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.
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—William James (1842–1910)
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—Henry Ford (1863–1947)
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)