History
The lands of Shirley Plantation were first settled in 1613 by Sir Thomas West, 3rd Baron De la Warr and were named West and Sherley Hundred. The land was cultivated for growing tobacco to be shipped around the colonies and England.
In 1638, a portion of this land was granted to Edward Hill, thus beginning the occupation of the Hill family. The original 450-acre (180 ha) plot was expanded due to marriage and gradual land acquisition. The land passed to Edward Hill II who was owner during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. Edward Hill II sided with Governor William Berkeley, and Bacon's rebels proceeded to plunder Edward's home. The land was then inherited by Edward Hill III in 1700. Edward Hill III's only son Edward Hill IV, died at 16 of consumption, leaving no male heirs. The property reverted to Edward Hill III's youngest daughter Elizabeth who married John Carter (eldest son of Robert "King" Carter), in October 1723. Construction of the present mansion and outbuildings in began c. 1723. The mansion, called the "Great House" was completed in 1738 and was located close to the original house built by the Hills.
The house has been occupied by the Hill Carter family since 1738 and has housed 8 generations. It was at Shirley that Ann Hill Carter was born, and on June 18, 1793 married Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee in the mansion's parlor. The couple would later become parents to the famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
The house is largely in its original state and is owned, operated, and lived in by direct descendants of Edward Hill I. The house was placed on the National Register in 1969 and as a National Historic Landmark in 1970. The upper floors are occupied by members of the eleventh generation of the Hill Carter family, while the bottom floor is open for touring daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Read more about this topic: Shirley Plantation
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“America is the only nation in history which, miraculously, has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
—Attributed to Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)
“It’s not the sentiments of men which make history but their actions.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)
“Let us not underrate the value of a fact; it will one day flower in a truth. It is astonishing how few facts of importance are added in a century to the natural history of any animal. The natural history of man himself is still being gradually written.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)