Many people think of Tappahannock, Virginia, about an hour’s drive northeast of Richmond, as a sleepy little town that motorists cruise through along U.S. Route 17 on their way to someplace else.
So you might be surprised to learn that Tappahannock is actually home to 275 businesses, 3,000 residents and serves as the county seat for Essex County (pop:11,000). Established by the Act of Virginia Legislature in 1682, Tappahannock is a Native American name meaning “on the rise and fall of the waters”—an appropriate moniker for a town located on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula along the Rappahannock River.
Steeped in history, Tappahannock offers numerous historic sites and buildings, The Essex County Museum & Historical Society and a downtown walking tour, along with modern attractions. There is shopping, spanning everything from chain stores to unique local boutiques; numerous restaurants that offer everything from fast food to fine dining; a half-dozen hotels and motels; two inns (The Essex Inn and The Inn on Water Lane); Hobbs Hole Golf Course, a semi-private 18-hole golf course that offers memberships as well as open play to the public and an on-site restaurant called Prince Street Café; vineyards Caret Cellars and Wind Vineyards; and multiple riverfront vacation properties available via sites like www.airbnb.com and www.vbro.com .There is also a small area where people fish from the Rappahannock River shoreline near the end of Prince Street, as well as a tiny public beach area at the end of Duke Street adjacent to St. Margaret’s School.
New business ventures that will soon appear include Fitzgerald’s Pub, an Irish pub coming in summer 2024; Robles Cantina, a new Hispanic restaurant making its debut sometime this year; and within a year Starbucks will be located along U.S. Route 17 in town.
It is all part of the comeback Tappahannock is experiencing since a highly-publicized, devastating fire tore through businesses and apartments on Prince Street near Water Lane in July 2022, causing an estimated $2 million in damages. Post-fire, there are vacant lots where buildings once stood, now ablaze with lush, freshly mowed grass.
“We don’t own any of that property,” Town Manager Eric Pollitt says of the now-vacant lots. “After the fire, we had people—partly volunteers, partly insurance people—who cleaned up [the lots], planted grass… and the Town Council was very appreciative of that. It’s all private property, and it’s still to be determined what will go in that space.”
Pollitt, previously Town Manager in Glasgow, Virginia, grew up in Henrico County near Richmond and took over the Tappahannock Town Manager position three and a half years ago. He is optimistic about new businesses and a number of current projects underway or being planned for Tappahannock, such as a new downtown park at 234 Virginia Street called Central Park.
The new $2 million park will feature a playground, splashpad and pickleball and tennis courts. Benches and shade structures will surround the park to allow for comfortable supervision of children, as well as providing a place to get relief from the sun during hot summer days. The two-acre tract was purchased in 2021 by the Town of Tappahannock and is being developed “using local tax dollars,” Pollitt says.
“The Town Council wanted to provide nice amenities for the public,” he explains. “There will be a main gathering area, and the second phase of construction will include a center pavilion for future concerts and permanent restrooms. Phase I should be completed by the end of this summer, with Phase II projected to be finished by the end of 2025.”
A historic building near the 2022 fire site, previously known as Emerson’s Ordinary/Henley House, with help from a $250,000 Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF) grant, was transformed via renovations and now is a full-service fine dining establishment at 314 South Water Lane known as 1710 Tavern. According to 1710 Tavern’s website, many of the building’s original features have been preserved, including dining room floors, windows, ceilings and fireplaces. The building’s history includes years as both a residence and a tavern. Originally the tavern was an “ordinary,” which meant it was both a tavern and an inn where visitors could get food, drink and lodging.
1710 Tavern represents a kind of juxtaposition of history with current culture in a town where Captain John Smith journeyed during the winter of 1607-08. In 1645, Bartholomew Hoskins patented the Tappahannock site, which at various times was called Hobb’s Hole, Hobbs His Hole, New Plymouth and finally, Tappahannock. (The “hole” referred to in the name referred to a deep water area that provided good anchorage). Hoskins originally patented 1,350 acres of land, beginning at the corner of present-day Duke Street and Water Lane, and the nearby Hoskins Creek bears his name.
The Hobbs name was a nod to ship captain Richard Hobbs, who left England in 1656 and by 1665 had possession of an 800-acre land tract on the south side of the Rappahannock River that included a small creek.
The town itself was comprised of 50 acres divided into half-acre squares, which still have their original nomenclature. In 1680 a “square,” surrounded by Prince (Main), Church, Queen and Cross Streets, was set aside “for the Publick Use.”
Forests gave way to roads and the port of Tappahannock as colonists established homes and a community during the pre-Revolutionary War days. During the War of 1812, British naval forces seized the town in one of the last English raids before the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1814.
From 1861 to 1865, the area also endured The American Civil War. In May 1861, on orders from Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, Virginia Confederates began work on a “water battery” on the Rappahannock River at Lowry’s Point, a low-lying area four miles downriver from Tappahannock, mainly as a defense for Fredericksburg. The site was selected because it was the first area on the river narrow enough for artillery to block the passage of Union gunboats. Over 300 slaves and paid free blacks constructed what became Fort Lowry.
