Cobham was a small town in
Surry County, Virginia
Surry County is a county (United States), county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 6,561.
In 1652, Surry County was formed from the portion of James City County, Virginia, Jame ...
. It was established by an Act of the
Virginia House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...
in 1691, when each county in the
Virginia Colony
The Colony of Virginia, chartered in 1606 and settled in 1607, was the first enduring English colonial empire, English colony in North America, following failed attempts at settlement on Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland by Sir Humphrey GilbertG ...
was directed set aside of land for a town. Storehouses were to be built for products imported and
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
to be exported. It was ordered that the county sell half-acre lots for its citizens to inhabit the town. It was located at the mouth of Gray's Creek at the
James River
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 to Chesapea ...
across and somewhat downstream from
Jamestown. It was probably named for
Cobham, in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Cobham was active during the 18th and early 19th centuries, but eventually became one of the
Former counties, cities, and towns of Virginia
Former counties, cities, and towns of Virginia are those that existed within the English Colony of Virginia or, after statehood, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and no longer retain the same form within its boundaries. The settlements, towns, and ...
. According to the Surry County Historical Society, "today there is little evidence of the town, which became mostly farmland." The society reports that "farmers, while plowing the fields, have run into old foundations, as well as finding locks, broken china, and even a long-barreled pistol."
There is also a Cobham in eastern Albemarle County, Virginia. It is located at the intersection of Route 22 (Louisa Road) and Route 640 (St. John's Road / Cobham Station Lane), roughly halfway between Charlottesville and Louisa. The unincorporated community consists of horse farms and homes. Cobham had a train station until the early 20th Century, and one building remains next to the train tracks, thought to have been a feed store. The old train station building was moved to another site near Gordonsville where it is used as a home. The original one-story general store near the tracks was moved about two hundred feet up to Route 22, and with the addition of a two-story building in 1936, served as the Cobham General Store and Post Office until the mid-1990s. After serving other purposes, such as a tack store and internet business, the building was converted to a home in 2002.
Cobham
Former populated places in Virginia
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