May 21, 2002
3 min. read
This post is part of the Trans-Am series.
Berkley Plantation was my second big stop of the day. I warn anyone wanting to try this route themselves that the 1⁄2 mile ride into Berkley is TERRIBLE. You see the sign that asks you to enjoy yourself for the next 1⁄2 mile of authentic Colonial road and you get to try as hard as you can to keep the bike upright. That is one of the toughest roads I have ever ridden on. It might be easier with more shift control in an upright bike. It might not.
It is a gravel road with very round rocks. The rocks vary in size from sand to 4 inches. Did I mention the 5-15 degrees of slope for drainage? That is good for flipping your back wheel out whenever it feels like it. Yee-haw, I have now surfed a bike and am immensely impressed with myself for not going down once. Despite the challenge getting in and out, I believe the ride was worth it.
This is the site of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619. Benjamin Harrison IV built the mansion on the land in 1726 and married Anne Carter.
This was the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. This was also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, and ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison, the twenty-third President.
During the Civil War, the plantation was occupied by General George McClellan’s Union troops. General Daniel Butterfield composed “Taps”, played by his bugler, O.W. Norton.
The architecture is original and the furnishings are of the period when it was built. The basement contains a mini museum, with paintings and exhibits describing the history of the plantation. This also was a tour worth seeing, given by enthusiastic guides in period outfits.
The tour guide mentioned that we take a look at the cement medallion on the side of the house placed by Benjamin Harrison IV when the mansion was built in 1726. I took a wide and close up picture of those. I took more pictures around the buildings on my way to see the landing site of the first Thanksgiving.
South through the gardens and towards the James River, we come upon the monument, ship diagram, and part replica of the ship that carried 38 to land here in 1619. About 20 miles upstream of this point, Jamestown was established on May 14, 1607. More information is available in the signs I photographed below.
Part 5 of 48 in the Trans-Am series.
Series Start | Day 2 - Sherwood Forest Plantation | Day 3 - Glendale to near Ashland, VA