Berkeley Plantation

A 1726 Georgian house on a terraced lawn running down to the James, and one of the most densely historic patches of ground in Virginia.

Berkeley claims the first official Thanksgiving in America — a service of thanks held by English settlers on landing here in December 1619, two years before the Plymouth gathering. It was the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison V, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and of William Henry Harrison, the ninth president; his grandson Benjamin Harrison became the twenty-third. During the 1862 Peninsula Campaign, 140,000 Union troops camped on these fields, Lincoln visited twice, and "Taps" was composed here.

Practical: house tour plus grounds, open daily, moderately priced. The terraced gardens and river view are worth the walk down. Westover Plantation is next door if you want a second house.