Bremo Bluff, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Bremo Bluff is an unincorporated community
located on the northern bank of the James River
in Fluvanna County
, Virginia
, United States. The locale was established by the Cocke family in 1636. During the American Civil War
, the family of General Robert E. Lee
sought refuge in the community. It is presently home to Bremo Power Station, which generates 3 percent of the total electricity delivered by utility company Dominion Resources
.
.jpg)
The history of Bremo Bluff can be traced back to the prominent Cocke family of the Tidewater region of Virginia
. Richard Cocke, a British immigrant, was granted a land patent
on March 6, 1636, that covered 3000 acres (12.1 km²) along the James River. The Cocke family settlement was named "Bremo" after their ancestral home of Braemore
in the United Kingdom.
To retain their claim as descendants, the brothers Benjamin and Richard Cocke cleared and developed the area around 1725. In 1808, John Hartwell Cocke
began building a plantation estate of three houses, which he also named Bremo. He invested in the James River and Kanawha Company
to develop a series of locks and canals that began operating around 1840 to improve river transportation. A boat wharf
was built to accommodate the river traffic that became an important part of the local economy by the 1850s. However, a series of floods and the American Civil War
brought an end to this era.
Mary Anna Custis Lee
, the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee
, stayed in the area on several occasions as a safe haven from the Civil War. She spent time at the Bremo Plantation
, where family friend Doctor Cary Charles Cocke built a special bed to accommodate her affliction from rheumatoid arthritis
. She was usually accompanied by her son Rob and daughters Agnes and Mildred. Despite the risk of prosecution, Mary Anna Custis Lee and Doctor Cocke were opposed to slavery and taught slaves to read, which was illegal at that time in the Confederate States of America
. In November 1865 after the war, the Lee family departed for Lexington, Virginia
, where Robert E. Lee had become the president of Washington College
. A few months before the death of her husband in 1870, Mary Anna Custis Lee returned to visit the area once again.
in 1880 to build a new railway. Bremo Bluff soon became one of the five busiest stops for passenger and freight traffic. By 1918, four trains were stopping at the town each day.
In 1931, the Virginia Electric & Power Company constructed a 30-megawatt coal-fired power station
along the path of the James River Line at Bremo Bluff. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's Strathmore Yard, located nearby to the west, was once a junction to the Virginia Air Line Railway
, but was later abandoned. The railway along the James River is now owned by CSX Transportation
and is connected by the Buckingham Branch Railroad
to Dillwyn, Virginia
, which provides the coal to feed the power station.
Bremo Power Station is now operated by Dominion Resources
. An 80-megawatt generator entered service in 1950, followed by a 170-megawatt unit in 1958. After the original 30-megawatt system was shut down in 1972, total capacity has remained over 240 megawatts, delivered over a 30000 sq mi (77,699.6 km²) area. On June 25, 2008, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board voted to require Dominion Resources to adapt the plant to utilize natural gas
.
Bremo Bluff can be accessed from U.S. Route 15
and lies across the James River from Buckingham County, Virginia to the south. The historic area of the village, called "Bachelor's Quarters", is located along Fluvanna County Road 657.
Nearby to the west, the Bremo Historic District
includes the Cocke family plantation and is a National Historic Landmark
. Based on the Palladian architecture
of Thomas Jefferson
, the plantation mansion was designed by John Hartwell Cocke with master builder John Neilson, who had worked with Jefferson on Monticello
. The estate once included the Bremo Slave Chapel
, which has since been moved to the center of the Blemo Bluff village and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
of 23022 was populated by 328 men and 328 women in 2010. The median ages of the men and women were 40.8 and 41.8, respectively. The average home value was $56,000 and the average annual household income was $54,396. 129 people were employed across 14 local businesses, generating a total annual payroll of $6,243,000 as of 2010.
was discovered at Bremo Bluff by the Tellurium Mine, which also had been a source of various precious metals since 1832.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
located on the northern bank of 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...
in Fluvanna County
Fluvanna County, Virginia
As of 2002, Fluvanna County's population was 20,047. There are 7,387 households, and 5,702 families residing in the county. The population density was 70 people per square mile . There were 8,018 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
, 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...
, United States. The locale was established by the Cocke family in 1636. During the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the family of General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
sought refuge in the community. It is presently home to Bremo Power Station, which generates 3 percent of the total electricity delivered by utility company Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources Inc. , commonly referred to as Dominion, is a power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia and North Carolina and supplies natural gas to parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and eastern North Carolina...
.
History
Tidewater region of Virginia
The Tidewater region of Virginia is the eastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia formally known as Hampton Roads. The term tidewater may be correctly applied to all portions of any area, including Virginia, where the water level is affected by the tides...
. Richard Cocke, a British immigrant, was granted a land patent
Land patent
A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...
on March 6, 1636, that covered 3000 acres (12.1 km²) along the James River. The Cocke family settlement was named "Bremo" after their ancestral home of Braemore
Braemore
Braemore is a settlement in Berriedale in the Highland council area of Scotland....
in the United Kingdom.
To retain their claim as descendants, the brothers Benjamin and Richard Cocke cleared and developed the area around 1725. In 1808, John Hartwell Cocke
John Hartwell Cocke
John Hartwell Cocke II was an American military officer, planter and businessman. During the War of 1812, Cocke was a brigadier general of the Virginia militia....
began building a plantation estate of three houses, which he also named Bremo. He invested in the James River and Kanawha Company
James River and Kanawha Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a canal in Virginia, which was built to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast....
to develop a series of locks and canals that began operating around 1840 to improve river transportation. A boat wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
was built to accommodate the river traffic that became an important part of the local economy by the 1850s. However, a series of floods and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
brought an end to this era.
