Tappahannock is older than Richmond, Fredericksburg and even Williamsburg. Captain John Smith landed here in 1608 but was driven back to his Shallop by the local indians. On May 12 2007 a small company of Volunteers left Jamestown to reenact Captain John Smiths exploration of the Chesapeake and her tributaries. This re-enactment will take place over 121 days and the Shallop is scheduled to be at the June Parker Marina here in Tappahannock on August 12th.

  Tappahannock is an Native American word meaning on the rise and fall of water and Rappahannock ,the name of the river, means rise and fall of water.

The Rappahannock River

   In the early 1600's Jacob Hobbs established a warehouse and trading post here and this area was known as "Hobbs His Hole" and later for a short period, New Plymouth.England desired to establish a port of entry in each county and Benjamin Goodrich sold 50 acres of land for the town site.

  Located on Routes 17/360 and the Rappahannock River,Tappahannock is the county seat for Essex County. The total population of the Town and County is a little over 10,000. The County is 264 square miles of land and 14 square miles of water. The land eelevations vary from sea level to 18 feet above sea level. The average temperature is 57 degrees.

  The area has modern Hospital and brand new Airport along with many stores and shops. Golf, cruises, Fishing, Water sports and hunting are just a few of the activities people enjoy in this area.