Rappahannock Academy

Circa 1791, Rock Stop was built on a portion of land purchased by Richard Buckner, who shortly after, became Burgess to Williamsburg for the county.  Richard Buckner, son of John Buckner, died in 1733/34.  Several unmarked Buckner graves are located nearby, but to the best of the current owner's knowledge there is no evidence of Buckner Family graves at Rock Stop.

Although not connected to Rock Stop, three of Samuel Hawes, II & Anne Walker's children married into the Buckner Family.  Elizabeth, born 1759, married Thomas Buckner.  Mary, born 1764, married Robert Buckner, and Charlotte, born 1765, married 1^st to Richard Buckner in 1782, and married 2^nd William Buckner in 1797.

Three Caroline residents were listed in the Revolutionary War Rolls as Officers in the Militia: Philip Buckner, Capt., December 1777, William Buckner, Capt., November 1777, and Richard Buckner, Maj., February 1778.

The builder of the original residence at Rock Stop is unknown but it is listed in the earliest Colonial Deed Books (1839) as the property of Champe Broken[brough] Thornton.  Thornton lived in Port Royal and never resided at Rock Stop except during the Civil War when he moved his family to the plantation for safekeeping after the commander of the Yankee gunboat threatened to shell the town.

In 1866 Champe Bronken[brough] Thronton conveyed Rock Stop to his son, Champe Broken[brough] Thornton, Jr.  In time, Thornton, Jr. sold the property to the Motley family, who resided there for many years.