Submitted by FHMaster on Sun, 12/18/2016 - 12:55

Merchant's Hope was the name of a plantation and church established in the Virginia Colony in the 17th century. It was also the name of an English sailing ship, Merchant’s Hope, which plied the Atlantic bringing emigrants to Virginia in the early 17th-century. The Merchant's Hope was owned by a man named William Barker who was a wealthy English merchant and mariner who patented land in Virginia.

Merchant's Hope Plantation was located west of Flowerdew Hundred on the south shore of the James River near the mouth of Powell's Creek in a portion of Charles City County which was divided to form Prince George County in 1703. It was located on the former site of Powellbrooke Plantation, whose owner Captain Nathaniel Powell (one of the original 1607 colonists), his wife, and ten others were killed during the Indian Massacre of 1622.

Merchant's Hope Plantation was patented in 1638 by William Barker, Richard Quiney, and John Sadler, merchants of London. Ownership of the plantation passed to Nathaniel Harrison in 1720.

The 4,200 acre (17 km2) James River National Wildlife Refuge now encompasses much of the land that was Merchant's Hope Plantation during the 17th century.

 

Location
Hopewell
State
GeoCoord
37°15′57″N 77°12′11″W
Founded
1638
Status
Unknown
Address
West of the junction of Rte. 641 and VA 10, near Hopewell, Virginia
NRHP Ref Number
69000274