Grove, Virginia

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Grove and Grove Station on the C&O Railway located in southeastern James City County, Virginia as shown on 1895 map
Grove and Grove Station on the C&O Railway located in southeastern James City County, Virginia as shown on 1895 map

Grove is an unincorporated community in the southeastern portion of James City County, Virginia, the oldest county in the United States. It is geographically located in almost the exact center of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia, composed of Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown, linked by the Colonial Parkway.

Grove is located along U.S. Route 60 just east of the Busch Gardens Europe theme park and other Anheuser-Busch industries and developments, including the Kingsmill resort and planned community. Geographically, Grove includes the narrowest portion of James City County, bordering the James River to the south and York County to the north. Tributaries of the James River, Grove Creek and Skiffe's Creek each provide local drainage. The latter also constitutes the eastern border of Grove (and the county), which adjoins the Lee Hall area of the independent city of Newport News.

Primarily a moderate income semi-rural residential community of 1,100 families, many generations of some reside in Grove. Twice in the 20th century, the population grew quickly as families of mostly of African American heritage chose to relocate to Grove after being displaced from entire communities when their land along the northern side of the Peninsula was taken in large tracts for military use during WWI and WWII, creating the present-day US Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and Camp Peary. (To its north, Grove borders the Naval Weapons Station property and on its extreme east, a portion of the US Army's land at Fort Eustis extends across Skiffe's Creek, although there is no direct access to either base).

Near Grove's eastern edge is the James River Commerce Center and Green Mount industrial park, which include tenants such as a Wal-Mart distribution center and a Haynes furniture warehouse. Both developments have been expanding in the early 21st century, and have room for more businesses and industry. The more central part of Grove includes most homes, churches, neighborhood retail businesses, a community center, nursing home and day care facilities, and a magnet school of the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (WJCC) which offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, one of only five such schools in Virginia.

The most prominent local feature is Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's historic and preserved Carter's Grove Plantation on the James River. The 1755-era mansion and surrounding gardens and plantation land are located on property which was once part of the Martin's Hundred subsidiary of the Virginia Company of London in James Cittie (sic) in 1619. There, the population of Wolstenholme Towne was decimated during the Good Friday attacks throughout the Virginia Colony which became known as the Indian Massacre of 1622. The original site and remains of ill-fated Wolstenholme Towne were discovered by archaeologists in 1976.

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[edit] Native Americans

For one thousand years or more, the Native Americans in the area prior to the arrival of Spanish and English settlers in the 16th and 17th centuries were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes. A major village is believed located somewhere nearby, although the site has not been identified. The site of another village, Chiskiack, was a few miles to the north. At the time the English settlers established Jamestown in 1607, the Powhatan Confederacy included most natives in the area which became southeastern Virginia, although there were some other small unaffiliated tribes in the area.

[edit] Early history: 17th through 19th centuries

[edit] Martin's Hundred, Wolstenholme Towne

The Grove Community was probably named for nearby Grove Creek, which drains into the James River about 6 miles east (downstream) of Jamestown. Grove Wharf at the confluence of Grove Creek and the river is shown on some very early maps of Virginia.

Initially, the English of the Virginia Company of London chose Jamestown to begin their settlement of the Virginia Colony, arriving in 1607 in three ships commanded by Admiral Christopher Newport. (See main article Jamestown, Virginia)

After a few very difficult years, the new colony gradually began expanding, and plantations were established along the James River, largely to grow the primary export crop, non-native strains of tobacco, introduced by colonist John Rolfe, who later married Pocahontas. About 7 miles downstream from Jamestown on the same north bank of the river, just east of Grove Creek, the Grove area was originally settled by the English in 1619 as part of Martin's Hundred, a proprietary plantation of over 20,000 acres which was an enterprise of the Martin's Hundred Society, a London-based investment group operating under the auspices of the Virginia Company of London. There, not far from the riverfront, the new Wolstenholme Towne, the Martin's Hundred administrative center, was established.

Following what seemed a promising start, the majority of the population of Wolstenholme Towne, including men, women and children was largely wiped out by the Indian Massacre of 1622, one of the largest single locations of loss of life by settlers during the attacks. Although rebuilt a few years later, and protected by the cross-peninsula palisade to the west anchored by Middle Plantation and completed in 1634, Wolstenholme Towne was abandoned by around 1643, and the site was lost until 1976 (see below).

Martin's Hundred Parish Church was established by the Church of England, and served the area including Wolstenholme Towne. It was later combined with Yorkhampton Parish in adjacent York County.

