The Story Behind Lake Drummond’s Name
Behind every great name is a great story. And Lake Drummond has a story to tell. Lake Drummond is an unusual name. It’s a Scottish name, named after an early settler of the colony of Virginia.
The somewhat famous rebellion in the history of Virginia, better known as “Bacon’s Rebellion” took place in the years 1675 & 1676. As a historian, one hundred years later in 1776, we Virginians were fighting another rebellion with the mother country England. This time we won the rebellion and we become the free and independent country called, the United States of America. And it all started here in the state of Virginia.
Our Lake Drummond has a connection with Bacon’s Rebellion and no one seems to know this. Lake Drummond is one of two natural lakes in Virginia. It’s not really clear why either lake was formed or persisted until today because so many lakes in Virginia have been drained by man and by erosion.
Lake Drummond sits in the middle of the Great Dismal Swamp and is about 3 acres of an open body of water on our coastal plain, east of Suffolk and Chesapeake, Virginia. It’s a large body of water in the middle of the Dismal swamp.
As a young man in 1974, my friend Marvin Ladner from Maine took me for a nice airplane ride in his small Cessna airplane and from the sky Lake Drummond looked so beautiful and peaceful. I have never forgot what I saw that day. This body of water, so peaceful and calm, has been etched in my brain for so many years.
William Drummond, died 1667, patented this property and down through history this body of water has been known as Lake Drummond.
William Drummond was born in Scotland and was in the mercantile business along with his family. Tobacco was the cash crop of its day. He arrived in the colony of Virginia around 1630 and he married a woman named Sarah. We do not know her maiden name, but she had several children. In the beginning he acquired at least 25 acres of land in James City County, Virginia, and he would later become a large land holder.
Drummond served as Sheriff in James City County and bailiff of the Quarter Court, as well Sergeant at Arms of the General Assembly. He and former Governor and royal appointee Sir William Berkley had a good relationship, but this would end in a contentious relationship. Drummond, also served as governor of Albemarle County in the province of Norfolk Carolina.
In 1672, Sir William Berkley contracted William Drummond to erect a fort at Jamestown during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, but he clashed with Governor Berkley. He was arrested twice for not completing the job. Drummond’s poor performance sealed Berkley’s dislike for this man named, Drummond.
Apparently Drummond was a Hot Head. Sir William Berkley warned the General Assembly in June 1676 against the influence of William Drummond. When Bacon’s men burned Jamestown in the autumn (Bacon’s Rebellion), Drummond set fire to his own house too.
When Nathaniel Bacon rebelled against the crown and royal governor, Drummond was a faithful follower. The sudden death of Nathaniel Bacon of dysentery ended the Rebellion, Drummond refused to give up. He and his fellow rebels were captured in the Chickahominy swamp
Officers and men from the warship Young Prince captured Drummond and his friend Lawrence who were hungry and cold. Five days later Drummond was presented to the Royal Governor, Sir William Berkley. The angry governor greeted him with respect and with a bow along with a few sarcastic words, “Mr. Drummond, you are very welcome. I am more glad to see you than any man in Virginia. Mr. Drummond you shall be hang’d in half an hour.” Drummond was tried, convicted and hanged on January 20, 1677. Today no one knows where William Drummond was buried.
Behind every great name is a great story and Lake Drummond has a great story of a man who rebelled against Royal Authority and was hanged in Bacon’s Rebellion.
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Robert B. Hitchings is a seventh generation Norfolk resident, graduating with an Associate's Degree in Biology from Old Dominion University and BA in history from Virginia Wesleyan University. During his studies he was awarded a scholarship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, England, and he was an exchange student at Brooks-Westminster College, Oxford, England. From 1999-2014 he worked as head of the Sargeant Memorial History Room at Norfolk Public Library, and since then has headed the Wallace History Room at Chesapeake Public Library. He is also the President of the Norfolk County Historical Society, and for six years was a columnist for The Virginian-Pilot. Robert may be reached at nchs.wallaceroom@gmail.com
