters, tinners, etc. There are 2 large male and female academies
liberally patronized, which together with the primary and graded free schools,
afford ample educational advantages......The town is becoming popular as a summer
residence for Richmond people....It being chiefly a residential town, the houses
and yards are kept in fine order and present a fresh and most inviting appearance,
with wide clean streets and sidewalks, abundant shade trees and lovely flowers.
There are 5 daily mails, and the New York morning dailies can be read at dinner.
Port Royal is situated on the Rappahannock river. It is one of the "Old
Virginia" towns, and in days gone by enjoyed a large tobacco trade direct
with England. Its markets are readily supplied with fish, oysters, and all the
delicacies salt water produces...
....Our people are eager for new life, and enterprise and increased capital.
We have a hearty welcome for all honest, intelligent and thrifty settlers and
are prepared to make their coming amongst us pleasant and profitable.......we
have conservative laws, low tax rates and a law abiding, moral people.....The
uniformity and mildness of climate render stock raising easy, with an absence
of blizzards, flies, gnats and other serious drawbacks to be found in the western
States. Some of the most noted race horses this country has ever known, and
whose descendants are even now reaping fortunes for their owners, were reared
in this immediate locality. (my sidenote here: almost 100 yrs. after this was
written the great Secretariat was born in Caroline Co.)
The citizens of Caroline have determined to throw off their lethargy and to
place their county in the forefront of progressiveness......."
To obtain a full copy of this book write: UMI Books on Demand, P.O. Box
1346, Ann Arbor, Michigan 481067-1346 or call 800-521-0600. Cost is $25.
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