The Women of Chippokes programs are being offered March 9, 16 and 30. Let's learn a little bit about Lady Berkeley who was to become one of the most powerful women in British America and her connection to Chippokes State Park, in Surry Virginia.

In August 1677, Frances Berkeley anxiously awaited the return of her husband from London. Their large house rarely felt lonely due to the constant flow of guests and servants, both free and enslaved, but Frances felt moved to begin a letter. “My Dear Dear Sir,” she began, “Though I hope you will be coming this way before this will arrive in England…” As she wrote, Lady Berkeley was unaware that the man she was addressing would never return. Governor William Berkeley had died in London a month before, overcome with illness and weakened by the long sea voyage from Virginia. Though she did not know it, Lady Berkeley was about to become the most powerful and wealthy woman in all of British America.

When Frances Culpeper arrived at Jamestown in 1650, she was just sixteen and one of the best educated women in the colony. With such an advantage over other girls, Frances soon landed a well-connected husband. In 1669 he died, and his beautiful, intelligent, and wealthy widow caught the eye of Virginia’s governor. Despite the fact that Governor Berkeley was 30 years older than her, Frances married him just six months after her first husband’s death. Such quick remarriages were common in 17th century Virginia, where it could be dangerous for a woman to live alone.

Lady Berkeley of Chippokes

Despite the difference in their ages, Lady Berkeley fiercely supported her new husband and the two were by all accounts happy. The Berkeleys owned many tracts of land, including the coveted Chippokes. Named for a local Powhatan chief, Chippokes was a 750-acre plantation directly across the James River from Jamestown and Williamsburg. It had a well-established orchard full of peach, apple, plum, and apricot trees. An abundance of crops were grown in its fields, including tobacco, maize, wheat, and possibly indigo. Several small houses dotted its peaceful landscape, home to the Berkeleys’ overseer and indentured and enslaved farm workers. Huge stands of massive, old-growth trees bordered the fields. A road ran through the plantation leading from the river to the stylish brick home of the neighboring plantation owner, Major Arthur Allen II.

Major Allen was a surveyor, a peaceful neighbor with whom the Berkeleys were on good terms. They could not have been prepared for the destruction that would redefine that brick house and their own lives in 1676.

Young Nathaniel Bacon had been exiled from England and, once in Virginia, charmed his way into Governor Berkeley’s council. However, dissatisfied with Berkeley’s way of doing things and hoping to gain more power, Bacon and a large group of followers began attacking native peoples, anyone who sided with Berkeley, and even the Berkeleys themselves. While Bacon and most of his followers stayed near Jamestown, a group on the other side of the James River seized Major Allen’s house. They raided and burned nearby plantations sympathetic to Governor Berkeley. Chippokes was likely one of the first to be ransacked.

In 1676, news broke of Bacon’s death at the hands of dysentery. While the threat of attack was gone, the Berkeleys were not out of trouble. Chippokes and many of their other plantations had been damaged, and now the King was questioning the Governor’s ability to rule. Lady Berkeley immediately leapt to his aid. She boarded a ship in Jamestown and after a long, cramped voyage, entered the lavish throne room of the Palace of Whitehall. There she passionately defended her husband’s actions to King Charles II. Her intellect, political savvy, and elegant dress may have worked wonders in Virginia, but they were not enough in the higher-stakes English royal court.

Lady Berkeley resentfully returned home with a team of investigators in tow. After a year of study, they found Governor Berkeley guilty of unfair taxation, religious oppression, and suppressing education in the colony. Berkeley, 72 and in poor health, was summoned to London to face the King on his own. He made it to England, but died before his appearance in court.

Sunset over the fields of Chippokes State Park

Clever and resourceful, Lady Berkeley was one of the most powerful people of her day, despite the fact that as a woman she could not fully participate in government.  Now, widowed for the second time, she controlled more landholdings than anyone else in British America. Under her supervision, the picturesque Chippokes grew into a prized gem. Its sweeping fields, lush orchards, ancient timber stands, and bustling river wharf would all contribute to the massive wealth Lady Berkeley maintained for the rest of her life.

The illustrious Berkeley ownership marked only the beginning of Chippokes’ story, however. The 18th century loomed, and with it, a brave new world of political, social, and technological challenges that would redefine the plantation forever.

Beach along the James River

To learn more about Lady Frances Berkeley, Chippokes, and its amazing wealth of history, come enjoy a program this March at Chippokes State Park.

If hiking isn’t your thing, join us for an exciting indoor program highlighting the many strong women who helped shape Chippokes at Women of Chippokes program, offered March 16 and 30. Click here for more program information. 

Or simply take a stroll along the beach at your own pace, enjoying the same views the Berkeleys did over 300 years ago. Chippokes State Park is located in Surry County along the James River. 

For more information please click here or call 757-294-3728.