Overview

Virginia’s first plantation, Shirley Plantation was built six years after the first permanent English settlement. Since its founding in 1613, it has survived Indian revolts, Bacon’s Rebellion, the American Revolution, the Civil War and the Great Depression. Despite this, it’s the most intact colonial estate in the state. The Great House, where the owners’ families lived, still has original portraits, furnishings, hand-carved woodwork and silver.

Not only can the plantation boast 11 generations of family history but also the oldest family-owned business on the continent. No doubt the plantation used slaves and indentured servants to produce its tobacco crops as did most plantations of the time. Evidence of this is entwined with the property’s history.