l8  SMITHSONIAN    MISCELLANEOUS    COLLECTIONS  VOL.    96 
small  white  arrow  which  points  with  the  current.  The  few  houses 
just  within  the  cloucl-shadowed  area  to  the  right  are  all  that  remain  of 
Leedstown.  During  the  days  of  Indian  occupancy  the  greater  part  of 
the  land  was  covered  with  forests  which  extended  to  the  edge  of  the 
water,  and  here,  not  far  distant  from  the  river,  were  the  scattered 
habitations  with  the  fields  and  gardens  nearby. 
English  traders  were  probably  established  at  or  near  Pissaseck  by 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  a  "  marte  or  flfaire  " 
may  have  been  conducted  in  the  vicinity.  The  old  road  leading  to 
the  Potomac  undoubtedly  follows  the  route  of  a  more  ancient  trail 
that  led  to  the  native  settlements.  The  region  continued  to  become 
of  greater  importance  to  the  colony  and  was  more  thickly  settled  with 
the  building  of  warehouses  on  the  bank  of  the  river.  Here  was  soon 
to  be  reared  the  town  of  Leeds."  Scant  traces  of  the  colonial  town 
remain,  and  these  are  now  encountered  intermingled  with  the  stone 
implements  and  bits  of  earthern  vessels  made  and  used  by  the  earlier 
occupants  of  the  region.  However,  the  brick  structures  erected  in 
the  town  covered  only  part  of  the  land  that  had  formerly  been  in- 
cluded in  the  native  settlements,  assuming  the  site  to  have  been 
occupied  and  reoccupied  through  generations,  long  before  the  coming 
of  the  English. 
Again  referring  to  the  aerial  photograph :  A  triangular  tract  is 
visible  immediately  above  the  white  arrow.  This  is  15  acres  in  extent 
and  is  bordered  by  the  river  for  more  than  1,200  feet.  The  material 
now  illustrated  and  described  came  from  the  surface  of  this  tract,  the 
greater  part  of  it  having  been  found  in  the  extreme  western  part — 
the  left  as  shown  in  the  photograph — a  short  distance  back  from  the 
river.  Although  having  been  discovered  on  the  surface,  exposed  by 
the  plow  and  erosion,  it  is  within  reason  to  believe  it  is  material  that 
had  accumulated  in  refuse  heaps,  overgrown  with  vegetation,  later 
to  become  scattered  and  spread  as  the  ground  was  cleared  and  culti- 
vated. This  hypothesis  alone  would  explain  the  great  variety  of 
flaked  objects,  believed  to  indicate  different  periods  of  occupancy. 
^^  The  General  Assembly,  convened  at  Williamsburg,  May  1742,  passed  an 
act  for  the  establishment  of  a  town  "  on  the  north  side  of  Rappahannock  river, 
in  the  County  of  King  George,  where  the  church  and  public  warehouses  are 
built  .  .  .  The  said  town  shall  be  called  by  the  name  of  Leeds."  (Hening,  op. 
cit.,  vol.  s,  pp.  193-197).  The  area  to  be  occupied,  with  the  placing  of  streets 
and  buildings,  was  described.  Later,  it  was  known  as  Leedstown,  which  became 
an  active  center  of  trade,  with  wharves  and  warehouses,  whence  quantities  of 
tobacco  and  other  products  of  the  colony  were  sent  to  England,  and  where 
sailing  vessels  landed  supplies  for  the  rich  plantations  on  the  Northern  Neck. 
