Buckingham Mystery: Powers Creek
View from Old Buckingham Church, Photo by Joanne Yeck
In 1767, when Churchwardens John Ferne (a.k.a. Fearn) and Joseph Cabell were granted one acre and an half on which to build an Anglican church, the spot was near the headwaters of Powers Creek. The metes and bounds description of the land also mentions an early Buckingham resident, Anthony Sherroon, who, on January 5, 1754, had surveyed 398 acres, lying at the head waters of Powers Creek, in what had been Albemarle. Sharroon also appears on an earlier Albemarle road order, dated March 13, 1746 (OS), in which William Allen, who owned land on Hunt’s Creek, is named as the overseer responsible for the “Horn Quarter Road to the County Line.”
Sherroon is listed as one of the male tythables to do work under Allen. When the 1767 patent, Sherroon’s 1754 survey, and Allen’s 1746 road order are compared, it seems the headwaters of Powers Creek and the first glebe land in Buckingham County were in the northeastern part of Buckingham, not far from Hunt’s Creek. Indeed, the “mother” church, known as Buckingham, was located near present-day Gold Hill in that part of the county.
Does anyone know more about Powers Creek? Was it named after an early Albemarle/Buckingham family named Powers? And what about the Horn Quarter Road?
slate river ramblings . . . . 
Powers Creek is in northeastern Buckingham County is now called Little Creek. Part of the James River drainage, it is a tributary of Randolph Creek which is a tributary of Willis River. The headwaters of Powers Creek are near Gold Hill east of RT 15 and on the south side of Rt 610 across from the headwaters of Bear Garden (Phelps) Creek.
Powers/Little Creek flows generally West to East. It passes near New Hope Church. It has a total run of 4 or 5 miles.
USGS Map Name: Gold Hill, VA
Map Center: N37.61568° W78.34021°
Thank you, Randy. Mystery solved! Joanne
I was dealing with some Allen/Harris notes last night and ran across a reference for Horn Quarter Rd and Glover’s Rd, both in the immediate vicinity of the heads of Joshua, Randolph, and Hatchers creeks.
Thanks, cousin!
I don’t see POWERS as one of the families listed for Buckingham County in the Virginia Historical Index (families in the M-P range are shown on the public library’s Pinterest board for Buckingham Families – http://pinterest.com/pin/488148047080196781/ ).
Thanks Joyce. If there was a Powers family, I suspect they go way back to the 18th century, perhaps when the land was still part of Goochland.