Dorothy Roy

Dorothy Roy (HM130J)

Location: Port Royal, VA 22535 Caroline County
Buy Virginia State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 38° 10.311', W 77° 11.443'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 1328 views
Inscription

One of America's Earliest Business Women

The daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Buckner and the widow of Charles Smith, Dorothy Smith married John Roy in 1719. John Roy was the owner of a tobacco warehouse at Port Royal, Virginia - a facility to which local planters brought their tobacco to be shipped abroad on vessels that sailed from Port Royal's harbor on the Rappahannock. In 1731, Dorothy Roy used her influence with the Virginia Court to have a 20-mile-long rolling road constructed over which planters could haul 900-pound hogsheads of tobacco to the warehouse. This rolling road later became U.S. Route 301.

After John Roy's death in 1734, Dorothy Roy became the first woman in Virginia to own a chartered tobacco warehouse. She also obtained a license to operate a ferry across the Rappahannock—another first for a Virginia woman—and she even became the owner of a tavern.

Dorothy Roy was soon recognized as the doyenne of the thriving commercial hub of Port Royal and was widely sought for business advice. She died in 1746, two years after the town of Port Royal, which had grown up around the Roy tobacco warehouse, was chartered. The two large chimneys on the west side of Route 301 are all that remain of Dorothy Roy's residence.
Details
HM NumberHM130J
Tags
Placed ByHistoric Port Royal with funding made possible through the sponsorship of the Washington-Lewis Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Friday, October 24th, 2014 at 8:36am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 308099 N 4227150
Decimal Degrees38.17185000, -77.19071667
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 10.311', W 77° 11.443'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 10' 18.66" N, 77° 11' 26.58" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)804
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 101-199 Water St, Port Royal VA 22535, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. Is this marker part of a series?
  2. What historical period does the marker represent?
  3. What historical place does the marker represent?
  4. What type of marker is it?
  5. What class is the marker?
  6. What style is the marker?
  7. Does the marker have a number?
  8. What year was the marker erected?
  9. This marker needs at least one picture.
  10. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  11. Is the marker in the median?