Smith’s Fort Plantation includes a story-and-a-half brick manor house built sometime between 1751 and 1765 in Flemish bond brickwork as the home of Jacob Faulcon and his family. The house has a gabled roof with dormer windows, and its architectural significance lies in the interior, where much of the original woodwork still survives. APVA Preservation Virginia acquired Smith’s Fort Plantation in 1933, restored it fully, and assembled a fine collection of English and American furnishings there. Set above Gray’s Creek, the bluff offered a commanding view of approaching visitors, and the two-foot-high earthworks are considered the oldest English structure in Virginia. The site is also part of Captain John Smith’s Trail on the James, a 40-site water trail and auto tour. John Smith traveled the James River between 1607 and 1609, knowing it by its Algonquian name, Powhatan, and traded with Virginia Indians to help ensure Jamestown’s survival while his observations of Virginia’s woodlands and waters inspired his exploration of the greater Chesapeake Bay.