Finally, a profitable export crop was identified through the efforts of colonist John Rolfe.
After 1612, a sweet form of tobacco became the largest export crop, customarily shipped in large hogsheads.
Because the river was a highway of commerce in the 17th and 18th centuries, the early plantations were established on the north and south banks along it, with most having their own wharfs.
Almost all are privately owned, and houses and/or grounds are generally open daily to visitors with various admission fees applicable.
Based upon the makeup of the House of Burgesses in 1619, a partial list of early plantations and their representatives were: Listed from east to west (downriver to upriver): Most of the extant plantations south of the James River are accessed by State Route 10, which runs between Suffolk and Richmond via Smithfield, Surry, and Hopewell.