Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge, engraving by J.C. Stadler after William Roberts. Thomas Jefferson Foundation.

When passing through what is now Rockbridge County, Virginia, on August 23, 1767, Thomas Jefferson viewed the Natural Bridge, probably for the first time. On the inside back cover of his 1767 memorandum book, Jefferson made notes that became the basis for his famous description of the "most sublime of Nature's works" in Notes on the State of Virginia.¹

By 1773, Jefferson had taken steps to become the owner of the rock bridge. On June 10, 1773, Jefferson recorded in his memorandum book: "Pd. at S. O. returng. my own 157. as. for Natural bridge £2–15–4."² Jefferson paid at the Surveyor General's Office at Williamsburg (he was paying the Secretary of the Colony) for a survey warrant. Shortly thereafter Jefferson paid James Tremble £2-1s-8d "for making survey of my entry on Natural bridge."³ On July 5, 1774, a patent in the name of George III was issued to Jefferson for a 157-acre tract that included Natural Bridge.⁴

How much did Jefferson pay for the land? £1 equals 20s and 6s equals $1 (Spanish dollars). £2-15s-4d thus equals about 55s, or $9, and £2-1s-8d equals 41s, or $7. The grand total for the purchase is 96s, or $16, roughly $160 in today's money.

Jefferson often thought of building "a little hermitage" where he might spend part of every year.⁵ Although this project was never carried out, he did make at least three more recorded visits to the bridge, in 1815, 1817, and 1821, and possibly in 1781.

In 1809, a financially disastrous year, Jefferson tried to sell the tract, and he periodically leased it for saltpeter mining and for use as a shot tower. By 1815, however, he had "no idea of selling the land. I view it in some degree as a public trust, and would on no consideration permit the bridge to be injured, defaced or masked from public view."⁶ The Natural Bridge was sold in 1833 as part of Jefferson's estate.

- Rebecca Bowman, 3/97

Primary Source References

1817 June 2. (William Caruthers to Jefferson). "Patrick Henry a free Man of Coular requested me to Write You that he Will Rent What land is Cultivatable On the Bridge Tract—Which is perhaps about 10 Acres all of Which is to Clear off & Enclose & for Which he is Willing to pay a fair Value."⁷

1817 June 11. (Jefferson to William Caruthers). "I recieved yesterday your favor of the 2d inst. and I readily consent that Patrick Henry, the freeman of colour whom you recommend, should live on my land at the Natural bridge, and cultivate the cultivable lands on it, on the sole conditions of paying the taxes annually as they arise, and of preventing trespasses."⁸

1817 August 4. "Natural bridge. pd. to Patrick Henry 5.D. to be pd. to the Sher. of Rockbridge for taxes past & to come.—gave him 1.D."⁹

1821 November 14. "Patrick Henry. at Nat. br. entertt. services & laborers 10 D."¹⁰

Further Sources

• Coffey, David W. "Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and the Natural Bridge of Virginia." Proceedings of the Rockbridge Historical Society 12 (1995-2002): 135-45.
• Davis, J. Lee. Bits of History and Legends Around and About the Natural Bridge of Virginia, from 1730 to 1950. Lynchburg, VA: Natural Bridge of Virginia, Inc., 1949.
• Gilmer, Francis William. "On the Geological Formation of the Natural Bridge of Virginia." Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 1 (1818): 187-92. 
• Philippon, Daniel J. "The Bridge of Words: Encounters with Virginia's Natural Bridge." Southern Cultures 6, no. 3 (2000): 36-46.
• Simpson, Pamela H. So Beautiful an Arch: Images of the Natural Bridge, 1787-1890: An Exhibition Presented by Washington and Lee University in the DuPont Gallery, Lexington, Virginia, January 4-29, 1982. Lexington, VA: Washington and Lee University, 1982.
• Tompkins, Edmund Pendleton, and Joseph Lee Davis. The Natural Bridge and Its Historical Surroundings. Natural Bridge, VA: Natural Bridge of VA, 1939.
• Look for further sources in the Thomas Jefferson Portal.