[edit] Slavery, freedom

Beginning in 1619, the first black men men were brought to the colony as indentured servants. Increasingly toward the end of the 17th century, large numbers of slaves from Africa were brought by Dutch and British ships to the Virginia Colony. On the large tobacco plantations, as chattel (owned property), they replaced indentured servants (who were only obligated to work for an agreed period of time) as field labor, as well as serving as household and skilled workers. As slaves, they were not working by mutual agreement, nor for a limited period of time. Even their offspring also were born into what was later called the "peculiar institution" of slavery.

However, even early on, there were free African Americans, as the first indentured servants completed their contracts. Some individual slaves also began obtaining their freedom. This was usually accomplished by escape, through their own enterprise, or through manumission, which was essentially the benevolence of their owners, as family-type ties grew between some of the slaves and owners.

Known as freedmen, these men and women lived at various locations throughout the area until the mass emancipation of all of the slaves took place during the years of the American Civil War (1861-1865). Despite Virginia's secession from the Union in 1861, Fort Monroe, at the eastern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, never fell out of Union hands, and during the course of the War, became a gathering point for many slaves seeking their freedom. Many heard President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation read under the Emancipation Oak, now on the grounds of Hampton University.

After the War, many freedmen settled in inland areas of the Peninsula, either as landowners, tenant farmers, or renters who worked as watermen. While the southern side of the peninsula along the James River had long been occupied by plantations, the northern side along the York River west of Yorktown had not been as heavily developed. Many freedmen moved into this area, establishing close-nit communities, and entire towns such as Magruder.

[edit] Carter's Grove

Over 100 years after Wolstenholme Towne was abandoned, Carter's Grove Plantation was built on part of the Martin's Hundred land for Carter Burwell, son of Elizabeth Carter Burwell and her husband, Nathaniel Burwell. Carter Burwell was the grandson of wealthy plantation and landowner Robert "King" Carter (of Lancaster County), who had acquired his nickname of "King" for his wealth and business practices, and was one of the largest landowners in the Virginia Colony of his era.

King Carter in bequeathing the land upon his death in 1732 required that it forever after be known as "Carter's Grove". This name likely was a combination of the Carter family name, which carried status as one of those considered First Families of Virginia, and Grove Creek, which runs along the property's western border, and flows into the James River at its edge.

The new plantation home, completed in 1755, could also be the source of the place name of the Grove Community, which was established many years later on immediately adjacent land. The Carter's Grove mansion was occupied and renovated by a series of owners, the last major changes being of the late 1920s era. The last private owner died around 1964, and the plantation moved into philanthropic ownership.

Under ownership of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (CW) since 1969, Carter's Grove mansion is currently furnished in many period pieces primarily of the 19th, and early 20th centuries. Some of these were at that time already antiques acquired in the 1920s from an auction at Westover Plantation, long the home of the Byrd family.

On the grounds, near the river, the long-lost site of Wolstenholme Towne was located on Carter's Grove Plantation in 1976, where a historic archaeological dig was documented by noted archaeologist Ivor Noel Hume.

A landmark in the Grove Community, Carter's Grove Plantation had been open to the public for tours of the mansion, recreated slave quarters, and also featured a partially recreated Wolstenholme Towne.

In 2003, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation made a decision to concentrate on attractions closer to the Historic Area near downtown Williamsburg and closed the facility to the public. In addition to the distance factor, the Carter's Grove Mansion and furnishings and the Wolstenholme Towne site did not fit well with CW's primary goals. Closer to the Historic Area, another interpretive site for the African American experience related to CW was developed.

Carter's Grove continues to be maintained by the Foundation and is used for support purposes. The Foundation has indicated that it is receptive to new ownership provided the site continues to be used for similar non-commercial purposes.

Carter's Grove Country Road, formerly offered a one-way narrow but paved and bucolic link to the Historic Area of Colonial Williamsburg. However, it was damaged during Hurricane Isabel in late 2003, and has been closed to traffic since then as well. (The primary access to the plantation on U.S. Route 60 was reopened shortly after the storm, although the property remains closed to the public).

[edit] Location, early nature of community

The Grove Community is located about a mile inland and parallel to the riverfront adjacent to the large Carter's Grove plantation property. It stretches approximately 4 miles along U.S. Route 60, known locally as Pocahontas Trail. Until 1918, the Grove Community was lightly populated, with mostly farmers and fishermen by trade. According to a state atlas, in 1895, Grove had a population of 37 persons and its own post office.

[edit] Grove Station on the new C&O Railroad

Nearby, Grove Station was established by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) under the leadership of Collis P. Huntington, which built through the area from its terminus in Richmond in 1881 to reach the coal piers and the new city of Newport News on the generally ice-free harbor of Hampton Roads. Although a number of other railroad stations were also established in James City County and the adjacent area, the primary purpose of the railroad was through coal traffic, a traffic pattern that continues in the 21st century under C&O successor CSX Transportation.

