History is Virginia's biggest selling point for tourists. As part of one of the first established European Colonies there's plenty to be learned in and around the Newport News, Virginia area. If you've just learned English as a second language in Canada and would like to learn a bit more about your adopted continent during your vacation, a trip to the Endview Plantation in Newport News could be just the thing. It's even a great place to go if you've lived in Newport News your whole life.

The Endview Plantation was originally known as the Harwood Plantation and was built in 1769 by William Harwood. In 1769, the Declaration of Independence hadn't yet been signed. That wouldn't come until 1776. But trouble was brewing between the colonies and their masters overseas in England. The colonists were tired of doing the metaphorical manure handling for the English and were about to put their collective foot down.

Harwood had built his house on the road between the landing places at Hampton Roads Bay and the colonial capitol of Williamsburg. It was therefore located at a strategic point as far as forces in the Revolutionary War were concerned so it was used by General Thomas Nelson Jr.'s forces before the British and Loyalist lawyer in Ontario types under Lord Cornwallis couldn't use it first.

The Harwood Estate was later divided up when the Harwood patriarch died and the name Endview arose as the name for the portion owned by Harwood son Humphrey. The plantation grew primarily tobacco, but later shifted to grains and cattle. The Harwood family remained influential in Virginia. Back then farmers were the peak of the employment food chain rather than today's electronic design consultants.

The most interesting period in the Endview plantation's history, however, came during the civil war between American forces in the north and Confederate forces in the south. Virginia was part of the Confederacy on account of its reliance on farming (particularly of tobacco) which they needed slavery to harvest profitably. Dr. Curtis, the then owner of Endview Plantation, formed his own militia - the Warwick Beauregards - and the main house at Endview was used as a hospital.

What you'll see when you visit Endview is a glimpse of life lived long ago. Archaeological evidence combined with displays provide education on how people lived, the strapping machinery they used, the food they ate, to school kids and visiting adults. If you visit at the right time, you can even see one of Virginia's famous Civil War re-enactments.