During the World War, when the United States undertook the stupendous operation of laying the North Sea barrage, it was necessary that there be a plant on the Atlantic seaboard where mines, after being manufactured, could be stored, assembled, loaded, tested and issued to the Navy. Also, a place was needed to build up and train personnel in the adjustment and operation of mines. On August 7, 1918, by presidential proclamation, a tract about eighteen square miles near Yorktown, Virginia, was selected as the best location to concentrate the Navy’s mine activities.
It is an oddity of past peace-times that old seventeenth century Yorktown has been forgotten and neglected in the strategic scheme of things military. Yet, in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War, and in the World War, the naval and military authorities were not long in rediscovering quiet little Yorktown, with the consequence that many events of world-wide significance have taken place there. In 1918, the imprint of war left this section of the Virginia peninsula with an army post permanently located at Fort Eustis, Virginia, ten miles from Yorktown, the Navy Fuel Oil Station at Yorktown, and the Mine Depot, on the York River, two and one-half miles above Yorktown.
The reasons for selecting Yorktown as a Mine Depot are many. It is conveniently located with respect to the Naval Operating Base at Hampton Roads, the Norfolk Navy Yard, and the fuel bases of the Fifth Naval District. Transportation facilities are unexcelled. The northwest boundary of the depot is formed by the main line of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and the northeast by the navigable York River accessible to the largest ocean-going vessels.
Its location to the westward of Chesapeake Bay, ten miles within the winding mouth of the York River, particularly lends itself to protection from air, land and sea.
The Mine Depot is twenty-three miles from Newport News along the State concrete highway and twelve miles by motor from the old colonial capital at Williamsburg.
The total acreage is 12,562, subdivided into 11,288 acres of hard, marsh and water land, and 1,274 acres of underwater land, making it the largest single reservation in the United States under naval control.
To afford adequate protection of the five- mile waterfront, the State of Virginia conveyed to the Navy Department in fee simple all underwater land to the pier-head line.
A large proportion of the tract as originally commandeered consisted of cultivated farm lands, but most of the old houses have been removed, and the cleared land allowed to grow up with underbrush and trees. At the present time eighty per cent of the Mine Depot is heavily wooded. A sawmill for the manufacture of railroad timber and lumber is kept in operation as funds permit and, with prudent conservation, a continuous supply of timber is assured. In this part of Virginia, it is but twenty-five years from “farm to forest.”
There is comparatively little strictly smooth ground in the Depot. The terrain is generally rolling with occasional level tracts estimated to aggregate not over ten per cent of the entire area. There are many low-rising hills reaching a maximum elevation of ninety feet above sea level, and the entire waterfront is bordered by bluffs ranging from fifty to one hundred feet high. At extreme low water, the foreshore extends several hundred yards channelward.
The York River constitutes the northeastern boundary of the depot. It is a tidal estuary of the Chesapeake Bay about one mile and a quarter in width at the Mine Depot and is navigable for a distance of forty miles to the town of West Point (named for John West, an early settler). There are several small creeks in the Depot flowing from high ground into the York, most of which are tidal for a considerable distance from their mouth. These streams are shallow and only navigable to small flat-bottom boats.
Within the Depot there are eighteen miles of sand, clay, and gravel road. The main roads are excellent for automobiles and starting from the main gate there is a charming drive for motor cars, several miles of which are along the banks of the York River. There are also twelve miles of standard gauge railroad directly connected with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway at Lee Hall, Virginia.
The fresh water supply for the Depot is obtained by gathering the water of five springs into a central impounding basin. The water here is chlorinated and pumped to gravity tanks for use. To prevent river pollution, two sewage plants are in constant operation.
All told, there are at this writing 192 persons residing within the limits of the Depot. This community consists of officers and families, marines, navy enlisted personnel and civilian employees and their families. There are ten sets of officers’ quarters and twenty-four sets of civilian quarters. A special bus takes the Depot school children to the Public School at Yorktown.
