1607		Sir Christopher Newport explored the James and Appomattox rivers along the Chesterfield County borders five days before the Jamestown was settled.
1612		Tobacco was first cultivated scientifically in America at Bermuda Hundred by John Rolfe.
1614		Bermuda Hundred was incorporated as the first town in America.
1619		Falling Creek was the site of the first iron furnace in the New World.
1622		Mount Malady near Dutch Gap was the site of the first American hospital.
1709		Midlothian produced the first commercially mined coal in America.
1795		Bosher's Dam near Bon Air was the first large multipurpose dam in Virginia.
1803		Midlothian Turnpike was the first paved road in Virginia.
1811		The first commercial tramway in America, the predecessor of the railroad, was operated from the Brown, Page and Burr gunpowder plant on Falling Creek to its storage magazine a mile away.
1812		The first school for deaf mutes in the United States was located at Cobbs on the lower Appomattox River.
1831		The Midlothian to Manchester Railroad was the first in Virginia.
1862		Cpl. John B. Mackie was the U.S. Marine Corps' first recipient of the Medal of Honor, which he was awarded for his brave and courageous conduct while on board the USS Galena during the May 15, 1862 battle of Drewry's Bluff.
1921		Father's Day was originated by three ladies from Drewry's Bluff.
1934		The first wayside park in Virginia featured the Old Stone Bridge over Falling Creek, completed in 1826.

This site is sponsored by Chesterfield Heritage Alliance.
For more information, call the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation at (804) 748-1623
Copyright 2006 © Chesterfield Heritage Alliance. All rights reserved.