With only 60,000 people in the Tidewater region of Virginia, the density was quite low, as measured by the number of people per square mile. One of the reasons for this was that the favored land was along the watercourses, which served as roads. Another reason for this low density was the large size of the tracts which were taken up. Still yet another reason was that there were no towns.
Taking the last point first, only Williamsburg, with its adjacent port of Jamestown, could be considered a town. Even then, it required a stretch of the imagination to think of it as a town. It came to life when the Assembly met. Then the taverns would be filled, and a group of men could be assembled. Social discourse would be possible then. Apparently, when the Burgesses came to Williamsburg, they did not bring their wives with them.
Where were the people living? Almost exclusively on the "farms". In that age, a farm was called a plantation, and all the word "plantation" meant was that it was a place where one planted and grew things. Through time and place, this word has changed its meaning. To those in England, the plantations were the places where the colonials lived. In Virginia, it meant a farm in general. A planter was a man who worked with his hands in the soil, i.e., a dirt farmer. Later, the meaning shifted enough so that "plantation" meant only the large farms where usually the owner did not soil his hands. In 1700, gentlemen did not dirty their hands. One did not call them planters.
The larger the farm, the more likely it was to be located on a river, since the larger it was, the more likely it was to be a place from which goods were shipped (i.e., tobacco) and received (finished products from England). Except for these shipments, the farm was usually a local entity in itself, a very small enclave. In many cases it was only one family.
Travel was generally difficult, due to the poor state of the roads. Also, accommodations for the traveler were almost nonexistent. Replacing public places to eat and to stay, there developed a culture of, "We'll leave the light on for you." Visitors were welcomed into homes. This was a two-way street. The visitor often brought news from the outside world. In exchange the visitor received food and beds. This was to be considered at no cost, though the traveler often left a little gift for the servants, if there were any.
Why were the farms spread out so much? Land was relatively cheap and easy to obtain. It was a status symbol. While one might be able to farm only a fraction of what he owned, the extra land was wood lots, and a reserve of land for the future. It was found that the crops exhausted the soil very rapidly, especially tobacco. One wanted the extra land because the reserve would be necessary when the existing land was exhausted.
(15 May 01)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.