The narrow strip of beach between the cliffs was Stratford's main gateway to the outside world. By 1743, Thomas Lee had built a wharf at "Lee's Landing." Over the next two decades the Lees owned or held interest in several large vessels which sailed from this landing on the Potomac to England with cargoes of tobacco.
In 1759 Philip Ludwell Lee constructed a public wharf and tobacco inspection station and warehouse at the landing, making it one of the most important commercial centers along the Potomac. At the landing, local planters brought their tobacco to be graded and packed in hogsheads for shipment, received ordered goods, bought supplies, had corn and wheat ground at the mill, and exchanged the latest news with incoming crews. The busy landing complex was destroyed by a violent hurricane in 1769 and, with the exception of the mill, was never rebuilt.
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