Burwell's Green

WELCOME TO BURWELL'S GREEN

The name Burwell's Green is described in a booklet, "Who's Who," by Bill Brown, which traced the street and subdivision names in Kingsmill: "Five generations of the Burwell family owned parts of Kingsmill Plantation. Edward Burwell was a wealthy London merchant and one of the founding members of the Virginia Company. His son, Lewis Burwell I (1621-58) was typical of many of the early Virginia colonists; a younger son with few prospects in England, but who had financial backing trading ties to London, and ambitions. He arrived in Virginia in 1648 and acquired over 5500 acres of land, including a home at Fairfield Gloucester County."

His only son, Lewis II (1650-1710) continued the family tradition of land acquisition, marrying Abigail Smith, a descendant of Richard Kingsmill and the heir to the 1250 acre Harrop's Plantation (including former Winster Fax and others) within today's Kingsmill. As an indication of his position in the Colony, Burwell was appointed Justice of the Peace, a Trustee of the College of William and Mary, and a Member of the prestigious 12 man Governor's Council.

Lewis Burwell III (1701-1744) was the youngest of the family's three sons and six daughters. He inherited his father's land in James City County while his older brothers, James and Nathaniel, received the larger Gloucester properties. In turn, he assumed what were not the family's position of Vestryman of Bruton Parish, Justice of the Peace, Magistrate, the Assemblyman from James City, and finally a Member of the Governor's Council. In 1728, he was appointed to the profitable position of Naval Officer of the Upper James, whose duty it was to inspect and tax all trade on the river, making use of the large dock and warehouse complex he built at Burwell's Landing near our 17th fairway. It served as a major port for the City of Williamsburg and its surrounding plantations. In 1736 he began construction of a grand manor house at Harrop's Plantation, which he renamed Kingsmill Plantation in an attempt to create a lineage for himself and the land back to the early days of the colony.

A humorous anecdote from that era is this single sentence from a letter from Nathaniel Burwell to James regarding the sorry state of their younger, 17 year-old brother, Lewis. Nathaniel was a well-educated colonial gentleman, having spent an entire year studying at William and Mary, a step he was not recommending for Lewis:

"Brother: I am very much Concerned to See how insensible Lewis is of his own ignorance, for he can nither read as he aught to do, nor give one letter a true Shape when he writes, nor spell one line of English and he is altogether ignorant of Arithmetick, so he'll be noways capable of the management of his own affairs and unfit for any Gentlemen's conversation and therefore a Scandalous person and a Shame to his relations, not having one single qualification to recommend him; if he would be apply himself heartily for one year, to write well, learn the Mathematics and Consequently arithemetick of Mr. Jones, and to translate Latin into English of Mr. Ingles to learn him to speak well, I would then take him home and employ him to till he comes of Age in my Ofice and Plantation Afairs that he might the better be capable to manage his own, and to my knowledge this will be no disservice to him, and a greater than any other method he'l fall into through his inclination; for my part, tis no advantage whether he be a Blockhead or a man of parts, were he not my Brother, but when I have to do with him, to schoole he shall go. . ."

Young Lewis did attend William and Mary for a year and did not appear to be the worse for the experience.

Lewis Burwell IV (1725-1784) succeeded his father in most of his offices and titles. While prosperous, the plantation fortunes began to decline as the land petered out from over-cultivation. He supported the Loyalist side in the growing conflict and moved to Mecklenburg County where he died.

His son, Lewis V was the last Burwell to own Kingsmill. He married Lucy Randolph, a member of one of the other leading families in the Colony. Like his father, he also supported the Loyalist side, which led to a heated argument with his brother-in-law, Peyton Randolph, in the Raleigh Tavern, during which Randolph was cut with a knife. He was the former Speaker of the House of Burgesses and head of the Williamsburg Committee of Safety, so Burwell was not popular with the rebel cause. Not that it did him much good with the British troops and his tobacco crop was burned in a fire in Petersburg. Deeply in debt and ready to leave town, he advertised Kingsmill for sale in 1781. It was sold to John Carter Byrd and, in turn, to the Tazewells who owned it during in 1790's prior to selling it to Colonel William Allen."

Burwell's Green, or as it's more commonly known, "The Green," is a picturesque parcel of luxury town homes nestled around the 13th, 14th , and 15th fairways of the Plantation Course and three ponds. The 32 townhomes are spread among nine buildings all of which are carefully set among beautifully landscaped grounds, with many ornamental flowering trees. Guernsey and Tingle's 1990 architectural plans for colonial-in-design brick and cedar townhomes reflect significantly on the proud history of "The Green's" original residents--the Burwell family.

The remains of that plantation home and two dependencies are the focal point of the Kingsmill Plantation site and its historical marker, which overlook The Green. Richard Kingsmill, the original landowner, and the Burwells would, no doubt, be pleased to see that the current residents can, by a short walk, still access the James River which was the site of the Burwell's 18th century landing dock and warehouse complex.

An important feature of this community is a social committee that offers its residents an active agenda of memorable events such as a Christmas dinner, wine and appetizer events, and a monthly men's breakfast, all geared toward ensuring life is good in The Green.

PARCEL ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC)

Burwell's Green is governed by a group of volunteer residents elected to the Burwell's Green PAC. The PAC serves as an advisor to the Kingsmill Community Services Association's (KCSA) Board of Directors on such matters as matters as maintenance, painting cycles and landscaping. Below are the names of the current PAC and their areas of responsibility.

If you are interested in serving on your PAC, please submit a Statement of Interest form (located in the right hand column.)

POSITION	NAME	UNIT	CONTACT INFO
Parcel Chair	Bill Geary	154	(757) 561-1618 william.geary@mason.wm.edu
Vice Chair/Landscape Maintenance	Lynn McIntyre	120	(757) 378-5158 lynnmac@his.com
Budget	Randa Globerman	124	(917) 882-6397 randakaren@gmail.com
Secretary	Margaret Price	160	(703) 338-0353 margyprice@verizon.net
Maintenance Co-Chair	Lynn Brown	134	(703) 489-3182 padgettbrown@yahoo.com
Maintenance Co-Chair	Nolan Forness	110	(703) 801-7222 nmforness@gmail.com

2025 PAC & Parcel Membership Meetings

All Burwell's Green owners and residents are encouraged to attend monthly PAC meetings. The floor is open for all to address the PAC on issues of concern, following the usual committee reports. Attending these meetings is your best opportunity to discuss issues over which you are concerned.

TYPE	DATE	TIME	LOCATION
PAC	Wed., Jan. 15	7 p.m.	MBRC Fun Room
PAC	Tues., April 8	7 p.m.	MBRC Fun Room
PAC	Wed., July 16	7 p.m.	MBRC Room A
Annual & PAC	Wed., Oct. 15	7 p.m.	MBRC Room A

OTHER PARCEL INFORMATION

TRASH COLLECTION SCHEDULE

Weekly trash pick-up is on Tuesday.
Bulk pick-up is every other Thursday at curbside. (See KCSA calendar for dates)

RECYCLING COLLECTION SCHEDULE

Every other Friday at 7 a.m. curbside. (See KCSA calendar for dates)

STAINING SCHEDULE

Exterior staining of all 32 units is done by the parcel on a eight-year cycle. The last staining cycle was completed in 2019. A few months before staining begins, letters are sent to property owners, reminding them of needed repairs prior to staining.

For the period between staining cycles, the homeowner is responsible for restaining any chipping or peeling areas. The approved colors and formulas are available on the link in the right-hand column.