Isle of Wight County VA Historical Society

09/24/2026

https://youtu.be/4Ek6J2jjIvI?si=mptdL1eS08veNkK2

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09/23/2026

Here is the video link for Larry Saint and Karla Smith's presentation Bygone Beacons: The James River Lighthouses and Their Light keepers.

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09/12/2026

On September 11, 249 years ago, American and British forces clashed at the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania — the largest single-day land battle of the Revolutionary War.

Isle of Wight County men were there. The 4th Virginia Regiment — Continental Army regulars, raised in 1776 with a company drawn from Isle of Wight (alongside neighbors in Surry, Sussex, Southampton, and Nansemond) — stood in Washington's line that day and went on to fight at Germantown and Monmouth.

One of our own stood out: Lt. Col. Josiah Parker of Isle of Wight, serving with the 5th Virginia, was commended by General Washington for his conduct at Brandywine. He'd be promoted to colonel the following spring, and after the war served Isle of Wight in Congress. He rests today at his plantation, Macclesfield, right here in the county.

These weren't short-term militia — they were enlisted Continental soldiers, our county's sons in the thick of the fight for independence.

09/08/2026

CSX map from the 1990s...the old Southern line heading towards North Carolina

09/07/2026

Grace street has seen many surfaces, but the latest is being put down this week!

09/05/2026

Here's another house that used to be British, the Mary Jackson House in downtown Smithfield, still looking great today.

09/05/2026

252 years ago today, September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress gathered at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. 🇺🇸 Delegates from 12 colonies sat down together for the first time to figure out how to respond to the Crown's "Intolerable Acts." It was the first real step toward a united America.
Virginia was represented at the First Continental Congress by a statewide delegation of seven men chosen by the First Virginia Convention: Peyton Randolph, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, Edmund Pendleton, and Richard Henry Lee.
(Image: Pbjamesphoto. Wikipedia.)

08/29/2026

We got another bookcase ready at the Historical Society's new home at the 1820s Clerk's Office...actually the Archive area is in the 1920s addition. Loaded in a few books that need to be cataloged. Then toured the County a bit to get some photos for a book we'd like to put together, "Sheds and Barns." And took a sneak peek inside the new preservation project before securing the door with a new lock.
There will be the Annual Member Meeting at the 1820s Clerk's Office December 6, where we can get some Clerk stories, and there is another pfantastice presentation just 3 weeks away, Larry Saint and Karla Smith will share information on "Bygone Beacons: The James River Lighthouses and their Light keepers."

08/22/2026

We loaded a few more items into the Historical Society's new space at the 1820s Clerk's Office. We believe that that the desk and the secretary may have come out of the Chapman Library on S. Church Street, they date to that period. If anyone has additional info please fill in their story.
We are currently planning to have the Annual Member Meeting and a tour of the new space December 6, with stories from former Clerks.