Plantations and other things near CW....

Since we spent nearly all our time at CW last year, we were thinking about also trying some of the plantations. Which ones would you recommend? How close are most of them to Williamsburg? And my favorite question, what exactly is a plantation. I%26#39;ve read all about them in books an what not, but what makes special to go to?

Also, is there anything else close to Williamsburg worth mentioning? We would love to try to fit in as much adventures as possible! We were going to go to the Caverns but they%26#39;re almost 3 hours away. And we probably won%26#39;t be going back to Jamestown and Yorktown.

Thanks! Everyone on here is soooo helpful! God Bless! :)

Plantations and other things near CW....

The plantations were large farms on which cash crops such as corn, cotton, or tobacco were grown. The James River plantations are about a 40-minute drive from Williamsburg on route 5. The drive itself is very lovely.

Berkeley and Shirley plantations (have not toured any of the others) have a tour guide for the house. The gardens and grounds are self-guided. Check out the James River Plantations web site (info on other plantations available here also) for further details to see if you might be interested. You will see pictures and read specific information about each plantation on the website.

The times they are open and the costs are also listed on the web site. I think they are worth seeing, especially if you are interested in the historical background of the homes and the families who occupied them.

Plantations and other things near CW....

The James River Plantations are defiantely worth the drive. As the previous poster said, the drive alone is very nice, senic and relaxing. The plantations are ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!!

Hello again tutusandtoeshoes!

Here is that handy-dandy link to the James River Plantations website.

http://www.jamesriverplantations.org/

RQT gave a good description of what a plantation is. They really are magical places to go to %26amp; walking through the same house %26amp; the same gardens, retracing the steps of those that lived there, really brings the history of the time alive as you hear the history of each place, the wars they survived, and how each one had famous historical figures set foot there %26amp; events take place right there that really made an impact in America%26#39;s history.

While you are in the plantation mood that day, you may try out Endview Plantation %26amp; Lee Hall Mansion in neighboring Newport News- they also have fascinating stories.

Links - http://www.endview.org/ , http://www.leehall.org/.

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