HISTORY
COLONIAL HEIGHTS

There is currently no definitive history of Colonial Heights - the articles below have been gathered from various sources.

Colonial Heights. Published in the Progress Index, May 24, 1970.

Located just north of the Appomattox River is Colonial Heights, an independent, incorporated city.

The earliest people to inhabit the area were members of the Algonquin Indian tribe, who apparently roamed along the river. Several areas in present day Colonial Heights still retain their Indian names.

British colonists first settled in the area in 1620, approximately two weeks prior to the settlement of Plymouth, Massachusetts. A small group sailed up the Appomattox River looking for clear land and they finally settled in Conjurer's Field, an area named by the Indians after one of their magicians was thought to have cast spells over the confluences of the waters.

Shortly thereafter, Charles Magnor registered the first land patent in the area for 650 acres, which he later developed into a plantation before selling it in 1634.

During the period 1677 - 1685, one of the areas's historic landmarks was constructed with the building of the Brick House, now thought to be the oldest permanent structure in Colonial Heights. One wall of the house survived a disastrous fire in 1879.

The name Colonial Heights results from an incident during the American Revolutionary War. In 1781 the French troops of Lafayette, known as the Colonials, retreated north from Petersburg and set up artillery on the heights overlooking Petersburg and the Appomattox River. The area came to be known as Colonial Heights and the name was given to a subdivision of the Oak Hill tract in 1906.

The area also became involved in operations during the Civil War. General Robert E. Lee made his headquarters at Violet Bank from June through September during the siege of Petersburg in 1864.

The area was first incorporated in 1926 and became an independent city in 1948. From 1960 to 1970, Colonial Heights experienced a period of rapid growth as the population jumped from 9,587 to 15,097.

Two area attractions include Violet Bank and Swift Creek Mill.

Violet Bank, at the end of Arlington Place, is a one-story clapboard house with a hipped gambrel roof, outside chimneys - stuccoed white - and a high basement. Breaking the long line of the facade is a graceful portico, which extends from a recess created by two bays. The slender fluted columns of the portico support a roof surmounted by a solid balustrade. In this gray building, overlooking a shrub-enclosed lawn shaded by the far reaching branches of a gigantic cucumber tree, General Robert E. Lee had his headquarters from June to September 1864.

The first building on this site was erected  in 1770 by Thomas Shore, a shipping merchant. Luxuriously appointed with English furniture and numerous "objets d' art", this earlier Violet Bank, named for the thousands of violets that grew under the oaks once shading the adjacent hill, was chosen by Lafayette as headquarters in 1781. The first mansion burned in 1810.

Oak Hill, on Carroll Avenue, also called Archer's, Hector's or Dunn's Hill, consisted of two one-story clapboard structures connected by a deep inside porch that extends from an uncovered section toward the street.

From the lawn of this house, in May 1781, General Lafayette, with cannon behind a boxwood hedge that still fringes the hill, shelled Petersburg, then occupied by the British.

The Swift Creek Mill was purchased in August 1965 by Warner J. Callahan Jr. and Dr. Louis Rubin, both native Virginians, with the idea of converting the 305 year old building into a dinner theater. The plan was to convert the three existing floors into two dining rooms connected by a new stairwell and to be known as Swift Creek Mill Playhouse. The playhouse opened on December 2, 1965 with the Broadway musical "Carnival".

The Swift Creek Mill Playhouse is located 15 minutes from Fort Lee, Virginia on U.S. 1 and 301 north of Petersburg, Virginia. Continuous buffet dining by candlelight begins at 6:30 p.m. in both the glamorous Mill Room and Granite Room. The shows are presented in the comfortable air-conditioned theatre each Wednesday through Saturday night year-round by advance reservations.

Records indicate that Swift Creek Mill was in existence as early as 1663, and is believed to be the oldest grist mill in this country.

Henry Randolph I, who was born in Little Houghton, Northamptonshire, England, in 1623, migrated to this country about 1640. In 1655 he acquired title to a large tract of land in Bermuda Hundred on Swift Creek where he erected the present mill. "Mr. Randolph's Mill" is mentioned in 1663 in "Cavaliers and Pioneers" (index to Virginia - 1620 to 1666).

An heir of Henry Randolph I, William Bland Randolph, deeded the mill site to William Rowlett on February 20, 1805, and it became known as Rowlett's Mill. In 1852, the Rowlett heirs conveyed the mill to the Swift Creek Manufacturing Company.

On May 9th and 10th, 1864, a battle was fought around the mill when General D.F. Butler's Army of the James attempted to cross Swift Creek. Following the Civil War the property was known as Schmidt's Distillery, which made corn whiskey. Following this, the property changed hands several times and was operated as a grist mill.

In 1929, the mill became known as Swift Creek Mill. The grist mill continued in operation until about 1956.

History of Colonial Heights. Written by David W. Hawkins, then Commissioner of Revenue for the City of Colonial Heights, August 1947, for the Virginia Municipal Review.