City: Surry, VA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (757) 357-5976

Address: 465 Bacon Castle Rd. (Route 617)

Description: Williamsburg may have a palace, but Surry has its own castle—Bacon’s Castle on Route 10. You might think you heard all about the Virginia colonists’ rebellion as you toured Williamsburg, but did you know that, 100 years before the Revolution, another rebellion occurred? In 1676 Nathaniel Bacon began the colony’s first act of insurrection against Governor William Berkeley’s harsh rule. The struggle spread to Surry County, and, on September 18, Bacon’s commander, William Rookings, captured this building, home to Major Arthur Allen, in a siege. Major Allen built the house in 1665, and now, more than 340 years later, it is the oldest documented brick house in English North America. Architecturally, it is of extreme interest. Unlike its surviving, typically Georgian, contemporaries, the building has curving Flemish gables and triple chimneystacks. Its front and rear facades also are unusual in that they are broken midpoint by an entrance-and-porch tower in front and a corresponding stair tower in back. This gives the building a cruciform shape, the first house in the colony so designed. A formal garden has been excavated and restored, giving the whole estate a sense of antiquity and a peace that contrasts with its most famous historical event. The house is closed Mon, and open noon to 5 p.m. Wed through Sun, Apr through October 31. It is open weekends only in Nov and Mar, and closed in Jan and Feb. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, and $5 for students ages 6 to 18. Tickets for both Bacon’s Castle and Smith’s Fort can be purchased for $12 (adults), $10 (seniors). Group tours can be arranged by appointment. Closed July 4.

City: Surry, VA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (757) 294-3121, (800) 222-4267

Address: 11381 Rolfe Hwy. (Route 31)

Description: If you like ham, plan to stop in at S. Wallace Edwards & Sons, just down the street from the well-known Surrey House and the source of the ham served at the restaurant. For three generations the Edwards family has been creating some of the finest hams you can find anywhere in Virginia. Their smokehouse offers a fascinating glimpse into how the curing process, taught to settlers by Native Americans, has become a modern art. Each ham, selected for its high quality, is hand rubbed with a special dry cure, then aged perfectly. A notable mahogany color is achieved with days of exposure to hickory smoke and supervised aging. While some long-cut hams are aged for a year, the company’s most popular hams are ones that have aged between four and six months. Edwards’ hams have a wide following. The company has its own mail-order catalog and also receives orders from mail-order merchandisers like Williams-Sonoma, Harry & David, Winterthur, and Neiman-Marcus—especially during the busy holiday months. They won a top honor from Gourmet magazine in 2005, and every September those same hams capture blue ribbons at the state fair in Richmond. Surry’s most famous pork products have even earned a stamp of approval from none other than celebrated chef and cookbook author Julia Child.We recommend that you spend some time in the retail shop: Your taste buds will demand it. If you can’t make it to Surry, check out Edwards’ Virginia Ham Shoppe of Williamsburg (757) 220-6618. Located at 1814 Richmond Rd., it’s open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

City: Surry, VA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (757) 294-3389, (800) 200-4977

Address: 11865 Rolfe Hwy.

Description: Somehow it wouldn’t seem right if you left Surry County without stopping in at the Surrey House Restaurant, a favorite destination for Williamsburg residents, especially on a sunny Sunday after church. Established in 1954, the Surrey House specializes in ham, seafood, pork, and poultry dishes as well as other regional fare. We recommend that you begin your meal with peanut soup, a creamy delicacy full of chunky bits of world-famous Virginia peanuts. As a main dish, the Surrey House Surf and Turf is typically Virginian, featuring a combination of ham and crab cakes. Other regional dishes include apple fritters, delicious ham hocks, great southern fried chicken, and homemade desserts. For the latter, we prefer the peanut raisin pie, a proudly served local variation on the South’s ubiquitous pecan pie. It’s delicious. Entrees range from $3.99 to $18. This restaurant has a waiting list on weekends and holidays, so we recommend reservations. Just tell them what ferry you’ll arrive on, and they’ll tailor your reservation to meet your arrival. The restaurant is open daily from Easter through Nov 1, 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. During the winter, closing time is one hour earlier.