Grove Station is long gone; however, other C&O railroad stations to the east at Lee Hall and to the west at Williamsburg are extant, with the latter still receiving intercity passenger rail service from Amtrak. Another historic C&O station, built in 1908 for Norge, has been preserved and was relocated in 2006 to the site of the Croaker Branch of the Williamsburg Regional Library.

[edit] Growth in 20th century

In the first half of the 20th century, Grove grew quickly twice as additional residents chose to relocate there from two large military reservations established by the U.S. Navy in adjacent York County, which took the land they had formerly occupied. Many new homes were built and amenities including electricity, running water and sidewalks were added.

[edit] Relocations from "the Reservation" and Lackey area

Prior to World War I, many African Americans lived in the unincorporated town of Lackey in York County, where they (and their ancestors) had obtained land as freedmen and former slaves or rented under sharecropping arrangements and established homesteads, particularly after the American Civil War. This close-nit community was sometimes called informally "the Reservation", as it had been largely settled simultaneously by freedmen.

As the United States became more involved in World War I in 1917, the U.S. Navy determined that it needed to establish a supply and munitions base near Yorktown adjacent to the York River. Under Executive Order of President Woodrow Wilson, the US Navy took a sizable piece of land to create the needed military base, initially known as a mine depot. [1] Many homes were taken, as were three churches also displaced. As the land was taken to became part of what is now known as the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown in 1918, the residents who were mostly farmers or fishermen, some owners, other tenants, scattered to other portions of York County, and nearby Williamsburg. A few crossed the York River and settled in Gloucester County. Perhaps the largest portion chose nearby James City County, and a substantial number relocated to Grove, which was close by, but south of the Navy land.

John Pack Roberts, who was born in approximately 1860, was a farmer and self-taught man who educated himself in the law and became a magistrate often known as "Judge Roberts". He is credited by historians as being instrumental in the growth of the Grove Community. He did this by helping some of those displaced from "the Reservation" obtain financial compensation from the federal government. The Grove area is now part of the Roberts Magisterial District of the James City County, perhaps in honor of Judge Roberts or other members of his family.[citation needed]

[edit] Highway success

With the coming of the automobile as a common form of travel in the early 20th century, attention was directed to improving roads. As part of the Good Roads Movement, the new road which became U.S. Route 60 was routed through Grove from Williamsburg and bridging Skiffe's Creek into Warwick County to Lee Hall. This routing was chosen rather than following a competing route via Halstead's Point in York County (now on the base of the US Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.

Earlier, the east-west road which became U.S. 60 was State Route 9. SR 9 was renumbered as State Route 39 in 1923, and became U.S. 60 in 1926 when it was routed through Grove.

Two-laned U.S. 60 continues to form the main thoroughfare through the largely residential and neighborhood business section of Grove, paralleling four-laned State Route 143 and Interstate 64.

[edit] Relocations from Magruder

During World War II, another small town, Magruder, located about 3 miles north of Williamsburg in York County, and hundreds of acres of surrounding land were taken to establish a U.S. Navy base for Seabee training initially known as Camp Allen, which later became known as Camp Peary. As had been the case with the Naval Weapons Station during World War I, this community was also largely populated by African Americans landowners and tenants, as well as businesses and a church.

Once again, the Grove Community grew with relocated households. At least one church, Mt. Gilead Baptist Church, was relocated from Magruder, and rebuilt along U.S. 60 in Grove.

[edit] Modern times

In modern times, the Grove community, currently consisting of about 1,100 families, and a scattering of schools, churches, and retail and industrial businesses, is located on a rural postal delivery route and carries the mailing address of Williamsburg, Virginia 23185, although that historic city itself is located about 5 miles to the west.

[edit] Residential

Grove is largely a bedroom community. Housing in Grove is generally considered more affordable than in many other areas of the fast-growing county. Many families have lived in Grove for generations. There is combination of older detached single-family homes situated on lots, with many dating to the two world war periods of rapid growth, a number of much newer ones, which are both interspersed in older neighborhoods and in several much newer subdivisions. There are several large condominium projects and several mobile home parks, including two larger ones which feature modern amenities such as underground wiring, curbs and gutters, paved driveways, street lighting, and community playgrounds.

As of 2007, Grove was seeing some additional residential development in the form of a new townhouse project, and some new detached single family homes. While the mobile home parks are not expanding, in some instances, new or much newer mobile homes are replacing older ones on the existing lots. Throughout Grove, there are very few vacant lots for additional mobile homes.

