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Queen's Creek is located in York County in the
Virginia Peninsula The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay. It is sometimes known as the ''Lower Peninsula'' to distinguish it from two other peninsulas to the ...
area of the
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
region of southeastern
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 ...
in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. From a point of origin near the Waller Mill Reservoir in western York County, it flows northeasterly across the northern half of the Peninsula as a tributary of the York River.


17th century: anchoring the palisade

As Jamestown in the
Colony of Virginia 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 first settled by English colonists beginning in 1607 along 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 ...
, the colonists had frequent and violent confrontations with the
Powhatan peoples The Powhatan people (; also spelled Powatan) may refer to any of the indigenous Algonquian people that are traditionally from eastern Virginia. All of the Powhatan groups descend from the Powhatan Confederacy. In some instances, The Powhatan ...
who had long lived there. The two cultures had differing ideas of land use and the Powhatan hunting grounds and territory were encroached on by the increasing number of colonists. In addition, after 1612 they began to clear land and cultivate it for tobacco production, exacerbated by their cultivation of land-hungry
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 ...
as a
cash crop A cash crop or profit crop is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") ...
to export after 1612. Queen's Creek became important to the colony as an area to be fortified in the 1630s. Colonists discussed the idea of a
palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...
or fortification across the peninsula as early as 1611. But, colonist
John Rolfe John Rolfe (1585 – March 1622) was one of the early English settlers of North America. He is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco as an export crop in the Colony of Virginia in 1611. Biography John Rolfe is believed ...
married
Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...
, daughter of the Powhatan, in 1614 and the colony enjoyed a period of relative peace with the Natives. Following the uprising of the Powhatan and their
Indian Massacre of 1622 The Indian massacre of 1622, popularly known as the Jamestown massacre, took place in the English Colony of Virginia, in what is now the United States, on 22 March 1622. John Smith, though he had not been in Virginia since 1609 and was not an ey ...
, colonists revisited the cross-peninsula palisade. In 1623, 73 settlers were slain in
Martin's Hundred Martin's Hundred was an early 17th-century plantation located along about ten miles (16 km) of the north shore of the James River in the Virginia Colony east of Jamestown in the southeastern portion of present-day James City County, Virginia. ...
at
Wolstenholme Towne Wolstenholme Towne was an English settlement in the Colony of Virginia, east of the colonial capital, Jamestown. One of the earliest English settlements in the New World, the town existed for roughly four years until its destruction in the I ...
, situated on the James about below Jamestown; the survivors temporarily abandoned the settlement. Governor Francis Wyatt and his Council wrote to the
Earl of Southampton Earl of Southampton was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1537 in favour of the courtier William FitzWilliam. He was childless and the title became extinct on his death in 1542. The se ...
that they had under consideration a plan of "winning the forest" by running a pale between the James and York rivers. Dr.
John Pott John Potts (or Pott) was a physician and Colonial Governor of Virginia at the Jamestown settlement in the Virginia Colony in the early 17th century. Biography John Potts is said to have taken his degree of M.A., at Oxford University in 1605. H ...
s blazed the way by obtaining on July 12, 1632 a patent for at the head of Archer's Hope Creek (later renamed
College Creek College Creek (formerly named Archer's Hope Creek) is located in James City County in the Virginia Peninsula area of the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia in the United States. From a point of origin near the independent city of Wi ...
), midway between the James River at Archer's Hope and the former Native American village of
Chiskiack Kiskiack (or Chisiack or Chiskiack) was a Native American tribal group of the Powhatan Confederacy in what is present-day York County, Virginia. The name means "Wide Land" or "Bread Place" in the native language, one of the Virginia Algonquian ...
near the York River. On September 4, 1632, the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
expanded the program of granting land to settlers of Chiskiack, and offered
headrights A headright refers to a legal grant of land given to settlers during the period of European colonization in the Americas. Headrights are most notable for their role in the expansion of the Thirteen Colonies; the Virginia Company gave headrights to s ...
land to all persons settling between Queen's Creek and Archer's Hope Creek. In February 1633, the assembly voted to have men in "the compasse of the forest" east of Archer's Hope and Queen's Creek to
Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...
(essentially all of the lower peninsula) to go "before the first day of March next" to Dr. John Potts' plantation, "newlie built," to erect houses and secure the land in that quarter. Work on the palisade commenced by March 1, 1633. With this labor, palisades, six miles (10 km) in length, were run from creek to creek. Queen's Creek drained the northern half of the nearby section of the Peninsula, with a watershed leading to the York River. The two creeks and the palisade in between created a barrier from river to river. At the high ridge at the midpoint, a settlement to be called Middle Plantation was made, later to be known as Williamsburg. By 1634, the palisade (or stockade) was completed, providing some security from attacks by the Powhatan tribes for colonists farming and fishing lower on the Peninsula. The palisade was anchored at its center by Middle Plantation. It was described in the following extract from a letter written in 1634, from Jamestown, by Captain Thomas Yonge: "a strong palisade ... upon a streight between both rivers and ... a sufficient force of men to defence of the same, whereby all the lower part of Virginia have a range for their cattle, near fortie miles in length and in most places twelve miles (19 km) broade. The pallisades is very neare six miles (10 km) long, bounded in by two large Creekes. ... in this manner to take also in all the grounde between those two Rivers, and so utterly excluded the Indians from thence; which work is conceived to be of extraordinary benefit to the country ..." After 1644, the Native Americans of the Powhatan Confederacy had been overcome and were no longer a threat. When the palisade fell into disrepair, it was not restored. Almost all traces eventually disappeared. Middle Plantation began to grow as a settlement, largely due to early efforts of the Ludwell brothers and Colonel John Page and his sons, who built fine brick homes and helped with the establishment of the brick
Bruton Parish Church Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epi ...
. The settlement became more prominent in the 1690s, when Reverend Dr. James Blair, Commissary of the
Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in the colony, returned from a successful trip to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
with a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
for the new
College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...
to be built there. Blair and the trustees of the College of William and Mary bought a parcel of from Thomas Ballard, the proprietor of
Rich Neck Plantation Rich Neck Plantation was located in James City County, Virginia in the Colony of Virginia. History Rich Neck Plantation (not to be confused with Richneck Plantation in nearby Warwick County), was established around 1632 as part of the community ...
, for the new school. This was on the western outskirts of Middle Plantation, just a short distance from the almost new brick
Bruton Parish Church Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epi ...
, a focal point of the extant community. The new college opened in temporary buildings in 1694. Properly called the "College Building," the first version of the Wren Building was built at Middle Plantation beginning on August 8, 1695 and occupied by 1700. (The present-day College still stands upon those grounds, adjacent to and just west of the restored historic area known in modern times as
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
). After the statehouse at Jamestown burned in 1698, the legislature moved temporarily to Middle Plantation, as it had in the past. Upon suggestion of students of the College, the capital was permanently relocated there. Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in 1699. Nearby, Archer's Hope Creek was renamed as College Creek.


