Virginia Landing, Quinby, Virginia – Sycamore Lodge, Jackson Springs, NC - July 4 -10, 2016

We had planned to spend our last few days in Virginia relaxing before hitting the road. The weather promised to continue to be hot, Hot, HOT with high humidity. Every day this week registered 78-84° at 7:30 a.m., climbing to the mid- and upper 90s by day’s end. 

We decided to take in one last historic tour on Tuesday—to Ker Place in Onancock, Virginia.

Ker Place (pronounced “car”) is a 1779 Federal plantation that has been restored to reflect its original splendor. Although none of the furnishings are from the original house, those in the house are authentic period reproductions. It’s currently the headquarters for the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society. They were in the process of changing the historic exhibits so parts of the house looked rather bare.

John Shepherd Ker and his wife Agnes began building their home in 1799 on 365 acres. (Apparently, Agnes came from wealth as she brought the property into the marriage.) Completed in 1801, it shows rare influences of neoclassical style, obvious in the architectural elements of the house (including the oculus windows, and symmetrical placement of other windows, doors and floor plan). 

The walls of the home are 2’ thick; it stands 2½ stories high with a full basement. A kitchen, separate from the main house, was connected by a passageway. The kitchen, torn down by later owners, is indicated by markers in the yard to the east of the main house. The rooms inside the home are spacious and boast original pine flooring. The woodwork was all hand-carved; faux finishes decorate the baseboards and doors. Cornices, mantels and window framing all show the elaborate designs of the period. Paint analysis was done on the first floor rooms, so the colors are similar to what they were originally. The basement, completely lined with bricks (made onsite), show the warming kitchen; a chair made by slaves stands next to the fireplace showing wear on the chair rungs from shoes.

Over the years John Ker increased the property size to approximately 1,500 acres; today it includes about 3 acres. The grounds north of the house were typical of a working plantation, with chicken houses, necessaries, a barn, carriage house, a stable and, of course, slave quarters.

Here are a few photos of Ker Place.

Herb garden and walkway to the north of the house where the slave quarters, barn, etc., were located. They no longer exist.

The top 2 photos are of the entrance (original floor covering was oiled cloth; this one is canvas). The next 4 photos are of the parlor; colors are as close to original as possible. Docent Pat stands in front of one of the doors, showing some of the faux painting done on the door. All the faux painting on the baseboards is marble. The photo on bottom left is of 19th century faux painting tools.

This is of the dining room; paint colors are as close to original as possible. The bottom photos left to right are of a silverware caddy, a liquor cabinet, and a medicine chest.

This room is the family gathering place, and here again the paint colors are as close to original as possible. Notice the black outline of all the woodwork. It was in this room that Mr. Ker lived his last days, taken ill with consumption; he died in this room, so the black indicates mourning. Mrs. Ker instructed her staff to paint the black to commemorate his passing.

These are photos of Mrs. Ker's bedroom. It had 2 beds, one a trundle. She also had 9 chamber pots in the room, helping to alleviate the need to visit the "necessary" during the night.

 

These are miscellaneous photos taken in the house. The desk was a gift to Cropper from Lafayette as a thank you for his role in the American Revolution. The cannon is similar to the one now residing at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC; it was a gift to Cropper for his service in commanding the 11th Virginia Regiment in 1778. The closet of silver pieces are from the 1700-1800s, donated to the historical society for display. The large chest is a sea chest from the 1600s. The mammoth tooth was found along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. 

 Upstairs is a room of special exhibits, dedicated to General John Cropper and Governor Henry A. Wise. 

 

General Cropper, born at the family plantation, Bowman’s Folly in Joynes Neck, Virginia; records indicate he served in the Revolutionary War as early as 1775. In 1776 he was commissioned captain of a company of the 9^th Virginia Regiment, which joined General George Washington at Morristown, New Jersey. In 1777 he was commissioned major of the 7^th Virginia Regiment; where he suffered a bayonet wound to his thigh at the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania. In 1778 General Lafayette appointed him lieutenant colonel in command of the 11^th Virginia Regiment, where he participated in the Battle of Monmouth, again in New Jersey. Concerned about the precarious situation on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, where his wife and daughter, neighbors and friends resided, he attempted to resign his commission in the Continental Army; it was never officially accepted. He subsequently served as Colonel of Virginia Militia in Accomack County, Virginia until the war ended.

Henry Wise, born in Accomac, Virginia, rose to national prominence during the late antebellum period (after the War of 1812 and before the Civil War).  He was a lawyer, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1832-1844), was U.S. minister to Brazil (1844-1847), governor of Virginia (1856-1860, and a brigadier general in the Confederate army during the American Civil War (1861-1865). He was known for his witty temperament, advocating a number of progressive positions, including a number of capital improvements in western Virginia, broadening Virginia’s electoral base through constitutional reform, and public funding for universal elementary education. He was also a stout defender of slavery, and eventually became an ardent secessionist. He’s probably best known for being governor when John Brown, in 1859, led an unsuccessful raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry that ended in his capture. Brown was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by hanging. Wise had the authority to commute Brown’s death sentence, but instead he allowed the execution to take place, making possible the radical abolitionist’s ascension to martyrdom. 

