History

Bold adventurers in a brave new world. Paradise found. Kingsmill.

Steeped in a tradition of gracious Southern hospitality, Kingsmill Resort & Spa heralds a rich history dating back to Colonial America. The bucolic land located along the banks of the mighty James River contains the site where the first Englishman set foot in Virginia on May 12, 1607. Located in the heart of Virginia’s Historic Triangle, it should come as no surprise that the land now known as Kingsmill featured a bustling Virginia plantation life dating from 1619 through the 1800’s.

Today, Kingsmill Resort & Spa retains those magnificent traits inherent in Kingsmill’s early life with grand accommodations, gracious hospitality and stately service.

The chronicle of Kingsmill tells the story of a vivid plantation life. From tobacco farms and manor homes, to a ferry landing and tavern, Kingsmill represents a slice of Americana during the colonial era. William M. Kelso, Ph.D., director of Archaeology for the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities’ and author of Kingsmill Plantations wrote about the excavation at Kingsmill, “the study at Kingsmill, where numerous plantation sites represented the entire social and economic range of plantation life in colonial Virginia from her earliest years, promised to reveal for the first time substantial archaeological information about country life.”

Kingsmill played a significant role in the growth and development of the Jamestown colony. When the first settlers arrived in Virginia, colonist Gabriel Archer proposed to his fellow pioneers to consider the currently-named Hope section of Kingsmill their new home. Thought to be a true paradise and idyllic locale for their homesteads, the settlers eventually made their home slightly west at Jamestown, which permitted their ships to anchor closer to shore.

Several early colonists played a significant part in the development of Kingsmill and the growth of Williamsburg.

Richard Kingsmill, namesake of Kingsmill Resort & Spa and Residential Community, was a member of the Virginia Company, an organization chartered in England and charged with the founding and settlement of Virginia. He was given one of the first land grants of 300 acres in the southwest area of Kingsmill.

Col. Lewis Burwell III was a member of the Governor’s Council, the first elected legislative assembly of the new world. He inherited his grandfather’s lands and built Kingsmill Plantation, titling it after the original owner.

James Bray II was one of the first legislative representatives for the new City of Williamsburg and acted as a Burgess and Justice of the Peace for the County.

These brave new adventurers carved out a gracious existence along the banks of the mighty James River. The foundations of several notable historical sites can be found at Kingsmill Resort & Spa.

Kingsmill Plantation Col. Burwell’s Kingsmill Plantation featured a grand mansion on what is currently the Plantation golf course. This manor house overlooking the James River was two-stories tall and built of brick, symbolizing a durable, permanent homestead. The manor home contained eight rooms with a total of 4,800 square feet. Granite stairs manufactured in Wales lead to two acres of beautiful terraced gardens on the river side of the mansion. The plantation also included two brick dependencies, a coach house, dairy, stable, barn and two wells. Although the main house was destroyed by fire in 1844, the two flanking dependencies and original garden steps remain. These buildings can be viewed on the 2nd golf hole of the Plantation Course.

Kingsmill Plantation was at the core of a thriving, small riverbank community with its own compilation of mansions, outbuildings and slave quarters, as well as an attended ferry landing and flourishing population.

Burwell’s Landing Col. Burwell also established the Burwell’s Landing ferry and warehouse. This water landing became a major port of entry for Williamsburg during the eighteenth century. The site is visible from the 17th golf hole of Kingsmill Resort’s River Course.

Burwell’s Ordinary As Burwell’s Landing grew in commercial importance, it developed into a social hub with the operation of the Ordinary (or tavern) at Burwell Landing. The Ordinary at Burwell Landing provided travelers with entertainment, horse stables, storage and supplies. This site can be visited on the River Course along golf hole #17.

Pettus Plantation
Col. Pettus built his plantation in the 1640s and titled it Littletown Plantation. A profitable tobacco plantation, it was located on property now featuring Kingsmill Resort’s marina. Littletown Plantation’s manor house encompassed six rooms, several outbuildings and a well, all of which are marked at the site.

Bray Plantation Around 1700, James Bray II built a brick house flanked by out-buildings overlooking the James River. The substantial foundations of this home still stand today and the main house, dependency and well are located on the path between the resort center and the spa.

Ever cognizant of environmental and historical issues unique to Williamsburg and the Kingsmill lands, Anheuser-Busch is committed to preserving and maintaining the historical record of Kingsmill’s history. Artifacts from the excavations are on display at the Resort Center, the Jamestown Settlement Museum and at the Virginia Historical Society in Richmond.

In addition to the preservation of historical sites throughout Kingsmill, the names of original settlers have been preserved and incorporated into the naming of streets and subdivisions within the resort and in the residential division Kingsmill-on-the-James.

Kingsmill-on-the-James’s street names play tribute to Williamsburg’s, and America’s, early ancestors.

Abigail Lane
This street was named after Abigail Smith, the wife of Lewis Burwell II, who inherited Harrop’s Plantation around 1690. Their son, Lewis Burwell III built the grand plantation and manor house called Kingsmill.

Anderson’s Ordinary
Anderson’s Ordinary is named in recognition of Richard Heron Anderson. Anderson was the Lieutenant General CSA and was a commander during the battle of Williamsburg in May 1862. He commanded Longstreet’s 2nd Brigade.

Bransby
Thomas Bransby was a settler in Jamestown and Archer’s Hope located next to Kingsmill. He served as the Commander of the Guard and Sheriff of Archer’s Hope in 1625.

Colonel’s Way
Located in Tutter’s Neck, this street commemorates Colonel William Allen, Colonel Frederick Jones, Colonel Thomas Bray, Colonel Philip Johnson, Colonel William Claiborne, Colonel Thomas Pettus, and Colonel Lewis Burwell. All of these gentlment owned plantations within the area know known as Kingsmill during the 17th and 18th centuries.

In the developing years, the land now known as Kingsmill Resort & Spa featured prominent citizen’s homes, community gathering places and significant business ventures.

William M. Kelso’s Kingsmill Plantations 1619-1800: Archaeology of Country Life in Colonial Virginia, published by University of Virginia Press, 1984.

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