Destination: Virginia : Plantation Visitations : On the banks of the James River, working farms hint at the elegance of another era

From my position inside the gazebo, I can see the wide, gentle contours of the James River curve past emerald fields dotted with sheep. Behind me, the stately Georgian manor house of Berkeley plantation stands silent watch. Late summer’s heavy heat has settled a certain quiet upon the river valley and a lull has fallen over my conversation with Mack Jamieson, the 80-something owner of this historic estate.

Perhaps a minute or so passes silently while we watch a bald eagle wing gracefully along the river’s edge. My heart soars as the elegant bird catches the day’s gentle drafts, but my reverie is broken when my host comments, “Aww, they’re nothing but buzzards with white heads.” He’s only partly kidding, however. The eagles that haunt the James River corridor often dine on his newborn lambs. That’s a real problem for this working farm.

It’s this kind of observation that make a trip to the Berkeley plantation worthwhile and quite different from a simple tour of old houses. Though one of the nation’s earliest and historically richest plantations, Berkeley remains a working farm, as well as Jamieson’s home.

Berkeley is one of a dozen or so old, private plantations that grace the banks of the James River between Richmond and Williamsburg, an easy drive south of Washington. Four of them--Berkeley, Shirley, Evelynton and Sherwood Forest--are on the river’s north shore within several miles of one another. They are open to the public year-round. Westover and Belle Air--also on the north shore--are open to groups by appointment and on special occasions, including historic garden week in late April, when dozens of plantations and mansions, usually closed, open their doors.

Don’t expect, as I did before my visit last year, the crisp lawns of Monticello or the exacting historical standards of Colonial Williamsburg. Except for Carter’s Grove in Colonial Williamsburg, private families, not well-endowed foundations, run these homes, and a portrait of Robert E. Lee might hang close to a modern-day portrait of the home’s owner, underlining the living history aspect of the homes. Some of the owners are 11th-generation descendants of the original Colonial owners. The person out gardening or fixing a fence might very well be one of the owners. And the antiques and architectural nuances are also tied to the present, since people still use them.

The son of a Scottish immigrant, Jamieson is a relative newcomer to the area, rescuing the house from ruin in 1927, when he began the lifelong task of restoring the home, as well as the property. He dug out manure from the basement and cleaned up the mess that included problems associated with the Union Army’s occupation of the house--as a headquarters and hospital--long before. (Jamieson has on display bullets he claims bear the teeth marks of soldiers undergoing amputations.) Berkeley’s interior contains masterpiece upon masterpiece of beautiful 18th-Century antiques, carefully collected by Jamieson’s wife, Grace. In the early days, he said he sold a cow every time Grace found another antique to purchase. Among the pieces of Hepplewhite and Chippendale furniture is an extraordinary gentlemen’s chest of Virginia pine and cherry, filled with countless nooks and drawers designed to hold maps, deeds or ink, and a mirror to guide a gentleman as he powdered his wig. In the great room, hand-carved Adam-style cornices and chair moldings, along with the arched doorways in one room, were designed by owner Benjamin Harrison and his friend Thomas Jefferson. Signer of the Declaration of Independence and three-time governor of Virginia, Harrison was also father of William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States.

In the grand hallway of Berkeley is a framed letter that Jamieson likes to show visitors. Written by Arthur Schlesinger, then special assistant to President Kennedy, it contends that Berkeley, not Plymouth, Mass., was the site of the first official Thanksgiving in 1619, a full year before the Pilgrims arrived. While some sources argue this point, including encyclopedias Britannica and Americana, World Book agrees that Berkeley was site of the first feast by a group of settlers known as the Berkeley Company.

The nerve that connects these plantations is the James River, the once-vital avenue of commerce and transportation that flows from the Blue Ridge Mountains through Richmond across the coastal plain to the ocean. Near its mouth lies Jamestown, the first permanent English Colonial settlement in America, established in 1607. During the 17th Century, Virginia’s aristocracy began to settle along the James, building palatial homes with the help of hundreds of slaves and profits from the lucrative tobacco trade. The close-knit community intermarried, creating a confusion of Tylers, Harrisons, Ruffins, Hills, Carters and Byrds--gentlemen farmers who traveled 30 miles to Williamsburg to help form the nation’s first government and later served as governors and Presidents. John Tyler, our 10th President, retired to Sherwood Forest plantation after the end of his term in 1845.

Col. William Byrd II built the impressive Westover plantation in 1730, just downriver from Berkeley. Much more palatial than Berkeley, some describe Westover as the most elegant Georgian structure in America. Its steeply sloping roof is spiked by tall, graceful chimneys. Giant tulip poplars at least a century and a half old shade the lawn that spills down to the James. Only the grounds are open regularly now, but the imposing exterior and gardens are well worth a visit. One of the several buildings close by holds the “necessary house,” a fancy five-hole outhouse with seats of varying sizes and a fireplace to take the chill out of winter visits.

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Easy sea access to the James meant problems for the earliest settlers. Belle Air, a smallish but solidly and artfully constructed plantation home, was set well back from the river, so fearful were the early owners of Spanish pirates.

