Virginia Landing, Quinby, VA – June 27-July 3, 2016

This week promised to be very warm, and humid—much like I remember it being when I lived here back in the ‘70s. Ugh! Throughout the week temperatures started in the mid- to high 70s and rose to the mid- to high 80s, with the threat of thunderstorms.

We joined new friends Steve and Kathy for happy hour at their camper on Monday, and shared with them our trips through the U.S. They’ve been full-timing for 3 years. It’s always fun to get someone else's perspective on traveling and seeing the sights. From here, they leave Wednesday and head northeast to Maine, then back to this area to camp host in October.

Tuesday’s weather brought leftover rain from Monday’s night’s storm, so we stayed in all day. I was productive, though; I cleaned out the kitchen cupboards. Yea!

We ventured out Wednesday, to see more historical sites in this part of the country. We headed south to Cape Charles and the surrounding area, about 20 miles away. Our first stop was to the historical Custis home site along Old Plantation Creek.

In about 1670, John Custis, II built a great mansion on the shores of  Old Plantation Creek. It was unlike any other in the Virginia Colony. The house and land was subsequently bequeathed to his grandson, John Custis, IV. Both are buried near the home site (upper right). Descendants continued to own the property well into the 19th century, but it remained unoccupied. The house deteriorated and was demolished; by the 20th century none of the former glory remained. Archeological digs have revealed the mansion's foundations, post holes, several wells, the remains what could have been slave quarters, and quite a few artifacts.

 

In the mid-1600s, John Custis, II built a home—actually a mansion—calling it “Arlington” after his ancestral home in the small Cotswold hills of Gloucester, England, west of London. Although it’s one of the most historic properties in our nation, its significance is little known. With his family’s trading connections in Europe, Custis grew wealthy through trade, land speculation and tobacco planting. (It was once a sprawling 1,000+ acre plantation.) His wealth grew, and so his need for a beautiful home that showcased his wealth and status. The foundation measured 54’ x 43½’; it had three stories, plus a basement (unheard of at that time) and 4 fireplaces. The mansion was rivaled only by the home of Virginia Governor Sir William Berkeley near Jamestown. (During Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, Arlington became the capital of the Virginia Colony for a short time, when Governor Berkeley fled from capital in Jamestown to the relative safe Arlington with John Custis II. Bacon’s Rebellion was basically a power struggle between Governor Berkeley and Nathaniel Bacon, Jr. over economic issues between the colonists and local Indian tribes. Go here for more information on the rebellion.)

John Custis II bequeathed his plantation house to his grandson, John Custis, IV, who lived there for only about 7 years, on and off, due his tumultuous marriage to Francis Parke. He subsequently took residence in his bachelor pad in Jamestown. Both John Custis, II and John Custis, IV are buried at Arlington, near the site of where the mansion once stood. The family burial plot here contains only those two tombs. And, although descendants continued to own the property well into the 19^th century, no one occupied the dwelling. The house deteriorated and was eventually demolished; by the 20^th century nothing of the former glory of Arlington remained. 

These artifacts and model of Arlington are housed at the Cape Charles museum.

Above is the model of Arlington, home of John Custis, II near Cape Charles. Archeologists discovered that the walls had been covered in both whitewashed and unpainted white plaster. Surviving pieces (upper right) indicate that areas of interior masonry and lathing were plastered between exposed framing members. The decorated piece of Arlington's roughcut (bottom right) probably adorned a window jamb on the 3rd floor or attic. A similarly shaped cartouche found in a Williamsburg house may signify that the heart symbol may have had religious significance. "The heart leads, directs, and moves the parts of the body and powers the soul" -- 1867 religious trace. "A true heart is worth a crown of gold." -- Dutch proverb.

The name Custis was familiar to us, from our recollections of American History. Here’s why. John Custis, IV was Martha Custis Washington’s first father-in-law. Martha married George Washington following the death of her first husband. Martha’s grandson, George Washington Parke Custis, built a home on the outskirts of Washington, DC, which he named Arlington House after the original home in southern Virginia. This house became the property of Mary Ann Randolph Custis, who subsequently married Robert E. Lee. Today, it's the site of Arlington National Cemetery.

