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Captain Nicolas Martiau, a French military engineer, came to Virginia to build fortifications in 1620. He directed the construction of a log palisade which stretched between the James and the York Rivers. Martiau also built a fort, named York, at the mouth of Wormley Creek, about two miles down the York River from the present day site of Yorktown. A prominent figure in the earliest recorded events leading to the establishment of Yorktown, a monument was dedicated in his honor in 1931. The stone monument to Nicholas Martiau, dedicated by General Pershing in 1931,
is believed to be on Martiau’s home site circa 1620. A subsequent structure burned down
during the great fire of 1814. The current house, now occupied by Gin Tail Antiques,
was built by Eugene Slaight in 1927. Gin Tail Antiques specializes in primitive period
pieces from Virginia.
The following inscription on the monument illustrates the historical significance of
Martiau, not only to Yorktown, but also to the future United States of America: SITE OF THE HOME OF NICOLAS MARTIAU THE ADVENTUROUS HUGUENOT HE WAS BORN IN FRANCE 1591 CAME TO VIRGINIA 1620 AND DIED IN YORKTOWN 1657 HE WAS A CAPTAIN IN THE INDIAN UPRISING A MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES JUSTICE OF THE COURT OF YORK IN 1635 A LEADER IN THE THRUSTING OUT OF GOVERNOR HARVEY WHICH WAS THE FIRST OPPOSITION IN THE BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY. THE ORIGINAL PATENTEE FOR YORKTOWN AND THROUGH THE MARRIAGE OF HIS DAUGHTER ELIZABETH TO COL. GEORGE READ HE BECAME THE EARLIEST AMERICAN ANCESTOR OF BOTH GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON AND GOVERNOR THOMAS NELSON
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