SALEM CHURCH:
This church, four miles north, was used as a field hospital, June, 1864, following the action at Nance's Shop, where the Union cavalryman Gregg, guarding a wagon train, was attacked by Wade Hampton. Gregg was driven from the field but saved the wagons. Wounded soldiers were brought to the church and some of the dead were buried there.
SCENE OF JEFFERSON'S WEDDING:
Two miles east is the site of "The Forest,” home of Martha Wayles Skelton, widow of Bathurst Skelton. There she was married to Thomas Jefferson, January 1, 1772. The bridal couple drove in the snow to Jefferson's home, "Monticello."
SHERWOOD FOREST PRESIDENT JOHN TYLER'S HOME:
John Tyler purchased this plantation one mile west in his native Charles City in 1842 while serving as tenth president of the United States, and made it his home from 1845 until his death in 1862. Tyler lengthened the wooden 18th-century house to over 300 feet long, thereby creating the longest frame house in America. Before becoming president, Tyler had served Virginia as congressman, governor, U.S. senator and vice-president. He served as president of the Washington Peace Conference in Feb. 1861; both sides occupied his Sherwood Forest property during the Civil War. Sherwood Forest, a National Historic Landmark, remains the home of Tyler's descendants.
SHIRLEY:
The house is a short distance south. Shirley was first occupied in 1613 and was known as West-and-Shirley Hundred. In 1664, Edward Hill patented the place, which was left by the third Edward Hill to his sister, Elizabeth.Carter, in 1720. Here was born Anne Hill Carter, mother of Robert E. Lee, who often visited Shirley. The present house was built about 1740.
UPPER WEYANOKE:
In 1617, Opechancanough, Chief Powhatan' s younger brother, gave land to the south to future governor Capt. George Yeardley. Yeardley patented it and a portion became Upper Weyanoke, a James River plantation. Archaeological investigations there revealed an almost unbroken succession of settlements from the late 17th century to the late 19th century. On the grounds is a Greek Revival dwelling completed by 1859 for Robert Douthat. During the Civil War, about 14 June 1864 a pontoon bridge was constructed at Weyanoke Point across the James River for portions of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army. Upper Weyanoke was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
WESTOVER:
In 1619 the first settlement was made at Westover, about two miles southeast. Two settlers died in the Powhatan uprising of 1622. Theodorick Bland bought Westover in 1666;William Byrd I acquired it in l688. About 1730 his son, Colonel William Byrd II, built the present house, which exemplifies the high level of architectural quality attained during the colonial era. In January 1781 the British army under General Charles Cornwallis crossed the James River at Westover in pursuit of the Marquis de Lafayette.
WESTOVER CHURCH:
A short distance south is Westover Church. It was first built on the James River near Westover House early in the eighteenth century. About 1730 the site was changed and the present building erected. Defaced in the Campaign of 1862, the church was reopened for worship in 1867.