It’s so cool to wander through these historic sites! As we were driving back to the highway, a doe and 2 fawns were alongside the road. Just an added treat to our day!

Next, we stopped in Cape Charles to see the museum there and investigate the town. One thing to note is that Cape Charles is the location of Bay Creek Resort, home or (2) 18-hole golf courses: an Arnold Palmer designed course and a Jack Nicklaus designed course. The Palmer course is reported to be a bit less difficult to play. We didn’t stop there.

After this we drove a bit north to see Eastville, and the historic court house grounds. The clerk’s office here holds the oldest continuous county records in the U.S., dating back to 1632. Eastville has been the county seat of Northampton county, Virginia since 1680. The Declaration of Independence was publicly read from the steps of this courthouse in August 1776. How cool! It took 5 weeks for the document to be carried from Philadelphia to Eastville.

This courthouse was the first masonry courthouse in Northampton County, and is one of the few first generation brick courthouses still in existence. It was built by a man named John Marshall for the tidy sum of 50,000 pounds of tobacco. The building was 23’ x 40’ and included large sash windows, wooden floors, and the provision for an upstairs room. It also included architectural embellishments such as chevron-patterned gabled ends, and a double-cut molded water table.

The Colonial Clerk’s Office had the job of recording and maintaining a complete repository of deeds, wills, inventory and order books, published laws and County handbooks, in addition to all records of County laws and administration, and the administrations of Episcopal parishes. 

Eastville still has these old records because the court ignored a summons to bring all important records to Richmond for safekeeping during the Civil War; thankfully they ignored the order, as Richmond burned. (Twenty-two counties lost their records due to fires during the course of history.) The biggest impediment to research in Northampton County is that the books are indexed by name rather than subject. Although it’s difficult to search about the Declaration of Independence, it’s easy to look up a name of someone who was there!

 

In the clerk’s office at the new courthouse you can see the original dark brown leather cover with a black design, from a volume labeled “No. 1, 1632-1640.” The hand writing is beautiful, but difficult to read, as it’s written in Old English. Among others, you are able to see the stick figures of an Indian Chief’s signature, and a property transfer from Daniel Boone in 1792. 

The records reside in a climate-controlled fire-proof room in the new courthouse, where once they were kept in a fireproof room in the 1899 courthouse, protected by an iron door, iron shutters, and a metal ceiling.

Nearby is the debtor’s prison. There was a need to segregate debtors from the felonious prisoners. By 1690 logs were used in the construction of jails; they provided more security and required fewer costly nails. Then, just as now, prisoners were determined to break free from captivity by prying through wallboards and floorboards, setting fires, or by simply squeezing through the small jail windows. In 1719 Northampton County recorded the building specs for a new jail: a 16’ square building with 5” thick log walls, 4” thick floors, reinforced dovetail joints at the building’s corners, and ceiling joists pinned to the top logs of the walls. Heavy door with 3 study strap hinges and padlock, the double layer of bars across the windows, and the walls reinforced with brick and boards held in place by numerous hand-wrought nails prevented prison escapes. The typical prison was furnished with only a stool, straw pallet, and a chamber pot.

These artifacts are on display in a small museum room in the old courthouse.

Leaving Eastville, we decided lunch was in order so we stopped at Machipongo Trading Company, along Highway 13. Dick had a salmon salad panini and, since I’m always looking for good barbeque I had a North Carolina-style pulled pork sandwich. Yum-yum!

While we were there we received the sad news that my sister-in-law’s 87 year-old mom passed away unexpectedly that morning. She lived in Wheaton, Illinois, and for many years along with her husband, were missionaries in Pakistan. (He had passed a few years ago.) My brother Ron and Debby, his wife, drove to Wheaton from Roseau, Minnesota on Thursday, with plans for a memorial service next Wednesday. 

