Leatherwood, located to the south, was the plantation of Patrick Henry, governor of Virginia and a great orator of the American Revolution. Henry is especially famous for his “Liberty or Death” speech made in 1775 in Saint John’s Church in Richmond. He initially purchased ten thousand acres of land lying on Leatherwood Creek, built a house, and lived there from 1779 to 1784. While residing there, Henry served in the Virginia General Assembly from 1780 to 1784. He was elected governor of Virginia in November 1784 and moved to Chesterfield County that same year.