Mary Anna Custis Lee
Mary Anna Custis Lee
Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee was the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.-Biography:Mary Anna Custis Lee was the only surviving child of George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington's step-grandson and adopted son and founder of Arlington House, and Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, daughter...
, the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, stayed in the area on several occasions as a safe haven from the Civil War. She spent time at the Bremo Plantation
Bremo Historic District
Bremo, also known as Bremo Plantation or Bremo Historic District, is a plantation estate covering on the west side of Bremo Bluff in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The large mansion at Upper Bremo is believed to be based on the architectural work of Thomas Jefferson...
, where family friend Doctor Cary Charles Cocke built a special bed to accommodate her affliction from rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
. She was usually accompanied by her son Rob and daughters Agnes and Mildred. Despite the risk of prosecution, Mary Anna Custis Lee and Doctor Cocke were opposed to slavery and taught slaves to read, which was illegal at that time in the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. In November 1865 after the war, the Lee family departed for Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, where Robert E. Lee had become the president of Washington College
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
. A few months before the death of her husband in 1870, Mary Anna Custis Lee returned to visit the area once again.
Industrial development
The remnants of the local canal route were acquired by the Richmond and Allegheny RailroadRichmond and Allegheny Railroad
The Richmond and Alleghany Railroad was built along the James River along the route of the James River and Kanawha Canal from Richmond on the fall line at the head of navigation to a point west of Lynchburg near Buchanan, Virginia, and combined with the Buchanan and Clifton Forge Railway Company to...
in 1880 to build a new railway. Bremo Bluff soon became one of the five busiest stops for passenger and freight traffic. By 1918, four trains were stopping at the town each day.
In 1931, the Virginia Electric & Power Company constructed a 30-megawatt coal-fired power station
Coal-fired power station
A coal-fired power station produces electricity, usually for public consumption, by burning coal to boil water, producing steam which drives a steam turbine which turns an electrical generator...
along the path of the James River Line at Bremo Bluff. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's Strathmore Yard, located nearby to the west, was once a junction to the Virginia Air Line Railway
Virginia Air Line Railway
Virginia Air Line Railroad was a short-line railroad that operated from 1908 to 1975 in Central Virginia. It was built by the Virginia Air Line Railway Company to connect the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad's Piedmont Subdivision at Lindsay, Virginia, to the Rivanna Subdivision of C&O's James River...
, but was later abandoned. The railway along the James River is now owned by CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
and is connected by the Buckingham Branch Railroad
Buckingham Branch Railroad
Buckingham Branch Railroad is a Class III short-line railroad operating over 200 miles of historic and strategic trackage in Central Virginia...
to Dillwyn, Virginia
Dillwyn, Virginia
Dillwyn is an incorporated town in Buckingham County, Virginia, in the United States. The population was 447 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dillwyn is located at ....
, which provides the coal to feed the power station.
Bremo Power Station is now operated by Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources
Dominion Resources Inc. , commonly referred to as Dominion, is a power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia and North Carolina and supplies natural gas to parts of West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and eastern North Carolina...
. An 80-megawatt generator entered service in 1950, followed by a 170-megawatt unit in 1958. After the original 30-megawatt system was shut down in 1972, total capacity has remained over 240 megawatts, delivered over a 30000 sq mi (77,699.6 km²) area. On June 25, 2008, the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board voted to require Dominion Resources to adapt the plant to utilize natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
.
Landmarks
U.S. Route 15 in Virginia
U.S. Route 15 is a part of the U.S. Highway System that runs from Walterboro, South Carolina to Painted Post, New York. In Virginia, the U.S. Highway runs from the North Carolina state line near Clarksville north to the Maryland state line at the Potomac River near Lucketts...
and lies across the James River from Buckingham County, Virginia to the south. The historic area of the village, called "Bachelor's Quarters", is located along Fluvanna County Road 657.
Nearby to the west, the Bremo Historic District
Bremo Historic District
Bremo, also known as Bremo Plantation or Bremo Historic District, is a plantation estate covering on the west side of Bremo Bluff in Fluvanna County, Virginia. The large mansion at Upper Bremo is believed to be based on the architectural work of Thomas Jefferson...
includes the Cocke family plantation and is a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
. Based on the Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, the plantation mansion was designed by John Hartwell Cocke with master builder John Neilson, who had worked with Jefferson on Monticello
Monticello
Monticello is a National Historic Landmark just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was the estate of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, third President of the United States, and founder of the University of Virginia; it is...
. The estate once included the Bremo Slave Chapel
Bremo Slave Chapel
Bremo Slave Chapel, constructed in 1835 and located in Bremo Bluff, Virginia, USA, is the only slave chapel known to exist in the Commonwealth of Virginia. This Gothic Revival structure originally served as a place of worship for the slaves at the Bremo Plantation of General John Hartwell Cocke...
, which has since been moved to the center of the Blemo Bluff village and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
Demographics
Bremo Bluff is part of the Charlottesville metropolitan area. The local zip codeZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of 23022 was populated by 328 men and 328 women in 2010. The median ages of the men and women were 40.8 and 41.8, respectively. The average home value was $56,000 and the average annual household income was $54,396. 129 people were employed across 14 local businesses, generating a total annual payroll of $6,243,000 as of 2010.
Geology
The "Big Sandstone" vein of quartziteQuartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
was discovered at Bremo Bluff by the Tellurium Mine, which also had been a source of various precious metals since 1832.
External links
- Historic Bremo Bluff, Virginia
- Bremo Bluff, Virginia community profile at HomeTownLocator