Old Port Royal

Old Port Royal is a Virginia historical marker in Port Royal, Caroline County, dedicated 1928.

419 King Street, Port Royal

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The town was established in 1744 and was one of the principal shipping points on the Rappahannock River in colonial times. In December, 1862, Burnside, commanding the Army of the Potomac, considered crossing the river here but finally moved up to Fredericksburg. Union gunboats, attempting to pass up the river at that time, were driven back by D. H. Hill.

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)
1781 · MARCH of the ARMY under Lieut:t General EARL CORNWALLIS in VIRGINIA, from the JUNCTION at… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1794 · Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1942 · Port Royal, Virginia (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering the location of Old Port Royal, 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.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

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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The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

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