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A Driving Tour of Gloucester County's Country Stores & Rural Post Offices

Written in February 1999, this project received a National Association of Counties Award.

    Gloucester County’s history begins with the first European settlement in Jamestown of 1607. It was in Gloucester County that Chief Powhatan had one of his royal villages and legend suggests that it was here that Pocahontas, daughter of Chief Powhatan, risked her life to save John Smith, founder of the Jamestown colony.
    Gloucester County grew rapidly in the 17th century. Many land grants were issued to European gentry to farm the fertile Virginia soil. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Gloucester was one of the richest counties in Virginia with its grand plantations. 
    A location with river access to the Chesapeake Bay caused Gloucester to be ravaged by the Civil War. But the County experienced a rebirth after the Civil War with steamship lines that ran between West Point, Norfolk, and Baltimore. Citizens of Gloucester County clustered in small villages along the banks of the surrounding rivers, not only to profit from the steamship trade, but also for rich fishing and seafood harvesting. 
    Country Stores and Rural Post Offices sprouted up along the rivers during this period and were quite profitable. Many areas had several stores to serve the expanding population. The prevalence of the automobile, in the early 20th Century, created a new growth in stores and gas stations along major roads. These two types of stores operated simultaneously until the 1930’s. Eventually, increased trucking caused the demise of steamship travel and many of the coastal stores struggled to survive. 
    This tour celebrates the country store and reminds us of its significance during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Travel back to a time when it was a long walk to pick up a necessity from a small store in a rural village. A few of these stores and post offices are still operating: stop by and experience this simple way of life. Enjoy your trip!

Driving tour sites are listed below.  Please click on the site you would like to know more about.
It may take a minute to open the page because each page features a drawing by Harriet Cowen.

  Artwork Courtesy of Harriet Cowen,  About the artist

A special thanks goes to Harriet Cowen who generously donated all of the artwork for this brochure. Ms. Cowen, a resident of Bena, Virginia, has used her masterful talents with pen and ink drawing to capture the beauty and detail of the old country stores. She graciously agreed to undertake this project which required her to visit many of the sites as well as working from photographs.
Ms. Cowen’s artwork, which includes drawings of historical sites can be purchased at Mo Stuff, located in the Bena Country Store, Focal Point Gallery, Ltd. on historic Main Street, and Waterman’s Museum Gift Shop in Yorktown. She has once again been commissioned by the Park Service for a series of artwork at both Jamestown and Yorktown. Over the past 25 years Ms. Cowen has completed more than 400 commissioned “Home Portraits” which are her specialty.

This publication was created and produced by the Gloucester County Historical Committee and the Parks, Recreation & Tourism Department. Partial funding and support was obtained through a grant from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

 For additional information on the history of Gloucester County please visit the Gloucester Museum of History. The museum is open Monday thru Fridays from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm and on Saturdays from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Appointments can also be scheduled by calling 804-693-2659 or 804-693-3196.

Gloucester Tourism
6467 Main Street     Gloucester, VA 23061     804-693-0014

Gloucester Parks, Recreation & Tourism

Last Update by D. R. Carter October 15, 2009