Historic Sites in Virginia’s Northern Neck and Essex County, A Guide

This second edition of this popular work contains updates, corrections, and forty-two additions to the previous highly successful Guide for those who have an interest in the rich history of the Northern Neck region of Virginia and its historic sites. This six-county Tidewater region includes the birthplaces of George Washington, James Madison, James Monroe, and Robert E. Lee. The book includes a brief history of the re- gion beginning with the exploratory voyages by Capt. John Smith. The second edition removed a handful of non-conforming entries but added 42 newly-discovered sites.The 487 historic sites described in this Guide range from grand plantations to the modest early homes of middling planters, to early churches, schools and courthouses. Most of these sites still exist, but some "lost" sites are also included because of their historic significance, and as reminders of the continuing need for active preservation efforts. The book contains photos of the buildings together with three-dozen maps showing the location of these historic sites. The general cutoff date for inclusion was the Civil War, but the Guide also contains descriptions of various later sites as well, including many early African American schools and churches, and other important sites such as those involving the steamboat and fishing industries.Distributed for Preservation Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula