Cobham was a small town in
Surry County, Virginia. It was established by an Act of the
Virginia House of Burgesses in 1691, when each county in the
Virginia Colony was directed set aside of land for a town. Storehouses were to be built for products imported and
tobacco 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 across and somewhat downstream from
Jamestown. It was probably named for
Cobham, in
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
Cobham was active during the 18th and early 19th centuries, but eventually became one of the
Former counties, cities, and towns of Virginia. 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.
References
Cobham
Former populated places in Virginia
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