Green Spring Plantation in James City County about west of Williamsburg, was the 17th century

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

of one of the most unpopular governors of Colonial Virginia in North America, Sir William Berkeley, and his wife, Frances Culpeper Berkeley. Sir William Berkeley, who served several terms, is perhaps the best-known of Virginia's colonial governors. Contrary to popular belief the well-known Berkeley Plantation in nearby Charles City County was not named in his honor. Today, a section of the land that formed the core of Green Spring Plantation is part of the Colonial National Historical Park. It also lends its name to the section of the multi-use Virginia Capital Trail that extends from Governor Berkeley's capital at Jamestown, past many former great plantations (including Berkeley plantation) to the current state capital at Richmond, Virginia.

History

The name Green Spring Plantation originated from the natural spring on the site, which continues over 350 years later to produce huge quantities of very beautifully clear, ultra cold water. The Green Spring produced a flow "so very cold that 'twas dangerous drinking the water thereof in Summer-time," wrote a visitor in the 1680s." The plantation house at Green Spring was built in 1645. The plantation originally encompassed a experimental

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

. Seeking alternative export products to supplement

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 ...

, which had become the Colony's mainstay, Green Spring produced flax,

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

potash Potash ( ) includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water- soluble form.

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

, and spirits, which were shipped to markets in North America, the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. The plantation was owned by Governor William Berkeley until his death in 1677. When Berkeley's widow Lady Frances married Philip Ludwell, ownership passed to him, and then to his son Philip Ludwell II and grandson Philip Ludwell III. On March 13, 1683, the Council determined that Greenspring windmill was to be the site of the building of the King's storehouse. Green Spring Plantation witnessed many historic events, including the beginnings of

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in Virginia, Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, the Battle of Green Spring during the

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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

in 1781, and the emancipation of its slaves in 1804, by the will of William Ludwell Lee, son of William Lee. In 1862, the property was also involved in the Battle of Williamsburg during the Peninsula Campaign of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. A second mansion on the site was burned during the Civil War.

Preservation

In the 21st century, about of the original plantation are preserved by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

(NPS) as part of the Colonial National Historical Park, which acquired the property in 1966. The site includes

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

and architectural remnants of the manor house and ancillary structures. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on December 29, 1978. It has been argued by historian Virginia B. Price that numerous Virginia county courthouses, including Hanover, King William, and Nelson, are, “arguably, the Green Spring house’s architectural legacy.”

References

External links

Friends of Green Spring
a large interactive web site with streaming video and more than a dozen essays ("The voices of Green Spring")

* ttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/hh/item/va0615/ Greenspring, State Route 614 vicinity, Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VAat the

Historic American Buildings Survey The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

(HABS)
Philip Ludwell III and Early American Orthodoxy , Ludwell.org

''Discourse and View of Virginia''

Green Spring Pathway to Freedom
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green Spring Plantation Protected areas of James City County, Virginia James River plantations Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Houses completed in 1645 National Register of Historic Places in James City County, Virginia Colonial National Historical Park Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia Houses in James City County, Virginia Burned houses in the United States 1645 establishments in the Colony of Virginia * Brick buildings and structures in Virginia

History

Preservation

See also

References

External links