Even in a region steeped in history, Hanover County can seem particularly fertile ground for those eager to engage with the past. Art Taylor, a member of the Hanover County Historical Society moved to Hanover in the 1970s though his family’s roots in the county stretch deeper than that. He said Hanover is an area unusual for its variety of historical sites and for the opportunities available for history lovers to learn more about some of the country’s well-known stories while discovering less widely told tales.
“If there is a county or location anywhere in the United States with this much history or this much diversity of history, then I’d like to see what it is,” Taylor said.
Hanover Polegreen Church event
Founded in 1720, Hanover County received its name in honor of Great Britain’s then-ruler, King George I, who was the first British monarch from the House of Hanover. The borders of Hanover were cut from New Kent County, which dated to 1654.
Two of the country’s most critical and formative eras – the Revolutionary War and the Civil War – left their indelible marks on Hanover, and Hanover left its mark on them. Hanover’s most famous natives include Patrick Henry, who helped inspire the American Revolution, and Henry Clay, who helped stave off secession and civil war for a time by brokering nuanced legislation in his role as a Kentucky congressman earning the nickname “The Great Compromiser.”
The Historic Hanover Courthouse, which dates to the 1735, served for years as the county’s judicial and political heart. Henry’s famous concluding argument at the courthouse in the 1763 Parsons’ Cause case, which was a challenge to royal authority, made Hanover a nexus of the Revolutionary movement, according to the Hanover County Historical Society.
The courthouse offers prime opportunities for visitors to engage with history, Taylor said. In the summer, the Parsons’ Cause Foundation stages performances every Saturday at the courthouse with actors and actresses presenting shows on Virginia historical events and figures. Topics for 2016 include the Parsons’ Cause case, Benjamin Franklin, Lafayette, John Marshall and Harriet Tubman, among others. In addition, docents from the Hanover County Historical Society provide free courthouse tours on the second Tuesday of every month. Each tour is unique, Taylor said, as docents interact with visitors and focus on their particular interests and questions.
Parson's Cause Actors
Actors with the Parsons’ Cause Foundation perform a scene from the famous case at the Historic Hanover Courthouse.
When citizens had business at the courthouse in the 18th and 19th century, they often ate and lodged at the nearby Hanover Tavern – a building that dates almost to the founding of the county, having been built in 1723, according to the Hanover County Historical Society. It is one of the oldest surviving taverns in the United States. The tavern was also the area’s post office for more than 100 years until 1911, ensuring its status as the county’s social center. Patrick Henry lived for a while at the tavern, whose owners included the parents of Sarah Shelton, Henry’s wife. Lafayette, George Washington and Gen Charles Cornwallis all dined at the tavern, and modern-day visitors can eat there, too, grabbing a table at the restaurant that operates today on the site.
Historic Polegreen Church, located in Mechanicsville, serves as a reminder of when America began to embrace the concept of religious freedom in the 18th century. A product of the Great Awakening, Polegreen was one of the first dissenter reading houses, licensed by Virginia in 1743 to provide a space for colonialists to study and pray in a branch of Christianity other than the Anglican faith that dominated the new land.
A Presbyterian minister named Samuel Davies began to preach at Polegreen soon after its founding, becoming the first non-Anglican to be a licensed minister in Virginia. Davies became famous for his preaching skills. He pushed to educate black slaves, emerged as the first American-born hymn writer and influenced Henry, who later cited Davies as an inspiration in his development as an orator. Today, visitors can enjoy the 110 acres preserved on the site and learn more about Davies and the Hanover Dissenters.
Hanover is home to a number of historic battlefields, including North Anna, Totopotomoy Creek at Rural Plains and Cold Harbor, among others.
Taylor calls North Anna, a Civil War battlefield located in Doswell, an under-recognized gem and “the best interpretive battlefield around.” The Battle of North Anna, which included more than 150,000 troops, was fought in May 1864 between the armies of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, ending without a conclusive winner. North Anna Battlefield Park, with more than six miles of trails, is filled with interpretive signs and historic markers that help the 172-acre site come alive with visions of the battle fought there. Some of the walking can be challenging, but the park features the kinds of earthworks, including rifle pits and trenches, that can bring a visitor into close proximity with the past.
The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek commenced soon after North Anna concluded, as Union troops headed to Richmond only to find their path blocked by the Confederate Army. The four-day battle also yielded no clear victor. Some of the fighting occurred directly in front of the Shelton House, while the family waited in the basement. According to the National Park Service, family lore says Sarah Shelton married Patrick Henry in the house, which was owned by its namesake family for more than 200 years. Part of the Totopotomoy Creek Battlefield at Rural Plains site in Mechanicsville, the house is available to be studied and toured along with the battlefield.
The Union and Confederate armies soon clashed again after Totopotomoy at the Battle of Cold Harbor, where the Confederates ultimately repelled the Union troops and halted their attempt to reach Richmond. According to the National Park Service, the battle was Lee’s final major field victory. At Cold Harbor Battlefield in Mechanicsville, more than 2,000 Union soldiers are buried in a small cemetery on the site.
These are only a handful of the places and stories that make Hanover such rich territory for history buffs. Ever since colonists first arrived in the area that would become Hanover in the early 17th century, soon after the founding of the Jamestown colony, Hanover has been an area that pulses with the kind of life and ambition that proves influential far beyond the county’s boundaries and prompts historians to follow behind to investigate more closely years later.
For more on Hanover’s history, visit the Hanover County Historical Society at www.hanoverhistorical.org. The society serves as a reliable source for resources related to Hanover’s history but also provides steady information about activities in the area that celebrate and illuminate the county’s past, including upcoming events the society is hosting, as well as information about other historical organizations in the county and nearby areas.
