History

The York River is arguably the most historically significant location for early colonial history found anywhere in America. European and Native American civilizations collided here. This was the land of Powhatan, Opechanacanough, Pocahantas, and the legendary explorations of Captain John Smith. No wonder this area’s colonial land patents (King’s grant lands) were so highly sought after by the first families of Virginia for the their Colonial plantations. The Washington’s, Lee’s, Anderson’s, Roane’s, Tucker’s, and Taliaferro’s settled its shores. History lives and breathes here. It is woven into the fabric of the estuary and its surrounding lands.

1781 September 28th

Battle of Yorktown

Downriver of Anderson’s Neck, the historic battle at Yorktown took place.

View of Yorktown Before it was Destroyed During Battle of Yorktown

This is where the Continental Army, led by General George Washington with the assistance of the Marquis de Lafayette, soundly defeated Cornwallis.  That victory was the tipping point that started the beginning of a gradual decline of the British Empire and the birth of a new American nation.

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