19th century: another defensive line

In the mid-19th century, during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, Queen's Creek and College Creek again served as parts of another cross-peninsula defensive barrier. The center section erected on land was located further east. Queen's Creek became the northern anchor of the
Williamsburg Line Fort Magruder was a high earthen fortification straddling the road between Yorktown and Williamsburg, Virginia, just outside the latter city (and former Virginia state capital) during the American Civil War. At the center of the Williamsburg L ...
. This was a series of 14 redoubts east of town, with earthen
Fort Magruder Fort Magruder was a high earthen fortification straddling the road between Yorktown and Williamsburg, Virginia, just outside the latter city (and former Virginia state capital) during the American Civil War. At the center of the Williamsburg L ...
(also known as Redoubt # 6) at the crucial junction of the two major roads leading to Williamsburg from the east. The design and construction had been oversee by the College of William and Mary's President
Benjamin S. Ewell Benjamin Stoddert Ewell (June 10, 1810 – June 19, 1894) was a United States and Confederate army officer, civil engineer, and educator from James City County, Virginia. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in ...
, who owned a farm in James City County. He was commissioned as an officer in the Confederate Army after the College closed in June 1861 for the duration of the war. There was combat in the Williamsburg area in the spring of 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign, a Union effort to take Richmond from the east from a base at
Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
. Throughout late 1861 and early 1862, the small contingent of Confederate defenders was known as the Army of the Peninsula, and led by popular General
John B. Magruder John Bankhead Magruder (May 1, 1807 – February 18, 1871) was an American and Confederate military officer. A graduate of West Point, Magruder served with distinction during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) and was a prominent Confede ...
. He successfully used ruse tactics to bluff the invaders as to the size and strength of his forces. He intimidated them into a slow movement up the Peninsula, gaining valuable time defenses to be constructed for the Confederate capital at Richmond. In early May 1862, after holding off the Union troops for more than a month, the defenders withdrew quietly from the
Warwick Line The Warwick Line (also known as the Warwick–Yorktown line) was a defensive works across the Virginia Peninsula maintained along the Warwick River by Confederate General John B. Magruder against much larger Union forces under General George B. ...
(stretching across the Peninsula between Yorktown and
Mulberry Island Mulberry Island is located along the James River in the city of Newport News, Virginia, in southeastern Virginia at the confluence of the Warwick River on the Virginia Peninsula. History Mulberry Island, settled shortly after Jamestown, was ...
). As General
George McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
's Union forces moved up the Peninsula to pursue the retreating Confederate forces, a rear guard force led by General
James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...
and supported by General
J.E.B. Stuart James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart (February 6, 1833May 12, 1864) was a United States Army officer from Virginia who became a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb,” from the initials of ...
's cavalry blocked their westward progression at the Williamsburg Line. At the
Battle of Williamsburg The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitc ...
on May 5, 1862, and the next day, May 6, the city fell to the Union. But, the retreating defenders behind the Williamsburg Line had succeeded in delaying the Union forces long enough for the retreating Confederates safely to reach the outer defenses of Richmond. McClellan besieged Richmond resulted, culminating in the
Seven Days Battles The Seven Days Battles were a series of seven battles over seven days from June 25 to July 1, 1862, near Richmond, Virginia, during the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E. Lee drove the invading Union Army of the Potomac, command ...
, but he failed to take the city. The War dragged on for nearly 3 more years at great cost to lives and finances for both sides before its conclusion in April 1865. Much damage was done to the Williamsburg area during the Union occupation, which lasted until September 1865.1850 – 1899 , Historical Facts
, William and Mary College


