Folly Castle

Folly Castle is a Virginia historical marker in Petersburg County, dedicated 1931.

West Washington Street, across from intersection with Perry Street

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This house was the town home of Peter Jones, who built it in 1763. It was called "Folly Castle" because it was a large house for a childless man, but Jones later had offspring. Major Erasmus Gill, Revolutionary soldier, also lived here.

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

1755 · Virginie, Maryland. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1778 · Il Maryland, il Jersey Meridionale, la Delaware. (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)
1807 · Map Of Virginia (lower right sheet) (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Virginie, Maryland, 1755, covering the location of Folly Castle, 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.

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Folly Castle Historic District70 ft
Second Presbyterian Church200 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.