[edit] Community facilities

James River Elementary School and James River Community Center are co-located in a modern complex. The school is a magnet school of the Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (WJCC) which offers the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, one of only five such schools in Virginia. [2]

There are also 5 churches, a nursing home, 2 day care centers, a fire station, and Grove Christian Outreach Center (GCOC), a weekday agency which is affiliated with Grove Community Church. Staffed by volunteers, GCOC assists with family needs and coordination of community resources such as the local food bank.

[edit] Retail

Grove includes a small retail strip at its eastern end, the Windy Hill Shops, which includes a convenience store with gasoline. There is also a free-standing 7-11 store and a campground, all on the north side of U.S. Route 60.

[edit] Industrial

On the south side of U.S. Route 60, there are several large industrial properties, including a Ball can plant which supplies Anheuser-Busch's Williamsburg brewery. Recently, a masonry supply firm and a Volvo truck maintenance facility have each announced plans to establish facilities in the James River Commerce Center. A large property adjacent to the James River which formerly housed BASF is currently vacant. A distribution center for Wal-Mart is located in the Green Mount industrial park at the eastern edge of Grove. A furniture warehouse is also located there, with additional sites available for development.

James City County is actively seeking additional industrial business in this prime area of the county. VDOT funds have been committed to improve US Route 60 between Grove and Newport News to provide better (faster and more direct) access to Interstate 64, currently requiring a drive on surface streets through residential areas of about 4 miles in either direction.

[edit] Public transportation

Although there is little retail or hospitality employment in Grove, especially with Carter's Grove Plantation currently closed (since 2003), many residents use the Williamsburg Area Transport (WAT) public bus system or its complimentary paratransit service to reach employment, shopping, and other business at adjacent Busch Gardens Europe, in downtown Williamsburg, and at businesses along the way such as the Kingsmill resort and shops, and hotels, motels, and restaurants in the Fort Magruder vicinity, or transfer to other routes in the WAT network through the system's hub at the Williamsburg Transportation Center. Amtrak, Greyhound Lines, and Trailways services as well as taxicabs and rental cars are also located there.

The WAT bus route serving Grove leaves the Williamsburg Transportation Center on the hour and runs along U.S. Route 60 through the entire length of Grove from Williamsburg and continues east to serve the Wal-Mart distribution center, a Haynes furniture warehouse in the growing Green Mount industrial park, and provide an hourly connection six days a week to the massive Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) system at the western edge of Newport News at Lee Hall. The WAT bus stops on a side street adjacent to the local Food Lion and other stores, returning to Williamsburg via Grove with departures on the half hour.

The HRT system covers most of the other cities of Hampton Roads, with extensive networks in highly urbanized areas of Newport News, Hampton, and Norfolk. Some heavily patronized HRT routes trace their heritage to street railway lines started in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

[edit] Notables

  • Dr. J. Blaine Blayton (August 13, 1905 - December 15, 2002) was a prominent African American physician in the Williamsburg area who lived in Grove. Dr. Blayton built a 14-bed hospital in Williamsburg in the early 1950s because, at that time of racial segregation in Virginia, local African Americans were only allowed beds in the basement of the only other existing hospital in town, which was owned and operated by a white physician. Dr. Blayton was also a civic leader. A residential facility for senior citizens in downtown Williamsburg was named the Blayton Building in his honor.
  • In 1963, Oscar H. Blayton (son of Dr. J. Blaine Blayton), also of Grove, became the first African American to attend the College of William and Mary as an undergraduate. He graduated from Yale University Law School in 1977, and established a law practice in Williamsburg.
  • Grove Creek Natural Area is located on private property, west of Carter's Grove Plantation. Although not open to the public, rare plants are located there. The natural area is monitored by members of the John Clayton Chapter of the Virginia Natural Plant Society.

[edit] Trivia

  • A small but historic section of the northwestern edge of Grove is physically located in York County and is listed on that county's Historical Resources Survey (as are the former sites of the lost towns of Lackey and Magruder).
  • Magruder Avenue in Grove was presumably named in recognition of the resettlement of many residents there from the former town of Magruder during World War II.
  • Mt. Gilead Baptist Church, relocated from Magruder in 1943, maintains cemeteries at its new and former locations. Although access to the base at Camp Peary is under highly restrictive security, families and others from the church may enter to visit and tend to the old cemetery with special permission.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

[edit] Publications

  • McCartney, Martha W. (1977) James City County: Keystone of the Commonwealth; James City County, Virginia; Donning and Company; ISBN 0-89865-999-X

[edit] Websites

[edit] External links

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