The marine guard consists of one commissioned officer, three warrant officers and fifty-eight enlisted men. The borders of this expansive tract are under daily surveillance and guarded against trespassers by a marine mounted patrol. One of the chief functions of the marine guard is fire protection. It is equipped to fight any kind of fire and exercised to reach the scene quickly anywhere within the Depot limits. Brush and forest fires are potentially probable during late fall or early spring and are carefully guarded against. The presence of a large civilian community is a distinct asset because a successful fight against a fire of this nature depends largely upon numbers.
To guard against danger of fire due to use of firearms or to the presence of persons in the wooded areas, the shooting, hunting and trapping or the molestation of birds and wild animals on the lands of the Mine Depot were prohibited by order of the Secretary of the Navy in 1921. Birds and animals indigenous to the country thus multiply according to natural laws and, thanks to this protection, are now expanding beyond the Depot limits to gladden the heart of the countryside sportsman.
Fauna and Flora.—We find the Mine Depot stocked with deer by the State Game Commission. Squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, opossums and other wild animals abound.
The area has also been artificially stocked with the Chinese ring-necked pheasant and the bob-white quail. Large flocks of exquisite wild turkeys, native to the soil, make the woodlands their home.
Of the song birds there is a profusion, and in season the ponds and creeks are visited by many varieties of migratory birds, such as mallard and canvas back duck.
York River is noted for its fish. The ordnance wharf is a favorite resort for the angler and a variety is obtainable here, notably the striped bass (rock) ranging in weight from one to twenty pounds. The oysters and clams obtained at this point of the York rival the best.
For the fresh water angler, one of the ponds (Bracken’s) has been stocked with bass by the Federal Bureau of Fisheries and good sport here is assured.
The forests abound in the evergreen conifers and there are several varieties of oak and nut trees. On the abandoned farm lands many fruit trees of various kinds are found.
In springtime a riot of dogwood, wild plum, and other blossoms beautify the woods. This particular section of Virginia is famous for the gorgeous landscape effects bestowed by the exuberant Scotch broom (planta genista). This golden legume doubtless was introduced from Great Britain with the fodder brought over for the horses of Cornwallis’ army.
Indian Field.—At the time of the arrival of the whites, this region was occupied by the Chiskiack Indians of the Algonquin race, whose chief town was established at what is now known as “Indian Field.” The name of the tribe meant “wide land,” “broad place,” which is quite descriptive of the locality where the Indians lived. This expanse of open level land, bordering on the river and surrounded by luxuriant pines, was in 1612 an Indian wigwam village. The chief of the tribe was Ottahotin (under Powhatan). On the site of this Indian village, facing the river, are now six sets of officers’ quarters including the residence of the Inspector of Ordnance in Charge. The Indians called this river "Pamunkey” but the English at their coming gave it the name of “Charles River” in honor of Prince Charles, afterward King Charles I. It later was renamed “York” in honor of the Duke of York, soon to be King James II.
The need of an English settlement in this region was felt as early as 1611 and Sir Thomas Dale, deputy governor, in a letter to the Earl of Salisbury, recommended a fortified place at Chiskiack (Indian Field). Then, after the Indian massacre of 1622, when the Chiskiacks deserted Indian Field and moved to the Pyanketank River, the idea of “winning the forest” by running a pale (palisade or barrier for defense purposes) from the James River to the York River and the planting of a settlement on the latter took strong hold on the colonial governor, Sir Francis Wiatt, and his council. This scheme was regarded as the best means to ward off Indian attacks and it was agreed to build palisades defended at intervals by stock houses. Nothing was done, however, until the coming of Governor Sir John Harvey, when the project was carried into execution. At a meeting of the council on October 8, 1630, as appears from a deed recorded at Yorktown, an order was entered offering as an encouragement “for secureing and takeing in a tract of land called the forest, bordering upon the chiefe residents of Pamunkey king, the most dangerous head of ye Indian enemye” fifty acres to every person who would settle the first year on Charles River and likewise twenty-five acres to every person the second year. At the same court two tracts of 600 acres each were granted to John West, brother of Lord Delaware, and to Captain John Utie, later commander of the new settlement.
