Swann's Point Plantation Site
Swann's Point Plantation Site is an archaeological and historic site on the James River in Surry County, Virginia, associated with Native American occupation, early colonial settlement, and the Swann plantation.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Swann's Point Plantation Site is an archaeological and historic landscape near the mouth of Gray Creek on the James River in Surry County, Virginia. It is not a contemporary commercial brand, but the site is represented in historical records by the names Swann's Point Plantation, Swann's Point, and, during part of the seventeenth century, Perryes Point. The area preserves evidence of long-term precolonial Native American occupation as well as the early English colonial presence around Jamestown. The point became significant during the first decades of Virginia's English settlement. Richard Pace was the area's first recorded grantee, and his warning is traditionally associated with the survival of Jamestown during the Powhatan attack of 1622. The settlement connected with Pace was abandoned by 1624. Colonial traders and settlers continued to use the point, which was later associated with Francis Chapman and William Perry. By 1628, the locality was known as Perryes Point, reflecting Perry's occupation and his position on the colonial Governor's Council. In 1635, William Swann received a patent for 1,200 acres at the point. Additional patents granted to his son, Colonel Thomas Swann, expanded the plantation to approximately 1,650 acres by the middle of the seventeenth century. The property was both an agricultural estate and a strategically positioned transportation and political location. Following Bacon's Rebellion in 1676, the King's Commissioners investigating the conflict held proceedings at Swann's Point. Petitions concerning abuses committed during the suppression of the rebellion were heard there, giving the site a role in the colony's post-rebellion political inquiry. Ownership later passed through the Swann family and then to the Jackman, Marrable, Hartwell, and Cocke families. A ferry crossing the James River was operating from the area by 1692, linking the point with Jamestown and serving colonial travelers and Native American groups. The property remained connected with the Cocke family for several generations and was the birthplace of General John Hartwell Cocke, who later became associated with Bremo in Fluvanna County. During the American Civil War, federal forces shelled the plantation area. The site also became associated with a telegraph line that Confederate forces repeatedly attempted to cut. In the twentieth century, Virginia state senator Garland Gray acquired the manor house and used it as a summer residence. The house was subsequently destroyed by fire. The property later changed hands after Gray reportedly wagered it in a card game and transferred it to the winner after losing. A portion of the Swann's Point area was donated to the National Park Service in 1974 in an effort to prevent construction of a bridge across the James River. The site, including seventeenth-century graves, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Its significance therefore rests on archaeological remains, colonial history, Native American and English interaction, transportation, political events, military history, and historic landscape preservation rather than on commercial activity.
History
Swann's Point occupies a historically strategic location on the James River, west of the mouth of Gray Creek in what is now Surry County, Virginia. Archaeological and historical accounts identify the area as having supported Native American communities before English colonization. Its position near Jamestown made it a place of contact, exchange, settlement, and river travel during the early colonial period. The first recorded English land grant associated with the point went to Richard Pace. Pace is remembered in the history of Jamestown for warning the settlement about the attack associated with the 1622 uprising, an action traditionally credited with helping preserve the colony. The Pace settlement at the point did not continue permanently and had been abandoned by 1624. Other early colonists nevertheless used the location. Francis Chapman held land there, and the area became known as Perryes Point by 1628 because William Perry, a member of the Governor's Council, occupied it. William Swann acquired a 1,200-acre patent at the location in 1635. Through later grants to his son, Colonel Thomas Swann, the plantation grew to about 1,650 acres by 1655. The Swann property was part of the expanding network of agricultural estates surrounding the James River, while its riverfront position gave it importance beyond plantation production. It served as a point of trade and communication between colonial settlers and nearby Native American communities. Swann's Point also entered the political history of colonial Virginia after Bacon's Rebellion. In 1676, Nathaniel Bacon's revolt challenged Governor William Berkeley's authority and led to violence and political upheaval. After the rebellion, commissioners sent by the Crown conducted investigations in Virginia. Their proceedings at Swann's Point included petitions describing abuses during the campaign against the rebels, including testimony connected with William Hartwell, a captain in Berkeley's guard. This episode made the plantation a temporary venue for official review of the colony's political crisis. The property passed through the Swann family and was later sold to John Joseph Jackman in 1706. Jackman sold it to Major George Marrable in 1709, and Marrable transferred it soon afterward to his brother-in-law, John Hartwell. After Hartwell's death in 1714, his minor daughter Elizabeth inherited the estate when she reached adulthood. She subsequently married Richard Cocke of Henrico County, and the couple lived at Swann's Point. The property remained in the Cocke family for several generations. General John Hartwell Cocke, later associated with the Bremo estate in Fluvanna County, was born there. A ferry was operating from Swann's Point to Jamestown by 1692. Colonial court records indicate disputes over payment for transporting Native American travelers, including members of the Weyanoke, Appomattock, and Maherin communities, to the colonial capital. The ferry demonstrates the site's continuing role as a transportation node connecting settlements on opposite banks of the James River. The plantation was affected by the American Civil War. Federal forces shelled the area, and a telegraph line in the vicinity became an object of Confederate disruption. In the mid-twentieth century, state senator Garland Gray purchased the manor house and used it as a summer home. The house was later destroyed by fire. Gray subsequently lost the property in a card wager and, according to the historical account, honored the wager by conveying the land to the winner. Preservation efforts became important in the twentieth century. In 1974, a portion of the Swann's Point area was donated to the National Park Service to help prevent a proposed bridge across the James River from being built to the area. The site, which contains graves dating to the seventeenth century, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Today, its historical importance derives from the combined archaeological record and documentary history of Native American occupation, early colonial settlement, plantation ownership, political investigation, river transport, wartime activity, and preservation.
- 1975
National Register listing
[1]The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1974
Land donated to the National Park Service
[1]A portion of the area was donated to the National Park Service to help prevent construction of a James River bridge.
- 1706
Sale to John Joseph Jackman
[1]Thomas Swann Jr. sold Swann's Point to John Joseph Jackman.
- 1692
James River ferry documented
[1]A ferry between Swann's Point and Jamestown was operating, carrying colonial and Native American travelers.
- 1676
Post-rebellion proceedings held at Swann's Point
[1]Royal commissioners investigating Bacon's Rebellion held proceedings at the plantation and heard complaints about abuses during its suppression.
- 1655
The plantation reaches approximately 1,650 acres
[1]Additional patents associated with Colonel Thomas Swann expanded the property to approximately 1,650 acres.
- 1635
William Swann receives the plantation patent
[1]William Swann obtained a patent for 1,200 acres at Swann's Point.
- 1628
The area known as Perryes Point
[1]The locality was identified as Perryes Point because of William Perry's occupation and public role.
- 1624
Pace settlement abandoned
[1]The settlement established under Richard Pace was abandoned by this year.
- 1622
Richard Pace's warning during the 1622 attack
[1]Richard Pace, the area's first recorded grantee, is associated with warning Jamestown of the attack that threatened the colony.
Products and positioning
A protected archaeological and historic landscape documenting Native American occupation, early Virginia colonization, plantation history, James River transportation, and Civil War activity.
Sources1 sources
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