After Dick worked on some Bay View stuff Thursday morning, we headed north to Accomac, Virginia to see historic houses. Little did we know we’d find some interesting items in the Clerk’s Office, too! On the way out of the park we came across a small doe alongside the road. She scampered off before we could get a photo.

We first stopped at the Eastern Shore Public Library to get information on a walking tour that was publicized in some of the visitor magazines we had obtained. Then, we started our tour at the Accomack County Courthouse. (Note the difference in spelling: the county is spelled Accomack, while the town is spelled Accomac.)

Erected in 1899, it replaced an earlier--and, they say, prettier one—that had been built on the same site in 1756. We found the Clerk’s Office located on the west side of the Courthouse Green, to be more interesting.

Here are record books dating back to 1663, the second oldest continuous court records in the nation (oldest are at Eastville). In one of the giant volumes labeled “Accomack County Orders 1714-1717”

We found the following:

The Accomack County Clerk's Office holds documents and books dating back to 1663, the 2nd oldest continuous court documents in the nation (the oldest are in Eastville, VA in the Northampton County Court House). In a giant volume labeled Accomack County Orders 1714-1717 are ancient graffiti written on the original flyleaf. "God Save the King" is written in one hand, and directly beneath it is written "God Damn the King" in another hand. The volumes, all handwritten, fill multiple rooms, and have been preserved to prevent deterioration. They are kept in a fireproof and climate controlled environment.

The old cannon on the Green is one of several in Accomac dating from the American Revolution. We found 2 other on our walk. The cannon near the Accomac Hotel is where visitors were sent if they wished to return some day to Accomac, there to chant, “Whoever doth this ancient gun embrace, Will surely to the town his steps retrace.” The 3^rd cannon is found farther down Front Street in the front yard, almost completely hidden from view by ivy.

Most of the homes/buildings we saw are private residences now so they’re not open to the public, but we did find them most interesting to view from the outside. Quite a few of the homes were well hidden behind trees and shrubbery.

We started our tour across the street from the Courthouse Green, at the Accomac Hotel. Now it’s a private home, but it was the birthplace of Henry A. Wise (1807-1876), the Virginia Shore’s most prominent son, a political leader of national statue in the mid-1800s.

Next, we walked west along Front Street to the Seymour House (1791). It’s the perfect example of the characteristic “big house, little house, colonnade, kitchen” architecture. It is said to contain an undiscovered buried cache of money and no fewer than 3 ghosts. Also on the property is a well—preserved ice house.

Next was a stop at Rural Hill (1816), the site of an early Presbyterian church from 1765 to about 1790.

Turning south down Drummondtown Road, we stopped at the historical St. James Episcopal Church (1838). The congregation first erected their church 1 mile south of town in 1767, but decided to move to the village of Accomac to compete with the Methodists and Presbyterians. They dismantled the old building, carted the bricks to its present site, and built this handsome Greek Revival church. In some places the walls are 20” thick! In 1855 a traveling artist named Jean G. Potts was commissioned to decorate the interior, which he did with exceptional tromp d’oeil painting. The painting has been restored, but a portion on the back wall of the church has been left undisturbed to show his original work.

Continuing down the road we came to Bloodworth Cottage (1776), then a home built with a large front porch (1890), and Woodbridge cottage, a tiny 2-room home with no front door (1700).

Next, was the Drummondtown United Methodist Church, originally built in 1793, but was replaced in 1918 with this one, complete with stained glass windows.

Two doors down from the church is Roseland, dating back to the 1750s, making it possibly the oldest house in Accomac. It’s almost completely hidden from view by trees and shrubs, but is comprised of 5 sections, the largest of which was built in 1826. It was so hidden we couldn’t even find it!

We retraced our steps to Back Street which is considered by many to be the loveliest street on the Eastern Shore. Our first stop was to The Rectory to St. James Episcopal Church (1811). This house was selected by Union General Lockwood as his headquarters in 1861. We had a special treat, seeing a cardinal on the front steps.

A small frame building in the front yard of the Rectory was used as General Lockwood’s telegraph office. It had been built in the 1850s by a local physician who used it for his practice. Next door is the Paramore House (1881).

