Chericoke, in King William County, Virginia was home to Carter Braxton from 1767 to 1786. The estate is located on the Pamunkey River, about 20 miles by land from the junction of the Pamunkey and Mattaponi Rivers.The farm is located on the upper edge of a large horseshoe bend in the river, with the house on a hill a little way back.The land of Chericoke was rich, not having been worn out by tobacco. The family graveyard was on the side of a hill. Wooden grave markers disappeared over the years, making it difficult to locate the gravesites. Caperton Braxton Horsley, a descendant of Carter Braxton, wrote in 1933 about his experiences related to Chericoke in reminiscences he titled “In Quiet Places”. This is what he wrote about the history of the house and estate itself: “It was more than a hundred years ago that the old Chericoke house burned. They say that the curtains caught fire from a candle at night. It was winter with snow on the ground. The house was large and built of wood. It burned to the ground. Rushing through the halls in candlelight, they fought the growing fire with buckets of water, the men shouting, the women crying. The slaves’ faces: dark against the night with the light of the fire shining on the snow, staring at the burning symbol of authority and permanence; dark with the morning sun shining on black smoking timbers surrounded by snow. “The land of Chericoke Farm was rich, not having been worn out by tobacco. The wind blew flurries of waves over the green wheat fields, thick tall wheat in the wind. The cattle and hogs were fat, and fat sheep lay in the shade of the osage orange trees. The magnolia trees blossom in the spring, and the locust and catalpa. Early in the morning dew lies on the pink and white blossoms of the fruit trees, at night the sound of insects and the frogs comes from the marsh far off. The firelight shines in the eyes of the negroes and their voices ring through the night’s soft air.” Horsley also wrote about the meaning of the Civil War, and his experiences and stories of his ancestors, relatives, friends and acquaintances over the years. A large granite monument in the Hollywood Cemetery at Richmond, Virginia, honors many of Braxton’s descendants and ancestors, including George Braxton, Sr., the immigrant. In Washington, D.C., near the Washington Monument, there is a small park and lagoon dedicated to the fifty-six Signers of of the Declaration. Alongside his fellow Virginians, Carter Braxton’s signature is engraved in gold. Carter Braxton died in Richmond in 1797 and is buried at Chericoke.-Written by Shelley Cruz, descendant of Carter Braxton