Bellfield.—The six hundred acres of land granted to John West extended eastward in the present Mine Depot from Felgate’s Creek, taking in what was then, and is still, known as “Bellfield,” which was used during the World War as an aviation training camp. The abandoned hangars and buildings have been salvaged. Here his son, John West, the first child of English parentage in the York River settlement, was born in 1633.
In 1650 the elder West sold the property to Edward Digges, Esq. (later Governor Digges), a son of Sir Dudley Digges, master of the rolls to King Charles I. This plantation is noted as the scene of the first attempt by the Colonists to raise silk worms for the production of silk planned to compete with the Orient. Two Armenians were employed to assist but the industry proved a failure. To this day there is seen on the estate as a reminder numerous mulberry trees transplanted from abroad.
The estate continued in the Digges family for over one hundred years, during which time it was noted for its flavored plant of sweet-scented tobacco known as the “E. Dees,” which never failed to bring in England “One shilling on the pound when other tobaccos brought not threepence.” The original Bellfield house was a brick structure but has long since disappeared. Naturally, this being the home of Governor Digges, one time colonial governor1 of Virginia, it is a particularly revered spot to Virginia antiquarians. The burying ground, nearby, holds among others, the weathered tomb of Governor Digges inscribed as follows :
To the memory of Edward Digges Esq.
Sonne of Dudley Digges of Chilham in Kent Knt & Bart Master of the Rolls in the reign of K. Charles the First. He departed this life 15th of March 1674/5 in the LV year of his age, one of his Magty Councill for this his Collony of Virginia.
A gentleman of most commendable parts and Ingenuity, the only introducer and promoter of the SILK manufacture in this Colonie, And in every thing else a pattern worthy of all Pious Imitation. He had issue 6 sonnes and 7 daughters by the body of ELIZABETH his wife who of her conjugal affection hath dedicated to him this Memorial.
An interesting feature in connection with Bellfield is an ancient shell deposit (marl) near the river which indicates that in the Miocene period this land formed the bed of the ocean. Geologists frequently visit here for study and to secure specimens of prehistoric mollusks.
Ringfield.—In the angle formed by Felgate’s Creek and King’s Creek,2 settled Captain Robert Felgate, a prominent ship captain from London, who made his will in 1640 leaving his estate to his brother, William Felgate, a skinner of London. At William Felgate’s death, his widow, Mary, married in 1660 Captain John Underhill, Jr., from the city of Worcester, England, who resided here until his death.
1 Held office from March 30, 1655, to March 13, 1658, succeeding Governor Richard Bennet
2 Forms west boundary of depot.
From Underhill, the property went to Joseph Ring, a prominent lawyer, who probably built the picturesque brick home which, unfortunately, was destroyed by fire since acquisition by the government (December 14, 1920). This house was the residence of the first Inspector of Ordnance in Charge who, on October 5, 1920, moved to the new quarters at Indian Field. Antiquarians consider its loss (probably of incendiary origin) most regrettable as it was judged a rare example of early seventeenth century colonial architecture.
Stony Point.—On the site of the seaman gunners’ quarters (now used as marine barracks) was another of the old homes on the York known as “Stony Point.” The plantation of 800 acres was owned shortly after the Revolution by an Englishman named John Bracken, who, after serving for a long time as professor of the grammar school at William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Virginia, was president thereof for two years, 1812-1814.
There is an interesting bit of history concerning the naming of “Stony Point.” A young lieutenant, James Gibbons, who was a gallant Revolutionary officer, on July 16, 1779, led one of the three advanced parties known as the “Forlorn Hopes,” when General “Mad” Anthony Wayne carried by storm the fortress of Stony Point, New York. Of his twenty men, seventeen were killed or wounded. Thereafter he was known as the “Hero of Stony Point.” This young soldier afterwards became Colonel Gibbons, U.S.A., who resided here, and later, until his death, occupied the post of collector of customs in Richmond, Virginia. To this day the spot is called “Stony Point” in memory of Colonel Gibbon’s bravery.
