James River plantations were established in the Virginia Colony along the James River between the mouth at Hampton Roads and the head of navigation at the Fall Line where Richmond is today. History The colony struggled for five years after its establishment at Jamestown in 1607. Finally, a profitable export crop was identified through the efforts of colonist John Rolfe. After 1612, a sweet form of tobacco became the largest export crop, customarily shipped in large hogsheads. Because the river was a highway of commerce in the 17th and 18th centuries, the early plantations were established on the north and south banks along it, with most having their own wharfs. Most were much larger than . The name derived from the English tradition of subdividing shires/counties into hundreds. While some are now long gone, some of the larger and older of the James River plantations are still in use and/or open to the public. Almost all are privately owned, and houses and/or grounds are generally open daily to visitors with various admission fees applicable. Partial listing of plantations in early 17th century Based upon the makeup of the House of Burgesses in 1619, a partial list of early plantations and their representatives were: for James City: Ensign William Spence (burgess) sometimes spelled Spense and Captain William Powell for Charles City: Samuel Sharpe (burgess) and Samuel Jordan for the City of Henricus: Thomas Dowse and John Pollington or John Plentine or Polentine for Kiccowtan: Captain William Tucker and William Capps for Martin's Brandon, Captain John Martin's Plantation: Thomas Davis and Robert Stacy for Smythe's Hundred Plantation: Captain Thomas Graves and Walter Shelley for Martin's Hundred Plantation (also known as Wolstenholme Towne): John Boyse or Boys and John Jackson (burgess) for Argall's Gift Plantation: Thomas Pawlett and Edward Gourgainy for Flowerdew Hundred Plantation: Ensign Edmund Rossingham and John Jefferson (burgess) for Captain Lawne's Plantation: Captain Christopher Lawne and Ensign Washer for Captain Warde's Plantation: Captain John Warde and Lieutenant John Gibbes or John Gibbs Plantations north side of James River Listed from east to west (downriver to upriver): Herbert House Blunt Point Plantation Denbigh Richneck Bourbon Endview Lee Hall is a large 19th-century Italianate plantation house built in 1859 as the home of Richard Decatur Lee, a prominent local planter who was not directly related to the famous Confederate general Robert E. Lee. The mansion was used as headquarters for Confederate generals