Our walk continued down Back Street to the Makemie Presbyterian Church (1837), the oldest of this denomination on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. There were just 2 charter members of this church when it was founded; one was from New York City where he was able to obtain the pulpit furnishings from Brick Presbyterian Church in that city. It was severely damaged during the Union occupation, but has been restored to its mid-19^th century appearance. Behind the church is a statue of Francis Makemie (erected in 1908 and moved to this site in 1984), for whom the church is named. 

The Seven Gables home is just across the street from the Presbyterian Church. It was begun in 1788; subsequent owners kept adding to it. The result is the U-shaped house of today.

Continuing down Back Street we came to the Fletcher House (1817) which closely resembles the Rectory. The white lintels above the windows and doors are made of wood but painted to look like stone. Then came the Tanyard House (1800), named for the owners of the tannery that once operated next door.

Then we came to The Haven (1794), composed of 6 sections that total half a football field in length (although it’s hard to see through the shrubbery and trees).

Drummondville Baptist Church is next, which dates from 1913, replacing an older building dating to 1870. In the yard of the church is a monument to Elijah Baker, founder of the Baptist faith on the peninsula.

Rather than walk farther east—mainly due to the temperature of the day, and the fact that we had forgotten to bring water with us—we turned west on Front Street to the Bayly House (1810), built for Congressman Thomas M. Bayly and his family. The cannon in the front yard marks one of the 4 corners of the area within which trusted prisoners from the jail were allowed to wander.

By this time we were out of gas, so we walked back to the Courthouse to retrieve our truck. Directly across from the parking lot still stands the Debtor’s Prison, our last stop on our walking tour. Its construction is much like that of the prison we saw in Eastville.

We downed water and cooled off as we drove to the local Walmart to pick up a few items. Then, we headed home. 

When we got back to the camper Dick called ahead to our next destination in Gasbury, Virginia, only to find out that they didn’t have our reservation for next week. Apparently, they don’t accept our RPI club over holidays—now what…! He contacted the office here and, luckily, was able to extend our reservation at Virginia Landing for another week. Yea!

Temperatures continued in the mid-80s on Friday, beginning at 78° already at 7 a.m. While Dick rode his bicycle around the park for about ½ hour, I vacuumed and dusted the camper. Whew! Even with AC on it was not pleasant! That afternoon and evening brought a huge thunderstorm and rain; some parts of this area got up to 3” in just a short while. We stayed in.

Saturday, another warm day, came with bright sunshine and a light breeze. The humidity was low, at just 44%, making it very pleasant to be outdoors in spite of the heat. Dick rode the motorcycle for 65 miles, around the southeast quadrant of the peninsula. These geese attempted to make friends with him, while he was riding through Willis Wharf, VA.

We woke to heavy rain on Sunday morning—actually a torrential downpour—which lasted on and off throughout the day. Temperatures dipped from yesterday’s high of 85° to a low this morning of 64°. Brrr! I know that doesn’t seem cold, but when the humidity is 94%, the wind is blowing, and the rain is coming down, it’s rather chilly.

We decided to drive to Exmore, VA for breakfast regardless of the rain. What a wonderful decision! The Exmore Diner has been around since 1954 and is probably the most popular restaurant in the area for good, fresh food at relatively low prices. The retro diner brings back memories from the 50s and 60s. The walls are tiled in pale pink, yellow and black, and although the kitchen has been expanded and modernized, many parts of the diner are original, including the stainless steel backsplash, the brushed chrome throughout the diner, the coolers and stools, the wood-framed windows, booths, and tabletops. It holds just 44 people, with 6 booths and 20 stools; it was totally full with standing room only the entire 45 minutes we were there! It averages 350 meals served daily, and up to 450 on weekends, beginning at 6 a.m. Open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, it’s definitely a gold mine! Dick had Texas toast French toast, eggs and sausage, while I noshed on a Western omelet and rye toast. Yum-yum!

That’s it for this week, folks. Thanks for continuing to travel with us.

Hugs,

RJ and Gail