We’ve come upon a gruesome scene. A plantation has been sacked; burnt to the ground with nothing left but ruins. Women and children murdered; servants hanged. For what reasons you might ask? TO SET AN EXAMPLE FOR TRADERS!!
The year was 1676 and one Richard Clark owned this plantation. The small plantation once proudly stood on the cliffs overlooking the York River. With such a serene environment, what events could have possibly been set into motion to provoke such a terrible act of violence? It was a simple case of who your friends were. You see, Richard Clark was a good friend of Nathaniel Bacon. If you know your history, Nathaniel Bacon started what was called the first American Revolution against the crown at Jamestown in 1676. That rebellion took place almost 100 years to the day before the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Well, it just so happened that Richard Clark was intensely involved with Bacon’s Rebellion and was right on board with his compatriot. This choice proved to be his undoing.
One day when tensions were rising in Jamestown, Clark left his home site and took a carriage down to Bacon’s residence to meet with him and others in secret to decide what should be done. Meanwhile on the nearby plantation of Mt Folly, the owner, a man by the name of Brian Smith, caught wind of their secret plot to rebel. Now Smith, being a staunch loyalist to the crown, could not stand for this. He thought it best to punish all who might be involved in this rebellion. So taking the law into his own hands, Smith gathered a bunch of vigilantes and marched down to Clark’s plantation to destroy it and anyone who stood in their path. This was all done while Clark was away.
After this horrible act was committed, all Richard Clark returned to was death and destruction. His life would never be the same again. However, they do say that some day justice will be served. Legend has it that the souls of the innocent still roam these woods every fall in search of revenge!