Burke’s Garden

Eight miles east is Burke’s Garden, discovered by James Burke in 1749. Major Lewis’s expedition against the Indians, 1756, camped there, and Burke’s fort was there in 1774. In 1781 Indians raided into Burke’s Garden, carrying off the wife and ...

Site of James Burke’s Garden

Burke’s Garden is named for James Burke who

surveyed the region with James Patton by

1750. According to tradition, Burke buried

some potato peelings in the region’s fertile

soil during a survey expedition. Sometime

later another group camped at the same site

and discovered the potatoes, ...

Burke’s Garden

Known for its fertility and great

natural beauty, the bowl shaped

Burke’s Garden is the highest valley

in Virginia. James Burke discovered

it during the 1740s while hunting and

settled here about 1754. After four

years Burke and his family moved to

North Carolina, where he died ...