Stranica 89 [89]
APPOMATTOX
adi ROM Richmond, crossing the James through old
Sgt ál Manchester, we follow the Petersburg Turnpike
na Ill on our way to Appomattox. The soldiers of all
\safl] our armies have trod this road and fought for a
Cel) stand on nearly every foot of ground between
rete) Petersburg and Richmond; for this part of Vir¬
ad has been rightly called ‘‘the spanking spot’ of the nation.
At beautiful Falling Creek, in Chesterfield County, we come to
the site of the first iron works in America, established by John
Berkeley in 1619 and abandoned in 1622 when the Indians fell
upon and massacred Berkeley and all his men.
During the Revolutionary War the British Red Coats traveled
on this pike, and Tarleton with his troopers destroyed the iron
works completely; but the falls over the dam and the double-arched
stone bridge still remain to make a charming scene. To the left
of the bridge is the entrance to Ampthill, the home of the Cary’s,
built in 1732. From the site of the formal garden, which once
graced this hilltop, a broad view of the lowlands and a command¬
ing prospect of the river may be had. Washington and the famous
men and women of his day enjoyed frequently the hospitality of
this charming Colonial home.
A little farther on at Kingsland Creek may be seen remains of
the old fort built during the War Between the States to guard the
road to Richmond. Mule teams and dusky drivers are today
robbing both fort and hillside of gravel to mend the scars on the
old roadway. The Tavern, or “Halfway House,” at Proctor’s
Creek, claims to have refreshed the great Generals Washington
and LaFayette on their march up this road, and one would have
to pause but a few moments to have the cheery present owner tell
of the hundreds of watermelons and cantaloupes he hospitably dis¬
[54]