Visiting the Berkeley
Plantation on the James River in Virginia with Juilliard Graduate Florence Paget and Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
The
trees around our Norfolk (Virginia) apartment began to change color. The golden leaves glistened in the sun. The red and yellow leaves looked like grapes
on a vine.
The
crisp, fall air felt good to breathe and made you want to snuggle up in your
house. The fall colors made my commute
to work in Virginia Beach especially pleasant.
Laurent,
Florence, and I admired the fall colors on our drive to Berkeley Plantation on
the James River.
Berkeley
Plantation, built in the Georgian style of the 18th century, boasts
an illustrious history like many small châteaux along the Loire River Valley
outside Paris.
Our
guide, who resembled all the Jamiesons in the portraits throughout the house,
told us that:
-bourbon
was first distilled at Berkeley
-military
taps were invented at Berkeley during the Civil War
-of
the Plantation’s original owners, one Harrison president was born at Berkeley –
Henry Harrison (elected in 1841)
The
Harrisons loved parties and used the whole hallway downstairs as a
ballroom.
None
of the furniture we saw downstairs, though, was original to the house.
The
Harrisons best friend, who was Benedict Arnold, had the house’s furniture
dragged out and burned during the Revolutionary War.
The
gardens at Berkeley Plantation extend down to the James River, where the
Plantation’s goods would be loaded onto boats for transport throughout Hampton
Roads and out to ports on the ocean.
There
was a monument on the edge of the James River commemorating the first
Thanksgiving in 1619.
The
Virginia Thanksgiving Festival Group promotes public recognition of Berkeley’s
Thanksgiving as the first one, because English settlement in Virginia is older
than that of English settlement in New England.
When
Berkeley Plantation became the property of the Jamieson family, the first
Jamieson family member used Berkeley as a hospital during the Civil War (first
floor).
Our
guide said that people “with powers” felt many vibrations on the first
floor. I was thinking to myself, “Toss
the Spanish Moss around and sell séance tickets for midnight gatherings.”
Laurent,
Florence, and I made a second trip down to the river’s edge with our picnic
hamper. The sun shone on us without
being too hot.
Laurent
and I ate cheese sandwiches while Florence ate a chocolate sandwich. I also packed yogurt, apples, and
cheese. Florence liked making red wax
balls from the mini Gouda cheese I packed for lunch.
Satisfied
with a beautiful outing, I drove back to Norfolk and spent the evening writing
up comments made by the tour guides in my family journal.
By
Ruth Pennington Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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