Adjacent to the parking lot at Ker Place is an oyster boat, in an open but covered shed, the Annie C. Built in 1904, the Annie C is a “log canoe,” constructed of 5 pine logs shaped with an adze and fastened together with iron rods. (The adze is a tool similar to an ax with an arched blade at right angles to the handle.) Go here for more detailed photos and information. The entire process is actually quite interesting. The Annie C is 45’ long, has a 9 ½’ beam, had a mast of about 45’.

By the time we were done touring the home and seeing the Annie C, we were exhausted—mainly from the heat and humidity—but we needed nourishment. We stopped at the Sage Diner in Onancock where Dick noshed on a turkey Reuben and crab soup, while I tried their BBQ beef wrap. I think Dick’s meal was the winner. ‘Nuff said.

Wednesday was a travel get ready day for us. We planned to leave Thursday, driving half-way to our next destination in Jackson Springs, North Carolina.

Thursday’s weather was HOT! The thermometer read 82° at 7:30 a.m., and the humidity was at least that high. Thankfully there was a slight breeze so that helped a little… We got on the road by 10 a.m., heading south through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to our interim stop at the RV Resort at Carolina Crossing  in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. It was a 170 mile drive, and relatively easy once we got out of the traffic of the Norfolk area. 

Thought I’d share just a bit of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, as it’s quite an engineering marvel. (Thanks to the Internet for these photos.)

Ferry service between Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area began in 1956, and the feasibility of constructing a bridge tunnel was explored. By 1960 $200 million in revenue bonds had been sold and a construction contract was awarded. (No local, state, or federal tax money was used in its construction.) On April 15, 1964 the bridge tunnel was open to traffic, after just 42 months of construction, and at that point ferry service was discontinued. In a world-wide competition with more than a hundred other major projects, the Bridge Tunnel was selected as one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World. From shore to shore the facility measures 17.6 miles, and is considered the largest bridge-tunnel complex in the world. Construction required undertaking a project of more than 12 miles of low-level trestle, 2 1-mile tunnels, 2 bridges, almost 2 miles of causeway, 4 man made islands, and 5½ miles of approach roads, totaling 23 miles.

Oh, and the toll for us (dually and a 5^th wheel) was $22.00 one way.

We arrived to Carolina Crossing by 1:30. Temp: 95°, humidity: 55%. Heat is much easier to take when the humidity is lower! That night we were blessed with heavy rain at about 8 p.m. for just a bit. It had subsided by the time we went to bed.

Friday morning we rose to 76°, sunshine, and a bit of a breeze. We hadn’t unhooked the 5^th wheel from the truck the night before; only put out the slides, removed the bicycles from inside, plugged in the water and electric, so it was an easy departure. Travel was relatively light, except as we drove near larger cities. 

We arrived to Jackson Springs, North Carolina, and the Travel Resorts of America--Sycamore Lodge at 1 p.m. The sites are spacious and treed, and quite deep. And, LEVEL! That night we experienced a heavy rain and wind storm that knocked out power for almost 7 hours, from just before 10 p.m. ‘til just before 5 a.m. Not so comfortable when the temperatures were in the high 80s and humidity just as high. Good thing we have a portable, battery-powered fan!

Saturday we got up to 76°, sunshine and low humidity. Lovely. After breakfast we walked through the park. There are 175 sites and 7 cabins, plus a few rooms in the lodge. There’s a pool and hot tub, basketball court, shuffleboard, miniature golf, beanbag baseball, beach volleyball court, and a kids’ playground—lots of stuff to do if you’re so inclined! Onsite is a general store, too. Although there isn’t a sewer hook-up at the sites, there is sewer truck service 3 times per week that will pump out your unit. Quite convenient!

The park is loaded with plants that draw butterflies--and there are hundreds of them; these are just a couple. 

That afternoon we drove to nearby Aberdeen, North Carolina for groceries and, Dick finally got a haircut! Yea!!!

Sunday was another beautiful day, with temperatures reaching the low 90s by mid-afternoon.  The park emptied out from the 4^th of July week campers, so it’s really quiet, but nice. It was a good day to catch up on laundry, and just spend time being together and thankful for all we’ve enjoyed since we started our adventure just over 4 years ago. 

That’s it for this week. I’ve included maps of our journeys since leaving Rockport May 4. Guess there’s a limit on the number of destinations you can put on one map…huh…

‘til next week, hugs ‘n’ love –

RJ and Gail