In support of Fort Lowry, the 9th Virginia Cavalry was formed; 37 percent of these men, average age 26, were killed, wounded or captured before the war ended. Perhaps ironically, in 1862 Confederate troops were ordered to evacuate the battery and move their cannons to Fredericksburg. Six Union gunboats shelled and burned the deserted fort the following month. The fort lay in rubble without having ever fired a hostile shot.
Moving into the twentieth century, the first Downing Bridge, linking Tappahannock to Warsaw in the Northern Neck, opened in 1927, replacing a ferry previously needed to make the trip. (The current bridge, named for State Senator Thomas Downing, was built in 1963). The arrival of cars and better roads moved transportation from steamboat river transport to trucks and cars, and by the 1930s, steamboats were no more on the Rappahannock.
Down the street at The Essex Museum & Historical Society at 218 Water Lane, the story of Tappahannock and Essex County is told via exhibits spanning prehistoric days through modern times. Celebrating the heritage of the town, county and the river and its people, a visitor calls the museum “small but impressive,” an apt description of the small brick building’s exhibits, collections and research room/library. There is also gift shop with some unique books, in addition to children’s toys, games and jewelry.
Exhibits include Confederate Civil War history alongside information about enslaved peoples’ contributions to the area and tributes to prominent African-Americans linked to Tappahannock and Essex County. There is also coverage of local Native American tribes, river traditions and boat models and stories about area pirates.
One exhibit profiles African-American Ruth Virginia Bayton, born in 1907 in Tappahannock, who became a cabaret performer and appeared onstage and in clubs in New York, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Spain. The exhibit regarding Bayton notes that she starred in a 1920s Madrid production for a salary of $800 per week. That is over $13,000 a week in today’s dollars.
Volunteers say many people visit to make use of their research library while researching family histories. One reviewer on www.yelp.com noted, “I came for a trip tracing my ancestry... [the museum] was a wealth of information. I was able to find information about my family members going back to the late 1700s. As an African-American, knowing how difficult it is to find information, I was very excited and overwhelmed.”
The museum also does educational outreach and collaborates with other area museums to bring a “History on the Go” program to local elementary schools, as well as presenting other educational programs. Summer hours for the free museum (donations accepted) are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Adjacent to the museum is the Blake-Brockenbrough Cemetery, a family burying ground surrounded by a brick wall. A short walk will take you to the Max Silver Memorial Courtyard, a recently completed space that highlights the history of African-American riverboat pilot Bill Manning and Max Silver, for whom the park is named.
Speaking of walking tours, there are nearly a dozen historic stops listed on a Tappahannock walking tour. Sites include the circa 1769 Debtor’s Prison (still in use today as Essex County’s Treasurer’s Office); the Brockenbrough House, on the campus of St. Margaret’s School, an Episcopal private girls-only boarding and day school founded in 1921; and the aforementioned 1710 Tavern.
Among the town’s modern attractions is Acme Antiques, an eye-catching antique mall at 608 Church Lane, adjacent to Acme Ice Cream Parlor. Described by some as “circus meets antique mall,” Acme features over 50 vendors offering a dizzying array of collectibles, antiques, vintage and unique items, such as amusement park rides. Walking into the ice cream parlor feels like you are in a 1950s time warp, complete with unusual décor and the ever-present Elvis.
Town Manager Eric Pollitt
Unique locally-owned shops are scattered around town, such as Almost New Thrift Shop, Crying Shame Frame & Gift Shop, Pammy’s Produce, Norwood’s (fashion and gifts), and Thyme in a Basket (unique gifts). Make sure to visit the Tappahannock Art Gallery on Prince Street. The town also includes chain stores like Wal-Mart, Food Lion, Harbor Freight and Lowe’s. When you get hungry, choose from an assortment of nearly 20 restaurants, such as 528 Prime Seafood & Steak as well as 1710 Tavern, or the many fast-food options—not counting the new ventures planning to open this year.
Pollitt also says Phase I construction of the town’s Hoskins Creek Project should begin by the end of 2024. Last year the Tappahannock was a recipient of a $1.3 million grant reward from the Boating Infrastructure Grant (BIG). These funds will support the development of a new waterfront park along U.S. 17.
Pollitt explains, “This project will consist of redoing the entrance and shoreline to protect the property, as well as having an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible canoe and kayak launch, and kayak rentals.”
The Hoskins Creek project, he notes, is on town property – six acres—and extends out to marshland. About two acres are developable. Pollitt says the second phase of development will include a brand-new building that will be used for a hillside restaurant that will overlook the marsh, creek and river in the distance.
He adds, “The second phase will also include 300 feet of concrete floating dock for transient boaters that will be able to accommodate about 15 boats 26 feet in length. This will be a water-access project.”
Pollitt also says the old airport property has received a grant from Virginia Economic Development Partnership to help the Town complete engineering design work to redevelop this area for future business growth.
“This is about 90 acres that can be utilized for future development on town water and sewer—it’s a lot of space,” he explains.
Pollitt is visibly enthusiastic about the new projects on the drawing board for Tappahannock.
“I think when I first got here and talked to colleagues across the state, [it seemed] they just knew us for [the former] Lowry’s Restaurant and history. But the truth is we have made a lot of strides,” he says. “Central Park will be a regional draw. We have lots of things to do here, and we have great local restaurants.”
“I think we’re a destination town, while also providing amenities for town residents. And our Town Council has been very supportive of these efforts.”
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