Sandy Point

Sandy Point, near here, was the home of George Eskridge (d. 1735), a planter, merchant, Westmoreland County justice, and influential member of the House of Burgesses. Eskridge, who held close ties to many of the area’s prominent families, became the guardian of Mary Ball when she was orphaned in 1721 at the age of 11 or 12. He facilitated her marriage in 1731 to his brother-in-law, Augustine Washington. The couple’s first child, George Washington, was born in 1732 and was likely named for Eskridge. The Eskridge house, once part of a busy tobacco plantation sustained by enslaved laborers, no longer stands.