Gloucester Point

Gloucester County · dedicated 2017 · Vernon Street near Riverview Street, Gloucester Point

Long a home to Virginia Indians, this strategically important promontory was initially called Tyndall's Point by the English, after Robert Tyndall, who mapped the area in 1608. A tobacco warehouse was erected here in the 1630s, and a fort was built ca. 1667 during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The port village of Gloucester Town thrived here in the 18th century. In 1781, during the Revolutionary War, British Lt. Gen. Charles Cornwallis fortified the point. Confederate troops maintained a fort and battery, constructed by enslaved African Americans, from 1861 to May 1862. Union troops then occupied the fort until 1865. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science moved here in 1950.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

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

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

Early Land Patentunder 1 mi
Tarleton's Last Fight2 mi
The Irene Morgan Story Begins2 mi
Mary Aggie and the Benefit of Clergy2 mi