20th–21st centuries

In the 1930s, the
Merrimack Trail Merrimack Trail is the local name for State Route 143 as it passes through portions of York County and James City County and the independent city of Williamsburg in the Virginia Peninsula subregion of Hampton Roads in Virginia. History With ...
was improved as State Route 168 from Anderson Corner (near Toano in western James City County) to the eastern tip of the Peninsula to reach ferry services across the harbor of
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
to
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. Its purpose was to supplement the capacity of parallel U.S. Route 60, especially as traffic volume grew with the development of
Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...
. It featured a bridge across College Creek. Nearby, the new State Route 132 was built to provide access to the Colonial Parkway, the Visitor's Center of Colonial Williamsburg, and a planned non-commercially featured entrance to the Historic Area and downtown points. The brick colonial-style
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 ...
station has been restored and is used as the
Williamsburg Transportation Center Williamsburg Transportation Center is an intermodal transit station in Williamsburg, Virginia. Operated by the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority, it also serves Amtrak's '' Northeast Regional'' train as well as Greyhound Lines and Hampton Roads ...
). Route 132 bridged Queen's Creek, slightly upstream from the Merrimack Trail. In the 1960s,
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 ...
was built through the area. The bridges across Queen's Creek, which has grown wide by that point, are among the largest along the highway in York County. Motorists in both directions are given a scenic view of the brackish creek, adjacent
wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s and waterfowl. North of Interstate 64, Queen's Creek forms the border between the military reservations land of
Camp Peary Camp Peary is an approximately 9,000 acre U.S. military reservation in York County near Williamsburg, Virginia. Officially referred to as an Armed Forces Experimental Training Activity (AFETA) under the authority of the Department of Defense, ...
and the Cheatham Annex section of the
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Naval Weapons Station Yorktown is a United States Navy base in York County, James City County, and Newport News in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. It provided a weapons and ammunition storage and loading facility for ships of the United ...
. The former towns of Magruder and Bigler's Mill were located north of Queen's Creek in this area. The former town of Penniman was located south of Queen's Creek and north of King's Creek, near their respective confluences with the York River. With the development of the military reservations, the three towns were condemned and evacuated for the military development, joining other "lost towns" of Virginia. Many displaced residents relocated nearby; some families and their descendants live in Grove in southeastern James City County.


See also

*
List of rivers of Virginia This is a list of rivers in the U.S. state of Virginia. By drainage basin This list is arranged by drainage basin, with respective tributaries, arranged in the order of their confluence from mouth to source, indented under each larger stream's nam ...


Sources


Publications

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


Websites


''"Cast Down Your Buckets Where You Are"
An Ethnohistorical Study of the African-American Community on the Lands of the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station 1865-1918''


External links


York County websiteHampton Roads Economic Development Alliance
- serving York County {{authority control Rivers of York County, Virginia Rivers of Virginia