When Walter O. Major and his wife bought the property in 1947 for its farmland, they had no idea that the abandoned house was built in the 17th Century, a good half century before Berkeley and Shirley. With help from Colonial Williamsburg curators, the house was beautifully restored. With its simple lines and solid balustrade, the staircase is the only remaining example of such 17th-Century workmanship in Virginia and Williamsburg. Curators think the woodwork gives evidence of a talented ship’s carpenter. Back then, staircases were a luxury and most upstairs areas were accessible only by ladder.

The Civil War came hard to the James River area. More than 100,000 troops of Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac camped out at Berkeley in 1862. The lights-out bugle tune, taps, was composed here and the melancholy tune spread through Union and Confederate armies. Later, the U.S. Army adopted it as its official lights-out signal.

The plantations were prime pickings for Union soldiers. But remnants survived. The owners of Shirley plantation hid their silver down a well and its original elegant bowls and serving dishes remain a rarity among the plantations. Just up the river from Berkeley, Shirley is the oldest of the plantations, first established in 1613. The manor house dates from 1723, probably a wedding gift from Edward Hill to his daughter and son-in-law, John Carter.

Shirley boasts the only American example of a Queen Anne style forecourt. Perfect symmetry characterizes the brick buildings and the grand house, with its mansard roof. In the domestic area, a remarkable flight of stairs rises unsupported for three stories. A design attributed to famous British architect, Christopher Wren, the unusual staircase is reinforced only by an internal wrought-iron skeleton and has been in use since 1738.

Eleven generations of Carters have lived on the property. Nearly every Sunday, Hill Carter sits outside the home, welcoming visitors and passing the time as is customary in this friendly place. Or during the week, the tall and burly form of his son Charles might be visible hauling a tree trunk. Times are lean and Charles is supplementing income from admission and tours by setting up a shooting range on the grounds.

Struggle has always been a way of life here. Gradually, while touring these monuments to a past age, a sad fact becomes inescapable: It was black slavery that built these plantations and made them possible. Some of the plantation owners will point only vaguely in the direction of former slave quarters. These spots hold no mark or memorial to the large populations of people who toiled here and their stories and lives are sorely missing from the plantation stories. Only at Colonial Williamsburg’s Carter’s Grove plantation have some slave quarters been restored.

Enhanced by the black history of the area, these plantations would be almost a perfect mirror of Colonial life in the James River area. They’re a history of the South in a nutshell, from the agriculture of tobacco and the rise of Southern aristocracy, through the Civil War, to the slow rebuilding that continues to this day. Through each twist and turn, the plantations have embraced new identities and adjusted to the times.

A new generation of owners has begun to take control and shape the future of the area. Perhaps no one else better typifies this new breed of Southern plantation owner than Lisa Ruffin Harrison of Evelynton.

Her family acquired the property in 1847, building a magnificent Georgian revival mansion in the 1930s, atop the ruins of her ancestor’s homes. It’s named for Evelyn Byrd, a woman of the 1700s whose father owned Westover plantation and the land on which Evelynton now sits.

Under Lisa Harrison’s guidance, Evelynton is a thriving business as one of the area’s most popular spots for weddings and meetings, in addition to tours, as the new South capitalizes on the old.

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GUIDEBOOK: Southern Hospitality

Getting there: Since there is no nonstop service from LAX to Richmond, Va., fly, with connections, on United, USAir, Delta, Continental, Northwest and American. Lowest, advance-purchase round-trip fares start at about $510.

Or from Washington, D.C., the drive to Richmond is about 1 1/2 hours.

James River plantations are accessible via Virginia Highway 5 (John Tyler Memorial Highway) southeast from Richmond toward Williamsburg and most are marked by signs. (Call individual plantations for directions.)

Plantations:

Belle Air, 11800 John Tyler Memorial Highway, Charles City; tel. (804) 829-2431.

Berkeley, 12602 Harrison Landing Road, Charles City; admission $8.50 for adults; tel. (804) 829-6018.

Carter’s Grove, 8797 Pocahontas Trail, James City; included in $30 adult admission to Colonial Williamsburg or $15 for Carter’s Grove plantation only; tel. (for Colonial Williamsburg) (804) 220-7645.

Evelynton, 6701 John Tyler Memorial Highway, Charles City; admission $7; tel. (804) 829-9839.

Sherwood Forest, 14501 John Tyler Memorial Highway, Charles City; admission $7.50; tel. (804) 829-5377.

Shirley, 501 Shirley Plantation Road, Charles City; admission $7.50; tel. (800) 232-1613.

Westover, 7000 Westover Plantation Road, Charles City; free admission; tel. (804) 829-2882.

Where to eat: Berkeley serves lunch daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at its Coach House Tavern (804) 829-6003 on the plantation grounds. Dinners are by reservation only. A sandwich concession at Shirley offers inexpensive, light lunches.

For more information: Virginia Division of Tourism, 901 E. Byrd St., Richmond 23219; tel. (804) 786-2051.