Maycock Plantation, also known as Maycock's Plantation and Maycox Plantation, among the first plantations on the south side of the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

Prince George County, Virginia Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. sta ...

, was settled by Samuel Maycock about 1618 or 1619, during the early Colonial period of Virginia. The former plantation is now part of the James River National Wildlife Refuge, and is located off Flowerdew Hundred Road and James River Drive, Prince George, Virginia.

Background

Before Jamestown was colonized in 1607,

Weyanoke people The Weyanoke people ( ) were an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Name Their name is also spelled Weyanock,Rountree, ''The Powhatan Indians of Virginia'', 9. as British colonist John Smith recorded on his map.Rountree, ''The Pow ...

and earlier Native Americans lived in the area from about 8,000 B.C. in what is now the James River National Wildlife Refuge. Seven archaeological sites show habitation from the

Early Archaic Early may refer to: Places in the United States * Early, Iowa, a city * Early, Texas, a city * Early Branch, a stream in Missouri * Early County, Georgia * Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort Music * Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...

through the

Late Woodland In the classification of archaeological cultures of North America, the Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures spanned a period from roughly 1000 BC to European contact in the eastern part of North America, with some arch ...

periods. Artifacts include stone tools, projectile points, and ceramics. There is evidence of an agricultural culture. Their land was

usurped A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

by the English colonists. After decades of conflicts, known as the

Anglo-Powhatan Wars The AngloPowhatan Wars were three wars fought between settlers of the Colony of Virginia and the Powhatan People of Tsenacommacah in the early 17th century. The first war started in 1609 and ended in a peace settlement in 1614. The second war l ...

, the Weyanoke people left the area in 1644. A ferry was established by 1705 at Maycock's Point to cross the James River. Soon after, the local economy was based upon corn and tobacco crops. There had been a mill on Powell's Creek, which was damaged during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, after which it was restored and operated for a few decades. By the early 1900s, much of what is now the refuge was wooded.

Samuel Maycock

Samuel Maycock, born a gentleman, was a scholar of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

in England. In the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

, he sat on the

Virginia Governor's Council The Governor's Council, also known as the Privy Council and Council of State, was the upper house of the legislature of the Colony of Virginia (the House of Burgesses being the other house). It also served as an advisory body to the List of colon ...

. Maycock patented 1,700 acres for his plantation in 1618. He was working on the land on March 22, 1622, with Edward Lister and another man when they were massacred by

during the

Indian massacre of 1622 The Indian massacre of 1622 took place in the English Colony of Virginia on March 22, 1621/22 ( O.S./N.S.). The English explorer John Smith, though he was not an eyewitness, wrote in his ''History of Virginia'' that warriors of the Powhatan "cam ...

. At the time, Maycock had an infant child named Sarah who survived the attack. There was not much work done on the plantation for several decades due to the threat of attack by Native Americans. In 1638, Sarah Maycock married George Pace, the son of

Richard Pace Richard Pace (c. 148228 June 1536) was an English clergyman and diplomat of the Tudor period. Life He was born in Hampshire and educated at Winchester College under Thomas Langton. He attended the universities of Padua and Oxford. In 1509, ...

. George, or his son Richard Pace II, is believed to have built the 17th-century house. In 1970, an archaeological team led by Dr. Ben McCary and Dr. Norman Barka from

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

unearthed a foundation of a house built between 1640 and 1660. It is believed to have been a two-story house about , with three rooms on each floor. Situated on a bluff, it was built upon a former Native American site of the Weyanoke people that overlooked the James River. It may have been destroyed in the Third Anglo-Powhatan War of 1644 or at another time by other means. Richard Pace lived at Maycock Plantation near Powells Creek in 1659.

Subsequent owners

George Pace sold 800 to 900 acres in 1650 to Thomas Drew. Roger Drayton sold 250 acres to John Hamlin in 1696, who sold the land to Thomas Ravenscroft in 1723. In 1772, acreage of various sizes on a seat called Maycox was put up for sale by George M. Meade and John Ravenscroft. The land was good for wheat and Indian corn.

David Meade and the revolution

David Meade bought the plantation in 1774. The plantation's "long, narrow terraced raised walks that offered excellent viewing platforms, formed circulation routes through the landscape, and made ideal venues for social promenade," built according to

François-Jean de Chastellux François Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux (; 5 May 1734, in Paris – 24 October 1788, in Paris), was a military officer who served during the War of American Independence as a major general in the French expeditionary forces led by gener ...

in residential settings, such as Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

and Maycock Plantation, in 18th-century America. David Meade Jr. (1744–1830) lived there with his wife Sarah Waters Meade, the daughter of Sarah (née Prentis, 1749–1829) and William Waters, sometime after 1774, where he "dabbled in English-style garden design." Educated in England, he helped finance that

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

Charles Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...

, commander of the British forces, crossed the James River in May 1781 and in August

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military expl ...

crossed the river near or at the plantation of 600 acres. Meade lived there until 1796, when he sold the plantation.

Carter Bassett Harrison

In 1800, Carter Bassett Harrison settled in

at Maycock Plantation (Maycox Plantation), along the

. William Allen Harrison lived at Maycox Plantation. He died in 1824 and Carter Bassett Harrison inherited his father's plantation and 25 enslaved people according to William Allen Harrison's will dated May 22 of that year.

Civil War

In 1864, Union General

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

had a pontoon bridge built nearby to cross the river en route to the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the siege of Petersburg, it was not a c ...

Notes

References

External links

Maycock Plantation (historical)
Topozone.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Maycock Plantation Houses in Prince George County, Virginia James River plantations Archaeological sites in Virginia