Phone: (804) 829-6018
Website: http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/
Hours: Open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas
March through December: Ticket Sales: 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.; Tours: 9:45 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Grounds close at 5:30 p.m.
January and February: Ticket Sales: 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Tours: 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Grounds close at 4:30 p.m.
Ticket Price: Adults $12.00, Seniors (60+) $11.00, Children (ages 6-16) $7.00
Military Discount: Adults $11.00, Children (6-16) $6.50,
Homeschool discount? No
We Visited: Friday, November 28, 2015 from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Berkeley Plantation sits on the banks of the James River in Charles City County, Virginia. Benjamin Harrison IV built what is believed to be the oldest three-story brick Georgian mansion in Virginia. His son, Benjamin Harrison V, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and also served as governor of Virginia.
The estate is also the birthplace of William Henry Harrison (the ninth U.S. president) and the ancestral home of his grandson, Benjamin Harrison (the twenty-third president). It is now a privately-owned museum, open to the public.
Berkeley Plantation was the site of the first official Thanksgiving, held on December 4, 1619.
The first time the Army bugle call "Taps" was played, it was at Berkeley Plantation in July, 1862. During the Civil War, Berkeley (know at that time as Harrison's Landing) was occupied by the Union Army. While there, General Daniel Butterfield composed "Taps," which was played by his bugler, O.W. Norton.
The drummer boy with General George McClellan's army, there at that time, was John Jamieson. He later returned to Berkeley in 1907 as an adult and purchased the home and 1400 acres. The plantation is currently owned by the Malcolm E. Jamieson family.
The home and surrounding grounds are beautifully maintained, and a walk to the edge of the James River is well worth it.
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