On a sunny afternoon, close to the start of Spring, we decided to head to Jamestown for a ferry ride. It was one of the warmest days for a while, and I had just recovered from a nasty bout of the flu, which kept me isolated in my room for almost a week. I had had enough of the indoors and wanted some fresh air, so we hopped in the car for a mini adventure. The ferry was fun and the birds were lovely, but we happened upon this plantation in Surry, on the other side of the river from Jamestown. Smith’s Fort Plantation was built in 1785 by a family named Faulcon. The plantation itself was named because Captain John Smith (of Pocahontas fame) had built a fort on the property in 1609. YES. 1609. You can actually drive back to the site of the fort and the house that is there now is not the first in that spot. Apparently several structures have been built on the land, and the current house now holds a museum of sorts and is the property of Preservation Virginia. The land itself was given to John Rolfe by Chief Powhatan himself as a dowry when Rolfe and Pocahontas were married. We were there late in the afternoon, it had already closed for the day, and didn’t go inside, but we wandered around outside and the resulting pictures show a lovely house with a small, fenced garden in back. We found a lovely spot to take some natural light pictures, and headed up the road to Bacon’s Castle…
natural light & themed photography
Wendy McPhail Photography 