Life Along Greensprings Trail: Historic Green Spring

If you have ever driven out Centerville Road from route 5, you have seen the open fields and signs for "Historic Green Spring". Yesterday with the National Park Service and the Friends of Green Spring, the site was open for touring. Thank-you to the wonderful volunteers including Jamestown High School Biology students.

The site was open with two people in character as Govenor and Lady Berkley. Historians, Map makers and volunteers were on hand to give presentations on The Battle of Green Spring, named after the Berkley Plantation, but also called the Battle of Jamestown Island. The Battle itself was fought on what is now known as Mainland farm, Carlton farm and Drummund Field Community. We had a nice look of Maps throughout history which showed where things were in the 17th, 18th and 19th century as well as today. We were also priviledged to hear about the Greate Road, the road going back 1000 plus years leading from Jamestown Island to Williamsburg. Another historian spoke on the African American history of the area. The first slaves in Virginia were at the Berkley Plantation and were later freed by Henry Lee and given a plot of land in the area now known as Freedom Park, a James City County park, botanical garden and display of Slave cabins.

What was exciting seeing on the sight was the actual Green Spring for which the area is named. There is still a spring and an old spring house where water still emerges from the ground and then flows towards the other tributaries and into the James. The sight was chosen for the spring that existed there in the 16 and 1700's and the area named after the spring because having an abundance of water meant the area was green.