Smithfield

Smithfield is a Virginia historical marker in Isle Of Wight County, dedicated 2014.

381 S. Church St.

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Smithfield, incorporated in 1752, became a busy colonial port and was county seat of Isle of Wight through 1800. British troops under Brig. Gen. Benedict Arnold occupied the town on 15 Jan. 1781. During the Civil War, a two-day naval engagement concluded on 1 Feb. 1864 when Confederates captured and destroyed the Federal gunboat Smith Briggs on the Pagan River. Smithfield emerged as a center of the meat-packing industry in the 19th century and became famous for its hams. The Smithfield Historic District is listed on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1708 · Carte Particuliere de Virginie, Maryland, Pennsilvanie. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1755 · Virginie, Maryland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1807 · Map Of Virginia (lower right sheet) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1818 · Map of Virginia, 1818 (lower right sheet) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1862 · Map of the battle ground near Richmond, showing plainly, every point of interest of the… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)

Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering the location of Smithfield, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

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What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Smithfield

Historical maps covering this location

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