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Ferry Plantation House
4136 Cheswick Lane - Virginia Beach, VA 23455 - (757) 473-5182
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Painting by: Casey Holtzinger |
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 HISTORY
The current building stands on the site that was originally occupied by Col. Anthony Walke's home as well as the first brick courthouse for Princess Anne County. The present home was built by descendents of Walke after his original home burned down. This site was also used for ferry service operating from 1642 until well into the 19th century. Archaeology conducted on the property has yielded significant findings of intact 18th century artifacts. THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc. AN HISTORIC REVIVAL AFTER YEARS OF NEGLECT, THE FERRY PLANTATION HOUSE WILL BE RENOVATED, PRESERVING 300 YEARS OF LOCAL HISTORYDATE: Friday, July 26, 1996 SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON
TYPE: Cover Story SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER STAND OUTSIDE historic Ferry Plantation House and listen and you may hear Grace Sherwood flounder in the waters of the Lynnhaven River as she is given a trial by ducking for the crime of witchcraft.
Virginia Beach's only witch was convicted in the early 1700s and was said to have been imprisoned in a jail on the Ferry Plantation site at the end of what today is Pembroke Boulevard.
Imagine Colonial residents coming and going with court business at Ferry Plantation, where the Princess Anne County Courthouse operated from 1735 to 1755. Imagine Anthony Walke, member of a prominent Princess Anne County family, entertaining guests and drinking from handsome tankards at his home on the site, where legend says he also ran a tavern during the Revolutionary War.
Today, much is left to the imagination because the Ferry Plantation House, among the most elaborate Federal period homes remaining in Virginia Beach, needs major repairs. It sits unattended and out of place on a tiny plot of land in the middle of the Old Donation Farm neighborhood. |
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