Berkeley Plantation
Overview
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...
on State Route 5 in Charles City County, Virginia
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...
. Berkeley Plantation was originally called Berkeley Hundred
Berkeley Hundred
Berkeley Hundred in the Virginia Colony comprised about eight thousand acres on the north bank of the James River near Herring Creek in an area then known as Charles Cittie . It was named for one of the original founders, Richard Berkeley, a member of the Berkeley family of Gloucestershire, England...
and named after one of its founders of the 1618 land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
, Richard Berkeley. Benjamin Harrison IV
Benjamin Harrison IV
Benjamin Harrison IV was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the son of Benjamin Harrison III, and the father of Benjamin Harrison V, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the fifth Governor of Virginia...
built on the estate what is believed to be the oldest three-story brick mansion in 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...
and is the ancestral home to two Presidents of the United States: William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison was the ninth President of the United States , an American military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. He was 68 years, 23 days old when elected, the oldest president elected until Ronald Reagan in 1980, and last President to be born before the...
, his grandson, and Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
his great-great-grandson.
Among the many American "firsts" that occurred at Berkeley Plantation are:
- The first official ThanksgivingThanksgivingThanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
: 4 December 1619 - The first bourbon whiskeyBourbon whiskeyBourbon is a type of American whiskey – a barrel-aged distilled spirit made primarily from corn. The name of the spirit derives from its historical association with an area known as Old Bourbon, around what is now Bourbon County, Kentucky . It has been produced since the 18th century...
distilledDistilled beverageA distilled beverage, liquor, or spirit is an alcoholic beverage containing ethanol that is produced by distilling ethanol produced by means of fermenting grain, fruit, or vegetables...
: 1621, by George ThorpeGeorge ThorpeGeorge Thorpe was an English first-class cricketer, who played two first-class matches, one for Yorkshire County Cricket Club against Surrey in 1864, and another for the All England XI in 1862....
, an Episcopal priest. - First time Army bugle call TapsTaps"Taps" is a musical piece sounded by the U.S. military nightly to indicate that it is "lights out". The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfields Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done". It is also played during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet...
played: July 1862, by bugler Oliver W.
