Elk Island, located in

Goochland County, Virginia Goochland County is a county located in the Piedmont of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its southern border is formed by the James River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,727. Its county seat is Goochland. Goochland County is inclu ...

near Cartersville, is an island on the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

and across from the former Elk Hill plantation at the mouth of Byrd Creek. The island, one mile by five miles, is accessed by Elk Island Road ( Virginia State Route 603). Annual flooding, and particularly a flood of 1870 that covered the entire island, laid bare evidence of Native American occupations. Three skeletons were found to have been buried at the southern end of the island. Other bones were found when plowing the land a little deeper than normal. Two archaeological sites on the island, the Wright and Little River sites, provided evidence of

Late Archaic Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudonym used by Dave Groh ...

and Early Woodland period settlement through the presence of ceramic shards, including decorated

Potomac Creek Potomac Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 tidal tributary of the Potomac River in King George and Stafford counties, Virginia. Potomac Creek's s ...

pottery, and other artifacts. There is also evidence that people inhabited the land during the 17th century. The artifacts included

Delftware Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue () or as delf, is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands was the major cen ...

pottery, gun flints, and bottle glass. Elk Island was originally patented to John Woodson and Charles Fleming on 16 June 1714. It was subsequently purchased by John Thornton. On 6 April 1723, James Skelton, contractor for the Second Capitol at Williamsburg, purchased it from Thornton. Elk Island was part of the

John Wayles John Wayles (January 31, 1715 – May 28, 1773) was a colonial American planter, slave trader and lawyer in colonial Virginia. He is historically best known as the father-in-law of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. ...

and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

Elk Hill plantation holdings. Tobacco and corn were grown on the island. Jefferson attained the Elk Hill and Elk Island plantation through his wife, Martha Wayles Jefferson. Jefferson's son-in-law, Bathurst Skelton (Bathurst was NOT Jefferson's son in law. He was Martha Wayles's first husband. Upon his death, Martha then married Thomas Jefferson) also owned 1,000 acres on Elk Island. Bathurst Skelton was Martha Wayles' first husband. Both Skelton and later Thomas Jefferson used slaves to work the land. There were about 1,200 acres of fertile land on the island in 1894. In 1836, the James River and Kanawha Company evaluated the creation of a canal, an arm of which would end at the lower end of Elk Island, within the James River for transportation. The Elk Hill plantation conveyed their products to Richmond via canal boats. During the Revolutionary War, Elk Island and Elkhill were occupied by

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...

and his men for ten days, during which time they destroyed many of the crops on the plantation and slaughtered livestock for provisions. Jefferson visited the site not long after Cornwallis left, and later recorded what he had seen in a letter to William Gordon in Paris. It is now the location of the Elk Hill Winery.

Notes

References

{{authority control River islands of Virginia Geography of Goochland County, Virginia