Osbornes

The town of Osbornes was named for Captain Thomas Osborne who settled nearby at Coxendale in 1616. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Osborne's plantation wharf was a tobacco inspection station and local shipping center. Thomas Jefferson, grandfather of the President, was born here in 1677. On April 27, 1781, British General Benedict Arnold destroyed nine ships of the American fleet and burned the town's warehouses and stores. George Washington visited Osbornes in 1791 during a national tour designed to afford citizens the opportunity to see their first national hero.