Description
This unique and limited print depicts local artist, Charles Fromer’s interpretation of the Colonial-era fort built in the late 1670s on land that is now part of the Fredericksburg Country Club.
Following Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676, Virginia’s House of Burgesses authorized the construction of a fort for defense against the indigenous peoples of the Rappahannock River Valley on a tract of land owned by Major Lawrence Smith, just south of the City of Fredericksburg. Constructed atop a commanding hill on the south side of the Rappahannock River, the fort was similar to others along the Virginia frontier. It contained a warehouse, roughly 60′ x 22′ in size and quarters for militia men. Intended to serve as protection for area settlers, the fort at Smithfield was underutilized and abandoned by 1682.
This print was commissioned by the Historic Smithfield-Brooke Foundation and the profits of its sale support the restoration and preservation of the surviving 1819 manor house at Smithfield and other historic resources at Fredericksburg Country Club.
Prints available for purchase online, but must be picked up at the Lewis Store (1200 Caroline Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401) without special inquiry to office@hffi.org to secure custom shipping direct to consumer at additional cost.