Shortly before the Civil War, Stony Point was purchased by John Randolph Coupland, great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
The house, a large brick dwelling, was surrounded by attractive grounds with terraces extending down to the river’s edge. Mr. Coupland had lived here only a short while when a disgruntled negro slave, whom he had brought from his mother’s plantation in Alabama, set fire to a trunk in the attic and the valuable home was totally destroyed.
Lee House.—The Lee House, located about two miles off the river in the central portion of the Depot, is an example of early colonial architecture, one story and a half high with dormer windows and a chimney at each end. It has been the home of nine generations of Lees. Henry Lee obtained in 1641 a certificate from York court for 250 acres of land which was due him for the importation of five persons into the colony. This Henry Lee was justice of York county in 1648 and a member of the House of Burgesses from York.
The Lee House was built in 1649, burned in 1915, and rebuilt with the old walls on the same foundation, the original type of architecture being carried through in detail. Among other quaint styles of architecture, one notices very small windows made so, it is believed, that wandering bands of hostile Indians would find difficulty in shooting their arrows through. The family burial ground, in the front yard of the home, is in a good state of preservation and protected by an iron enclosure. Many members of this Lee3 family rest here, the number unknown but presumably large. A quaint system of recording the deceased is seen, for, instead of tombstones being erected over the graves, the bodies were interred and the names cut on small stone slabs cemented to the central monument.
3 General R. E. Lee not related.
Continental Road and Black Swamp.—A most interesting historical relic is that section of the road passing through the Mine Depot which connects Jamestown on the James River with Yorktown on the York, passing through the colonial capital of Williamsburg in the center of the peninsula. This road was originally an Indian trail and is probably not antedated by any other road in the United States, having been continually in use as a highway for 300 years.
From a historical viewpoint, the road first comes to notice when the Revolutionary Army under George Washington, composed of his own troops, Americans under Lafayette and the French under Rochambeau, marched from Williamsburg in one day to Yorktown to the investiture of Lord Cornwallis and to the deciding battle of the Revolution. Official reports tell us that the French fleet landed troops at Jamestown, marched them to Williamsburg, and made a junction with Washington’s army which had just come down from the north, and with Lafayette, who had been dogging Cornwallis’s footsteps for many months.
Upon reorganization, this picturesque army, many clad in new bright colored uniforms lately issued, left Williamsburg and marched through the road, four miles of which is in Mine Depot property. At noon the army halted for rest at a place shown on the maps of that period as the “French Ordinary’’ or “Halfway House.” The house is no longer standing but its site is recollected by the oldest inhabitants of York county. In the days of horse and stage it was necessary to have these stopping places for the traveler to rest and refresh himself.
George Washington, in his journal, describing the siege of Yorktown under the date of September 18, says:
Having debarked all the troops and their baggage, marched and encamped them in front of the city (Williamsburg) and, having with some difficulty obtained horses and mules sufficient to move their field artillery, intrenching tools, and such other articles as were necessary, we commenced our march for the investiture of the enemy of York.
The American Continental and French troops formed one column on the left, the first in advance, the militia, composed the right column and marched by the way of Harwood’s Mill; half a mile beyond the Halfway House, the French and the Americans separated, the former continued on the direct road to York by the brick house, the latter filed off to the right for Mumford’s bridge, where a junction with the militia was to be made.
The site of the Halfway House is appropriately marked to commemorate the occasion.
During the Civil War, the highway was used at various times by the Confederate and Union troops, the largest body of men probably being General McClellan’s army, who took this route on the advance up the Virginia peninsula. At places where the Army halted, entrenchments were thrown up which can be dimly discerned to this day running at right angles to the road. In digging foundations for buildings here, Civil War muskets4 and other equipment have been unearthed.
