Curles Neck and Bremo

The Curles Neck peninsula was named for the curls of the James River or for a family of that name. Richard Cocke patented land on the eastern side of the neck in 1636 and built Bremo, where his descendants lived for many generations. Nathaniel Bacon settled on the western side of Curles Neck in 1674. Two years later he led an unsuccessful rebellion against Virginia's royal governor, Sir William Berkeley. William Randolph acquired Bacon’s former property ca. 1700, and several generations of his politically prominent family lived there. In the 20th century Curles Neck Dairy became one of the largest commercial dairies on the East Coast.