Lancaster Playhouse Steamboat Era Museum
Place Names and a Few More Notable People in Lancaster
White Stone—Today White Stone greets natives, tourists, come-here’s and travelers as the gateway to the Northern Neck. Trendy shops, gourmet foods, wine, insurance, real estate, interior design, antique shops, fine art, a pharmacy, landscaping supplies, caterers and more can all be found within walking distance of each other in White Stone. According to historians, White Stone derived its place-name from the discarded white ballast stones that British ships would throw overboard before loading up their cargo hold with hogsheads of tobacco for the return voyage to England. The first public African-American High School in the entire Northern Neck of Virginia was located in White Stone, Virginia and named for Albert Terry Wright, who came to Lancaster County in 1908 to teach. The high school also offered vocational training and was built with funds from private donors, the county public school system and the Rosenwald Foundation. The Lancaster County Historical Commission has forever memorialized the work of Albert Terry Wright and the legacy of the school’s importance for future generations to remember. A historical marker, erected in 1991, stands on James Wharf Road in White Stone to mark the site of this
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school that was replaced in 1959 and later demolished in 1978. Lancaster native Dorothy Norris Cox Cowling was born in Lancaster County on September 17, 1913. She graduated from A. T. Wright High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Elementary Education and Library Science from Virginia State College and a Masters Degree in Child Psychology and Counseling from Columbia University. She was the first African American to receive a Doctorate in Linguistics and Foundations in Education from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. After returning to Virginia, she joined the Virginia Union University faculty in 1955 and was appointed as Vice President for Administrative Affairs in 1971. In 1979 she served as the University’s first acting female President. Dr. Cowling was later appointed to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia by two Republican Governors. They were Governor Linwood Holton (a current Lancaster County resident) and Governor Mills E. Godwin. She has been the recipient of countless honors which include scholarships that bear her name. Although she passed away in 2009, there is no doubt that she inspired young people by her exemplary life, which started in White Stone, Virginia. Windmill Point— Centuries ago,
Windmill Point was populated by windmills that operated here in the
1800s. They were once so common that sailors used them as landmarks and recorded them on the nautical maps of the day. Tide mills were also used throughout the region, which enabled the Chesapeake Bay and tidewater region of Virginia to maintain a competitive edge over other agricultural areas in Virginia and beyond. The last surviving stone windmill in Virginia was destroyed in the early 20th century. During the war of 1812, British forces raided the creeks and rivers of Lancaster County and the entire Chesapeake Bay Region. A look-out was stationed at Windmill Point for as long as these raids continued. The final British raid of the Revolutionary War took place in Lancaster County on April 23, 1814. Fleet’s Harbor is here and named for
Henry Fleete. Born in Kent, England in 1602, he migrated to the colonies via Jamestown in 1621 and continued on to Maryland where he eventually became an Indian negotiator, which is a story in itself. After helping to establish Maryland as a colony, he served in their General Assembly from 1634–1638. This interesting trader, explorer, interpreter, landowner, legislator and gentleman, eventually settled in Lancaster County, Virginia. It was he who established its boundaries in 1651 and served in the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1652 until his death in 1661. He was buried at his home, in Lancaster County, on Fleet’s Island. Windmill Point is now primarily an
affluent residential community with a beach, yacht club, marina and even its own tiki bar. When I was ten years old I lost my prized birthstone ring, that my grandmother had given to me, in the waters at Windmill Point. I cried for days and often wondered if anyone ever found it.
July/August 2011
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