4 Presented to museum, U. S. Naval Academy.
At one point of the road, known as “Black Swamp,” where a ravine, formed by one of the arms of Felgate’s Creek, intersects the road, the traveling was always difficult. The road was soft with treacherous quicksand and there have been many stories of people being mired here at night and fiercely attacked by swarms of mosquitoes while endeavoring to extricate themselves. Such an experience befell General McClellan’s army, who found this point an almost impassable barrier for several days, particularly for his heavy impedimenta. An old inhabitant relates that to overcome Black Swamp the soldiers laid a corduroy road of pine saplings which remained for many years afterwards. A culvert and slag road now obviates the menace.
There is a legend of the Black Swamp which goes thus:
A coach containing two beautiful ladies with their escorts was returning from a ball given at the Yorktown tavern. They drove too near the dreaded quicksands of Black Swamp and were engulfed never to be seen again. The superstition of the country folks is to the effect that on a certain night of each year at midnight one hears the laughter and chatter of the charming belles and their gentlemen, the clatter of wheels and horses’ hoofs, the crack of the whip, and the coachman’s “get up” and sees a ghost-like resemblance to the old coach dashing down the hill to disappear in the swamp again!
French Earthworks.—When the French troops of Washington’s army deployed before Yorktown, three regiments on the left were encamped on what is now Mine Depot property. These were under the command of General St. Simon, borrowed from the Governor of San Domingo and brought up from the West Indies in De Grasse’s fleet. The regiments were as follows: Agenois under Colonel Marquis d’Audechamp, Gate- nois under Colonel Marquis de Rostaing, and Touraine under Colonel Viscomte de Pondeux. The works thrown up by these regiments are distinctly visible today in the densely wooded eastern section near the Yorktown Road.
York-Hampton Parish Church.—On now government property also stood the church of Hampton Parish near the river in the neck between King’s and Felgate’s Creeks. About 1700, the first site was abandoned and a church of brick built on the ridge near the head of Felgate’s Creek. This church, about 1706, was united with the parish at Yorktown and from henceforth was known as the “York-Hampton Parish.” For a long time the minister who officiated at Yorktown had under his charge the church at the head of Felgate’s Creek, still referred to as old “Cheesecake” church (Cheesecake being a corruption of Chiskiack). It was torn down during the Civil War and used as chimney brick for the quarters of Union officers billeted at Williamsburg.
Mason Row.—The first home to be erected where the officers’ quarters now stand on Indian Field was owned by the Mutter family, who lived there early in the Seventeenth Century. This house faced an avenue bordered by magnificent cedar trees such as can be seen on approach to many of the ancient estates of England and some few colonial manor houses of Virginia. This stately grove, several centuries old, gives a solid bank of shadows as one drives through and is still standing to beguile the eye and charm the visitor. Six sets of quarters now overlook the York River from a high bluff, being called “Mason Row” in honor of Rear Admiral N. E. Mason, U.S.N., a distinguished Chief of Bureau of Ordnance in whose regime, in 1909, the first mine layer, the U.S.S. Restless, was commissioned. East of the quarters is a ravine, containing a spring of clear, bubbling, cool water, banked by cedars and filled with enormous beds of old-fashioned Virginia mint, a reminder of enchanting days of yore.
The Mine Depot-1927—Two months after the site of the Mine Depot was commandeered by the Government, the World War came to an end. The Navy Department, however, realizing a real need for an establishment of this nature, pursued the original plans, which resulted in the completion of the depot after six years of continuous labor. It is now a base for naval mine activity, an issue point for depth charges to counter the submarine, and is a depository for high explosives in bulk. The last Congress appropriated $580,000 for the further development and extension of the facilities here, which will consist of the building of 18 miles of new roads and the construction of 77 new buildings. The Government payroll at Yorktown amounts to one-third of a million dollars a year. This year Yorktown has been visited by a large number of vessels of the fleet on several different occasions, which suggests the fact that the Navy Department is considering this area more important from year to year.
Outside of its purely naval aspects it is a spot especially endowed by nature. Little wonder that so many of the first English settlers of Virginia selected this picturesque section of the country for their homes. Lucky and proud indeed is the Navy to find itself in possession of this property which is not only rich in beauty, history and romance but which ideally fulfills its naval mission.