April 2004

River Country

Country roads lead into a rural landscape for independent exploring

by Mary Burnham

Just over the Coleman Bridge into Gloucester County is Tyndall’s Point, where a park preserves the remains of Confederate batteries and earthworks. These kept Union forces from entering the York River, sparing much of the Middle Peninsula from the Civil War campaign that raged on the other side of the river.

Further up, at West Point, the York splits into the Pawmunkey and Mattaponi rivers, namesakes of two Virginia tribes that still reside here. The other side of the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River, with historic ports of Urbanna, Deltaville and Tappahannock. This wealth of water defines “River Country,” a rural landscape dotted with historic courthouse villages linked by country roads that still obey the borders of plantation fields.

River Country lends itself to the independent explorer. A day’s outing could be filled with visits to half a dozen antique shops, a walking tour of a courthouse town or lunch in a quiet fishing village where watermen haul in their catch of blue crab or croaker. Those willing to get a little lost may explore back roads leading to former plantation estates or a river marsh where otter and turtles swim and great blue heron stand sentry.

For the rest of this story, you can order the April 2004 issue of Hampton Roads Magazine.