SANKOFA'S PLANTATION DATABASE
Shirley
Plantation
Location: between Richmond and Williamsburg
Founded: 1607
Learn more at: jamesriverplantations.org
Information: SHIRLEY PLANTATION; 501 Shirley Plantation Road; Charles City,
VA 23030-2907; PHONE: (800) 232-1613
History: Shirley was founded six years after the settlers arrived at Jamestown
in 1607 to establish the first permanent English Colony in the New World
Associated Free White Names
- (1660) Edward Hill: granted to Edward Hill in 1660
- (1723) Edward Hill III: constructed manor 1723 - 1738 for his daughter
Elizabeth Hill
- (1738) John Carter and Elizabeth Hill: married couple
- Families Hill and Carter
Associated Black Slave Names
Agriculture
Description of Associated Architecture
- A number of superb brick outbuildings, built in 1723, form a unique
Queen Anne forecourt. These include a large two-story kitchen, laundry house,
and two sturdy barns, including one with an ice cellar beneath it. This is
the only standing example of this building method in the United States. Other
original structures include the stable, smokehouse, and dove cote.