Berkeley Hundred Plantation, Charles City, Virginia

Berkeley Hundred Plantation, one of the first great estates in the New World. It was the home of two Presidents, two Governors, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Berkeley Hundred Plantation has recorded more national "first" than any other English-speaking site in America.

The date was December 4, 1619, 38 Englishmen put ashore in Virginia, more than a year before the Pilgrims. The Englishmen came from Gloucestershire and called themselves The Berkeley Company. Captain John Woodlief was the director of operations and an Episcopal missionary named George Thorpe provided encouragement with his newly discovered home brew. The drink was made out of Indian corn. It was none other than the original bourbon whiskey. In the spring of 1622, there was an unexpected Indian uprising. The devastation was so complete; the settlement never fully recovered from the Indians' massacre.

1691, the Harrisons family acquired Berkeley. Under Benjamin Harrison III, Berkeley grew to include a busy shipyard and prosperous export tobacco warehouse. In the years to follow "Harrison's Landing" established its name as a major commercial center on the James River.

In 1726 Benjamin Harrison IV built the Georgian mansion that you see today. At 22 he married Anne Carter. Their son, Benjamin Harrison V, gained fame as thrice governor of Virginia and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Col. Benjamin Harrison V was a good humored and a gregarious man. He often entertained his close friend, George Washington, at Berkeley - and in subsequent years, every one of America's next nine presidents also enjoyed the plantation's legendary hospitality.

William Henry Harrison, Col. Harrison's younger son was elected President of the United States in 1840. He returned home to Berkeley to compose his inaugural address in the room where he was born. Forty-seven years later, his grandson, another Benjamin Harrison, would also be called to serve his county - as America's 23rd president.

In the nineteenth century, financial setbacks had caused the Harrison family to lose its hold on Berkeley. During the Civil War, the plantation was occupied by Federal troops under General George B. McClellan. The Union Army of the Potomac, 140,000, occupied the fields of Berkeley. President Abraham Lincoln visited Berkeley on two occasions in the summer of 1862.

In July of 1862, Berkeley recorded another first when General Daniel Butterfield composed the haunting melody of "Taps." Taps was first sounded at Berkeley by Butterfield's bugler, Oliver W. Norton. Both the Union and Confederate armies immediately took up the tune. Now the official bugle call of the, United States Army.

After the Civil War, Berkeley changed hands several time and eventually fell into a state of near ruins. In 1907, John Jamieson of Scotland, and also served as the drummer boy in McClellan's army fifty years before, purchased Berkeley.

In 1927, Berkeley was partially inherited by John Jamieson's son, Malcolm. He and his wife, Grace are responsible for the complete restoration of both the house and grounds as they appear today. The Jamieson's son, Malcolm, and his wife Judith, live nearby with their two children, Cary and Mac: The generations of Jamieson's are closely involved with the work of the plantation.

The plantation today is visited my American's across the nation, in addition to visitors from many foreign countries. The house you can tour today is much the same as it was in the early days of the Harrison's. The U.S. National Park Service as a Registered National Landmark designates Berkeley Hundred Plantation.

Berkeley remains very much a working plantations. Today, modern machinery sows, works and harvests the soybeans and small grain crops planted on 500 acres of Berkeley's fertile soil. In addition to the house are the Bachelor's Quarters and other side buildings that were built after 1726. There is a cannonball that is imbedded in the side of the home but did little more than add a picturesque reminder of the past.

You can visit Berkeley Hundred Plantation at www.berkeleyplantation.com to find information on hours, admission prices and tours.