Bumpass, Virginia
Encyclopedia
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 primarily in Louisa County
Louisa County, Virginia
Louisa County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 33,153. The county seat is Louisa.- History :...
, 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, but covering a small portion of both Spotsylvania and Hanover Counties as well. It has received moderate fame for its unusual name. Named for the Bumpass family (from the French Bon Pas meaning "good step") who lived in the area when it was named. It is known for its many farms, defunct ice cream spoon factory, alpaca
Alpaca
An alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of to above sea level, throughout the year...
ranches, and lumbering operations. It contains most of Lake Anna
Lake Anna
Lake Anna is one of the largest freshwater inland lakes in Virginia, covering an area of 13,000 acres , and located 72 miles south of Washington, D.C. in Louisa and Spotsylvania counties...
and several houses and estates from the 18th to early 20th centuries, including Jerdone Castle
Jerdone Castle
Jerdone Castle is a plantation located in Bumpass, Virginia, dating from 1742. Jerdone Castle is a Virginia Historic Landmark and registered on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places. Originally , much of the plantation's original land is submerged under Lake Anna. The estate currently...
, a plantation (now lakefront) dating to 1742 that is a Virginia Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historical Places. In addition, Bumpass is the home of Argonaut BioFuels, one of the largest biomass-to-energy facilities in the country currently under construction. Alternate names associated with the locality include Bumpas, Bumpass Station, Bumpass Turnout, Jackson District, Northern District, and Second Turnout.
Demographics
History
Bumpass is named for Captain John Thomas Bumpass Sr. (1822–1884). "Capt. Tom" was the son of Jack Bumpass (first with this name to settle in the area). He was a captain of the Virginia State Militia who during the Civil WarAmerican 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...
provided fuel and water for troop trains along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad (then Louisa Railroad). The site of the old Bumpass farm marks the point where the Bumpass community was first sprung from a small hamlet situated along a turnout
Railroad switch
A railroad switch, turnout or [set of] points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another at a railway junction....
. Suiting to its original namesake of 2nd Turnout renamed Bumpass' Turnout or later to be known as simply Bumpass. Over the years the area began to expand and grow from one hamlet to a variable of localities such as Buckner and Locust Creek. Like other peculiar named place Bumpass has gathered a moderate reputation for unusualness. It has frequently been the site of a multiple things that are either simply just curious or which are picturesque of such a remote sort of area. Such is the case of the Grasberger Ice Cream Spoon Factory which specialized in the manufacturing of ice cream spoons, paper ice cream plates, and pickle/cocktail forks. It shut down in the 1920s, but in 2001 some of Goochland County's
Goochland County, Virginia
Goochland County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the population was 21,717. Its county seat is Goochland. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area ....
"Field Day of the Past" volunteers salvaged much of the Grasberger's old equipment and transported it from Louisa County to Goochland County. There it remains an important part of an exhibit on late 19th century machinery. The nostalgic phrase “George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
slept here” (a frequent claim to fame by many varying small communities) also applies to this area. As on the night of June 10, 1791, the former President made an overnight visit to Jerdone Castle
Jerdone Castle
Jerdone Castle is a plantation located in Bumpass, Virginia, dating from 1742. Jerdone Castle is a Virginia Historic Landmark and registered on the U.S. National Register of Historical Places. Originally , much of the plantation's original land is submerged under Lake Anna. The estate currently...
, located in Bumpass.
External links
- Chronology of the C&Os Piedmont Sub, Bumpass (Site about Bumpass, Virginia)
- Bumpass Family History, Relevant to Bumpass, VA (txt file)
- The Bumpus Brothers Website
- Bumpass Family History, Complete
- Bumpass (23024) Data