History
	In February 1622, one hundred twenty-eight English settlers aboard the Sea Flower sailed up the James River and into Warrosquoyacke Bay (now Burwell's Bay). The land they were to call home lay ahead, and as they came closer to the shore, they were amazed by the unusual rock formations imbedded in the cliffs. These "rocks" were formed from the calcification of sand and shells between five and ten million years ago. Thus, the settlers' new home became known as The Rocks.	Loading potatoes at The Rocks Wharf.
Barrels packed with potatoes, awaiting shipment.			Under contract with Edward Bennett (a member of the London Company of Virginia who had been granted a patent for the land by King James I), the settlers knew peace for only a month. In March 1622, an Indian uprising killed fifty-three of the original settlers; those remaining on the plantation fled to Jamestown until a fort, now known as Fort Boykin, could be built on the east end of the plantation to protect them. After the fort was completed in 1623, twenty-seven of the original settlers returned. To this day, 380 years later, The Rocks Plantation has continued to produce farm and forest products.

PHOTOS: Courtesy of The Isle Of Wight County Museum.

HISTORY: King, Helen Haverty. Historical Notes on Isle of Wight County. Isle of Wight, VA: Isle of Wight Board of Supervisors, 1993.