Tobacco Was Money
and this was where you made it or spent it!
In Colonial Virginia, tobacco was money - a product in high demand in England. Acts were passed providing for the inspection of tobacco to ensure quality and to make sure that correct payments were made for its sale and purchase.
All tobacco was to be brought to warehouses to be inspected and stamped. "Notes" were issued to complete the process. By the 1700's, Urbanna was listed as one of several official tobacco inspection centers.
Caption of photo in upper left hand corner
The James Mill Scottish Factor Store as it would have looked in the mid-1700's. This was a busy place, especially at harvest time. The men are rolling "hogsheads" (barrels) of tobacco down to the ships. The "rolling road" still looks about the same today.
Caption of photo at bottom of marker
The prize - a two-man operated screw press - was used to compress the tobacco into barrels (hogsheads).
Caption of photo in upper right hand corner
James Mills Scottish Factor Store. This facility - built in the 1740's - was not a warehouse, but served as a general store and probably as the tobacco inspector's office and residence. The store was stocked with over 500 different items available for sale or trade.
Marker can be reached from the intersection of Old Virginia Street and Cross Street (Virginia Route 227).
Courtesy hmdb.org
