Rich Neck Plantation

Rich Neck Plantation was a historic plantation and settlement in what is now James City County, Virginia, in the former Colony of Virginia. It was established around 1632 as part of Middle Plantation, a community situated on the central ridge of the Virginia Peninsula between the watersheds of the York and James rivers. The location was strategically important because a palisade extending across the peninsula helped protect the settled area eastward toward Old Point Comfort. Middle Plantation later became Williamsburg, and the area around Rich Neck consequently became connected with the political, educational, and institutional development of colonial Virginia. The plantation was associated with several prominent seventeenth-century Virginians. Among those linked to the property were Richard Kemp, Sir Thomas Lunsford, Thomas Ludwell, and Philip Ludwell, individuals who held important positions in the colonial administration. The site was also home to numerous enslaved people and servants, reflecting the labor system on which Virginia plantations depended. Later, Rich Neck became associated with Reverend Doctor James Blair, who in 1693 founded the College of William and Mary and became its first president. His connection gives the plantation particular significance in the history of Virginia education and the colonial capital region. During the early eighteenth century, a mill pond was created in the vicinity to provide power for a gristmill. The pond survives as Lake Matoaka, although the original plantation buildings and dependencies do not. Over time, the physical boundaries and uses of the property changed as Williamsburg and surrounding communities developed. In the first half of the twentieth century, local attorney Vernon Geddy and his wife, Carrie Geddy, built a residence called Holly Hill on part of the former plantation west of College Creek. The name referred to the numerous holly trees near the house. A portion of the former Rich Neck property was later incorporated into Williamsburg's Holly Hills subdivision. As of 2010, the Holly Hill residence was occupied by Vernon Geddy III, Vernon and Carrie's grandson, and his wife; he continued the family's legal profession in the area. The original plantation house and associated dependencies had disappeared by the twentieth century, but the site remained historically and archaeologically important. Archaeological investigations have been conducted by the College of William and Mary, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Rich Neck Plantation is therefore best understood not as an operating commercial brand, but as a historic plantation landscape whose surviving associations, archaeological remains, and links to Middle Plantation and the College of William and Mary illuminate the colonial history of the Virginia Peninsula.

Rich Neck Plantation was established around 1632 in the community of Middle Plantation, located on the central ridge of the Virginia Peninsula in the Colony of Virginia. The ridge separated the York River watershed from that of the James River and formed part of a defensible corridor across the peninsula. A palisade ran between Queen's Creek and College Creek, securing the area toward Old Point Comfort and making Middle Plantation an important inland settlement. The plantation's history is closely connected with the political and institutional development of colonial Virginia. Richard Kemp, Sir Thomas Lunsford, Thomas Ludwell, and Philip Ludwell were among the prominent Virginians associated with the property. Several held senior colonial offices, including the secretaryship of the colony. The plantation was also occupied by enslaved people and servants, whose labor formed part of the social and economic structure of the site and of seventeenth-century Virginia more broadly. Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg in 1699 after the College of William and Mary had been established nearby and the colonial capital moved from Jamestown. This change placed Rich Neck within the expanding cultural and political center of the Virginia Peninsula. In the early eighteenth century, a mill pond was built to power a gristmill. The water feature survives as Lake Matoaka, while the original plantation house and its dependencies no longer survive. Rich Neck later became the home of Reverend Doctor James Blair. In 1693, Blair founded the College of William and Mary and became its first president. His residence at Rich Neck connected the plantation directly with one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the United States and with the intellectual and religious life of colonial Virginia. By the first half of the twentieth century, the plantation buildings had disappeared. Attorney Vernon Geddy and his wife, Carrie, constructed a house on part of the former property west of College Creek. They called it Holly Hill because of the holly trees growing near the residence. The property remained in the Geddy family; by May 2010, their grandson Vernon Geddy III and his wife lived there. Other portions of the former plantation were later incorporated into Williamsburg's Holly Hills subdivision. Archaeological research has helped preserve knowledge of the plantation after the loss of its visible colonial structures. Teams connected with the College of William and Mary, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Commonwealth of Virginia have investigated portions of the site. The surviving landscape, Lake Matoaka, later residential uses, and archaeological evidence collectively document the transformation of Rich Neck from a colonial plantation into part of the modern Williamsburg area.

• 2010

  Geddy family occupancy documented

  [1]Rich Neck Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  As of May 2010, Vernon Geddy III and his wife occupied the Holly Hill residence built by his grandparents.

• 1910

  Holly Hill residence built

  [1]Rich Neck Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  During the first half of the twentieth century, Vernon and Carrie Geddy built Holly Hill on part of the former plantation west of College Creek.

• 1700

  Mill pond constructed

  [1]Rich Neck Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  A mill pond was constructed in the early eighteenth century to power a gristmill; the water feature survives as Lake Matoaka.

• 1699

  Middle Plantation becomes Williamsburg

  [1]Rich Neck Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Middle Plantation was renamed Williamsburg after the nearby college was established and Virginia's colonial capital moved from Jamestown.

• 1693

  James Blair founds the College of William and Mary

  [1]Rich Neck Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Reverend Doctor James Blair, later associated with Rich Neck, founded the College of William and Mary and became its first president.

• 1632

  Establishment at Middle Plantation

  [1]Rich Neck Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Rich Neck Plantation was established around this date as part of Middle Plantation on the central ridge of the Virginia Peninsula.

Historic plantation and archaeological site associated with colonial Virginia, Middle Plantation, Williamsburg, and the early history of the College of William and Mary.

1. 1Rich Neck Plantationen.wikipedia.org