Bacon’s Castle & Smith’s Fort

IF YOU GO

Bacon’s Castle 465 Bacons Castle Trail Surry, VA 23883 757-357-5976 African American History at Bacon’s Castle exterior walking tours at 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and every hour Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. Interior tours resume spring 2021: Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day hours: Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. $9 for AAA members, seniors 60+ and military $8 for students Free for children under 6 and Preservation Virginia members

Historic sites in Surry

By Stephen Faleski Staff Writer

In Surry County, just a few miles from the county’s border with Isle of Wight, sits the oldest brick dwelling in North America.

Bacon’s Castle, as the circa 1665 house is now known, is a “rare example of High Jacobean architecture” according to the website for Preservation Virginia, a privately-funded statewide organization that maintains nearly 500 historic sites across the state.

Built as the homestead of Arthur Allen and his family, the house earned the moniker “Bacon’s Castle” in 1676 when several of Nathaniel Bacon’s men occupied the home for four months during an uprising against Gov. Sir William Berkeley that became known as Bacon’s Rebellion.

According to the National Park Service website, Bacon’s Rebellion can be attributed to economic problems, such as declining tobacco prices and growing commercial competition from Maryland and the Carolinas, which prompted the colonists to scapegoat local Native Americans for their misfortunes.

Bacon, resentful of Berkeley’s denying him a commission as leader of the local militia, became elected “general” of a group of volunteer fighters and led unauthorized raids against several tribes.

Despite his unlawful actions, Bacon’s support among the colonists grew, resulting in his election to Virginia’s House of Burgesses and his subsequent attendance at the 1676 legislative session.

When Berkeley granted Bacon’s previously requested volunteer commission, Bacon refused it and demanded he be made general of all forces against Native Americans, which Berkeley “emphatically refused and walked away,” the NPS website states. “Tensions ran high as the screaming Bacon and his men surrounded the statehouse, threatening to shoot several onlooking Burgesses if Bacon was not given his commission.”

Berkeley ultimately gave in to Bacon’s demands to continue his raids without government interference. Bacon later burned Jamestown to the ground on Sept. 19, 1676, but began having trouble controlling his men’s conduct and keeping popular support after this extreme measure. Bacon died of “Bloodie Flux” and “Lousey Disease” (bloody lice) on Oct. 26, 1676.

According to Preservation Virginia’s website, Bacon’s Castle features a reconstructed 17th-century English formal garden restored by the Garden Club of Virginia and several outbuildings, including an 1830 slave dwelling. A quotation from African American historian and genealogist Peighton Young, included on the website, states the Black history connected to Bacon’s Castle is “filled with stories of the families that were built under enslavement, the experiences of those who risked their lives to fight against the institution of slavery, and the people who created new lives and tight family units, which few during the Reconstruction era and into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”

Several miles west is another Preservation Virginia site: Smith’s Fort. Named for the site of Capt. John Smith’s proposed “new fort” located directly across the James River from Jamestown, the manor house was built in 1761 for Jacob Faulcon. In 1886, Smith’s Fort was purchased by a collective group of Black families, including Bolling Morris, John and Carter Hardy and Robertson Simmons.

IF YOU GO

Smith’s Fort 217 Smith Fort Lane Surry, VA 23883 757-294-3872 Guided exterior walking tours Friday through Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Interior tours resume April 2021: Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Memorial Day through Labor Day hours: Monday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: $10 $9 for AAA members, seniors 60+ and military $8 for students Free for children under 6 and Preservation Virginia members

MAY 1 - NOV 20 SATURDAYS 9AM-1PM

Suffolk Visitor Center PAVILION 524 N. Main St. 757.514.4130757.514.4130

Fresh Produce, Meats, Fish & Poultry, Jams & Jellies. Honey, Pickles, Sauces & Soups, Baked Goods, Eggs, Herbs, Flowers, Lotions & Soaps, Artisan Gifts & More! Live Music.

Social distancing rules apply. Please wear mask. Hand-washing station and hand sanitizer available.

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