The East River Warehouse

From 1713 on, anyone exporting tobacco from Virginia was obliged to have it inspected before it was sent overseas. This preliminary step ensured that the colony’s tobacco was of predictably good quality and uniformity. Planters would send their weighty barrels or “hogsheads” of tobacco to the nearest tobacco inspection warehouse, where the dried leaves were examined and then repacked and stored until they could be sent to customs officials. Until 1775, the custom house at Yorktown served planters whose land was along the York, Severn, Ware, North, East, and Piankatank Rivers.

Once a planter’s tobacco had been inspected, they would be given a receipt or “tobacco note,” specifying how much tobacco had been approved for export. These pieces of paper quickly became a convenient medium of exchange. Security was especially important since tobacco was equivalent to currency. Therefore, tobacco inspection warehouses were supposed to be securely locked and enclosed within a fence. The owner of a tobacco inspection warehouse, or “rolling-house,” was allowed to charge a flat fee for storage. An annual performance-based salary was set for those who performed the inspections. Because tobacco inspection warehouses usually were enlarged according to need, they often were asymmetrical and irregularly shaped.

In November 1738, the House of Burgesses decided to have a tobacco inspection warehouse built on the east side of the East (or Easternmost) River, on land that belonged to the late Thomas Hayes’ heirs. This location would have been convenient to planters in Kingston and Ware Parishes. The East River warehouse was several miles inland, but it was susceptible to tidal flooding. In 1751 when a major storm impacted coastal Virginia, planters whose tobacco had been ruined while it was stored in the East River warehouse sought reimbursement from the government. Assembly members agreed but required those seeking compensation to prove that their tobacco had been inspected and that it was stored in the warehouse at the time of the storm. Thanks to this stipulation, we know that more than a third of the 14,563 pounds of tobacco damaged at the East River warehouse belonged to renowned botanist John Clayton. We also know that at least five local women filed compensatory claims. The East River tobacco inspection warehouse was still functioning in 1765, but by the close of the decade, its official operations seem to have ceased. Today, the site of the East River warehouse is known as Williams Wharf.

From Lost Landscapes, Untold Stories: Mathews County, Virginia.
Martha McCartney