Lightfoot, Virginia
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Lightfoot (formerly Kelton) is an
unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
which straddles the James City
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
county border, west of Williamsburg, in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. Originally known as Six-Mile Ordinary, Lightfoot is six miles west of the colonial capital on the Richmond Road ( U.S. Route 60), which, as well as Centerville and Longhill roads, dates to the pre-Revolutionary War period. Six-Mile Ordinary was located along the old
stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
road to New Kent County and
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
. (An ''ordinary'' was a colonial-era
tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...
with food and lodging for travelers and their horses.) Nearby, by tradition, the land at War Hill (or, as it came to be called, Warhill) is named for an
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
battle that took place there on June 26, 1781, between British troops under
Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...
and allied forces under the
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
. Nearly 150 men were killed or wounded in the battle, which occurred during the campaign that led to the victory at Yorktown, establishing independence for Virginia and the United States. In 1881, the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...
was built through the area, and a local station named Kelton was established in what is now the Lightfoot area. The source of the station's name is not clear. In 1882, when a post office was established, the first postmaster suggested the name of Philip Lightfoot, who had been a prominent lawyer and merchant prior to 1748. However, it may also have been named for Lightfoot Taylor, who ran a stage stop there in the 1880s. In modern times, Lightfoot is probably best known as home to the expansive
Williamsburg Pottery Factory Williamsburg Pottery Factory is a large, multi-structure retail outlet store located in Lightfoot, Virginia, about west of Williamsburg. It was founded in 1938 by James E. Maloney as a small pottery workshop. The Williamsburg Pottery Factory now m ...
. At one time, the entrance to the Lightfoot community had a sign that read "Welcome to Lightfoot, Home of the Williamsburg Pottery Factory." Lightfoot also has a strip of outlet and specialty shops, hotels, motels, and restaurants, including the Great Wolf Lodge family resort, and a small but popular amusement park called Go-Karts Plus. In 2006, the Sentara Health System opened the new
Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center Sentara Healthcare is a not-for-profit healthcare organization serving Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. It is based in Norfolk, Virginia and offers services in 12 acute care hospitals, with 3,739 beds, 853,000 members in its health plan, ...
off Mooretown Road. Nearby are
Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange w ...
, U.S. Route 60, and State Route 199, a semi-circumferential highway around Williamsburg that has its western terminus at Lightfoot. Near Great Wolf Lodge is
Bruton High School Bruton High School is a high school located north of Williamsburg in the unincorporated community of Lightfoot in York County, Virginia. The school opened in 1976. It is part of the York County School Division, serving upper county citizens in ...
, which opened in 1976. By the late 20th century, the 588-acre (238 ha) Warhill tract was one of the largest undeveloped parcels of land in the area. In 1996, it was purchased for public use. Located on Centerville Road near the interchange of U.S. Route 60 and State Route 199, the land was envisioned as multi-purpose in James City County's "Master Plan." In 1999, the Warhill Sports Complex opened adjacent to the site of the new high school. In 2005, construction began on the new
Warhill High School Warhill High School is a public high school operated by the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (WJCC). Serving the joint school division of the independent city of Williamsburg and James City County, Virginia, the school is located at ...
of
Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools The Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (locally known also as ''WJCC'' or ''WJC'') is a combined public school division which serves the independent city of Williamsburg and James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hamp ...
, which opened in the fall of 2007.


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system, Lightfoot has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Lightfoot, Virginia
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Further reading

*McCartney, Martha W. (1977) ''James City County: Keystone of the Commonwealth''; James City County, Virginia; Donning and Company;


References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in James City County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in York County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia